Buried Truth by Dana Mentink Read Free Book Online Page B

Tina back home, accepting an awkward thank-you from Charlie before he closed the door in her face. Tina had shot Heather one last look from the window and Heather had almost laughed out loud. The expression on her face told the story. She was going to get in trouble, but she had enjoyed the adventure to the fullest. It took Heather’s mind off her worries for a moment, but the memory of Bill’s grim face remained.
    She phoned the police department and learned that Captain Richmond was out on assignment, so she left a message for him to call. A couple hours and many errands later, with the Jeep air-conditioning running at full tilt, she retrieved a message from her editor assigning her a story about the upcoming fair on the reservation. She wrote down the pertinent details with a sigh before she turned the phone to silent as she guided the Jeep back out to the DUSEL.
    Her life was falling to pieces, or so it felt. She’d returned to this place only to find Bill Cloudman was back. Now he was engaged in some bizarre game of cat and mouse with a deranged killer. He wanted her out of his life and that seemed like a good plan, except that she couldn’t seem to shake him from her mind.
    Do your job. Get your career back. Leave Bill to take care of himself.
    Recalling the only picture she’d seen of Oscar Birch in the articles she’d found, eyes glittering from under a shroud of grizzled beard and long hair, she shivered.
    Lord, please watch over Bill.
    She checked her watch. Four o’clock. Nearly quitting time. Pulling up the road and peering toward the lab, she could see Egan’s silver Lexus stopped at the guard gate, checking out for the day. Finally, luck was on her side. An inside scoop article with Dr. Egan was the key to getting her career as a science writer back. Besides, they’d met before, so she had an in, sort of. But he was refusing to talk with her, so she’d have to take more drastic measures.
    She pushed the Jeep ahead and sped over the peak and down the winding road before pulling to an abrupt stop where the walls of red rock squeezed in together, leaving just enough room for two cars to pass.
    Easing the Jeep into the middle of the road and hoping that no other traffic would ruin her plan, she stopped and turned on the hazard lights. The temperature in the vehicle rose with each passing minute, until her long brunette hair was damp with sweat.
    The Lexus moved around the turn and she watched in her rearview as Dr. Egan stiffened, taking in the Jeep stalled on the road. She waved a hand out the window and he pulled to a stop. He climbed out, dressed casually in jeans and a plaid shirt that pulled tight over his expanse of stomach, his graying beard and long sideburns at odds with the shining dome of his bald head.
    “I’ll call for road service,” he said as he walked toward her Jeep.
    “No need.” Heather got out quickly and approached him. “I just want to talk to you, Dr. Egan.”
    “Who …?” he said, alarm written on his face.
    She held up a reassuring hand. “Heather Fernandes. I’m a reporter.”
    His eyes narrowed a moment and he rubbed his beard with the antenna of his phone.
    “You used to write for
Horizons.
You interviewed me quite some time ago about … what was it?”
    “Wind erosion and climate change.”
    “Ah, yes. You are a friend of Bill Cloudman’s.”
    She started. “You know Bill?”
    His face grew pained. “Actually, I knew his late sister, too.”
    Bill had never shared the particulars of his sister’s death with Heather, only that she’d died much too young, at age fifty-six, months before Heather came to Rockvale, and it grieved Bill deeply. Though she wanted to ask Egan about it, she feared losing her momentum. “I need your help for an article.”
    He looked away and then back at her. “Ms. Fernandes, perhaps I can save us some time. The reason I haven’t returned your phone calls is that I’m aware you no longer work for
Horizons
magazine.”
    She