Deception

“No.”

“I’ve treated a lot of folks in my life, but never anyone who has gone into those falls and survived. What happened out there?”

“If it’s all the same to you, Doc, I’d like to forget about it.” Jewel stared at the sterile wall. She might want to forget, but she knew she couldn’t.

“I want to run a few tests. Draw some blood. But not today—you’ve already been through enough. I want to see you back in a week to look at those stitches and your wrist. We’ll get the blood then.”

Was Doc wondering if she had some sort of medical condition that had caused her to fall?

“There. All done.” Doc Harland flipped down her gown.

“Jewel?” Meral peeked through the door. “I brought you some dry clothes.”

“Come on in,” Doc Harland said. “I’ll leave you to change.”

Doc Harland nodded and left to give her privacy.

Meral set the clothes—a pair of jeans, teal T-shirt, light jacket, shoes, socks and undergarments—next to Jewel. “I’m so sorry, Jewel. If we’d just stuck together this would never have happened.” She wiped at the remnants of tears on her cheeks.

She started to hug Jewel, but then acted as though she’d thought better of it. Jewel must look terribly beat up and bruised. Admittedly, a hug would hurt right now.

Meral, short for Emerald, was in her thirties and ten years younger than Jewel. She’d been a teenager when Jewel had run away to marry Silas. Beautiful as she was, she looked fragile and pale at the moment.

“Are you okay?” Jewel found herself asking.

“I’m feeling nauseous. Buck insists on taking me back now. Are you almost ready?”

“Sure, I just need to change.”

“You need help with that?”

“No, you go on now. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Meral nodded and left Jewel. Poor thing. She probably didn’t know how to take what had happened. Jewel wasn’t sure she did either. It was hard to comprehend.

Jewel took far too long to get into her clothes. Every movement, every twist and bend of her body hurt. She risked a glimpse in the mirror over the sink.

Big mistake.

She didn’t even recognize herself.

Someone knocked softly on the door. Meral had timed it just right. They were both ready to get home. But how could Jewel let her guests at the B and B see her like this?

“Come in.”

The door opened and in stepped Chief Winters, standing tall and intimidating in his official tan police uniform.

Her pulse jumped.

Whether from being startled at seeing someone other than Meral, or if it was her reaction to Chief Winters himself, she wasn’t sure.

Seeing him here, clearly concerned about her, brought her more pleasure than it should.

She reminded herself he wasn’t here for personal reasons but to question her officially. But she wasn’t sure she was ready. Everything that had happened was starting to blur together.

What had she really seen? Had she simply imagined the figure on the ledge?

Chief Winters stepped completely in and closed the door behind him. His electric blue eyes always saw everything, and now they flashed with a powerful emotion. Before she could define it, the emotion was shuttered away.

What was the man thinking?

Jewel averted her gaze. She didn’t see the chief of police often outside the self-defense class. And in the class she tried not to think about how tall and rugged he was, or the confident air he had about him. He was in his late forties, the same age as her husband, Silas, would have been if he hadn’t died a decade ago. Silas and Chief Winters had been friends, not close, but friendly enough that they were on a first-name basis. And he’d always been warm and friendly to her, as well, and somewhat protective after Silas had died. All the more reason to keep her distance.

Jewel hung her head for a moment, instinctively, hating for him to see her like this, but then she quickly lifted her chin and faced him. She couldn’t let him see how he affected her. She was surprised to see that today something new burned behind his gaze, and it wasn’t warm or friendly. It was downright terrifying.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Checking up on you. You had to know I’d come. How are you, Jewel?”

“Did you find them? The person who pushed me?”

He shook his head. “Not yet. I know you’re tired and hurt, and this isn’t the best time, but I’m going to need you to think about what happened and tell me everything. Start from the beginning. Who pushed you into the falls?”

“I don’t know.”

Jewel wanted to scream. She wanted to cry, but she wouldn’t do that in front of Chief Winters. She missed Silas—wished she had someone here to hold her. She wanted to feel strong arms around her. Someone to tell her everything was going to be all right. That someone hadn’t just tried to kill her, and she was only imagining things. And in a moment of weakness like this, Colin Winters was the only man who could fulfill those needs.

But she couldn’t let him in that deep.

She’d lived in Alaska long enough that she was well aware of how to take care of herself. She’d run her B and B near the edge of the wilderness for more years than she wanted to admit. She wouldn’t give in to that weakness.

I know how to survive.

I can do this.

Chief Winters stared at her, waiting patiently. She’d always liked that about him. But how did she answer his question? What could she tell him that would make any sense?

* * *

Jewel moved to sit in the chair against the wall. Colin didn’t rush her, giving her a moment to think on the details of what had happened.

Some days Colin hated his job, and today was one of those days. He hated having to pry answers out of people—especially people he cared about personally.

“Accidents happen, Jewel. People fall where they shouldn’t all the time, including in the shower, where some die every year.” He hated himself for this, but he had to ask her. He had to be certain. “Are you sure someone pushed you?”

She stared at the floor. Was she thinking it through?

Seeing Jewel like this undid him. Unraveled him from the inside out.

Jewel Caraway was a beautiful woman. One of the most beautiful he’d ever seen, and that included on the inside, where it mattered most. She was beautiful like Katelyn—a woman he’d loved—had been. Had a quiet elegance and grace about her, and the most captivating hazel-green, gold-flecked eyes. Colin shouldn’t be thinking about her in that way, but he couldn’t stop himself. Had never been able to stop himself for as long as he’d known her.

Except today, circles darkened Jewel’s eyes, and her usually shiny, ash-blond hair was askew. Her face was bruised in a way that turned his stomach into knots.

He was the police chief, but he was a man, too, and Jewel had caught his attention the first time he’d met her. She reflected light like a precious gem. Her parents must have known she would when they had named her. She carried herself with the confidence of experience, but she’d never looked a day over thirty to him, though she was in her mid to late forties just like Colin.

Then he remembered himself.

In a professional capacity he’d come to make sure she was all right. But his true interest in her went deeper, even though he’d never let himself act on it. Her husband had been a friend, and Colin had never let his mind or heart stray before. Nor would that happen now, even though she was a widow.

In his eyes, she’d aged ten years in the past few hours. Colin thought maybe he’d aged that much, too. Maybe more.

She could have died out there.

She pressed her face into her palms, her shoulders shaking. He’d never seen her undone like this, but it was understandable. Colin lost it then, too. He pressed his hand against her head, felt the softness of her hair. His heart thudded against his ribs.

“Please, Jewel. Talk to me.”

She drew her face up, and her haggardness caught him afresh, sending a new pang through his chest.

“Meral, Buck and I had gone kayaking. They just got married and arrived two days ago. Were excited to be here and wanted to see southeast Alaska. She’s my sister, and I haven’t seen her in twenty years.”

Jewel seemed to regret her last words, which came out rushed. An outburst to cover some deeper emotion hidden away? He’d let her tell him that story another time. Yet maybe there was something here that played a role in what had happened today.

“Go on,” Colin said, nodding.

“We secured the kayaks in the bay and decided to hike up to the falls. We planned to be out for a few hours. A day at the most. I forgot my water and went back to get it. Buck and Meral went on ahead. I said I’d catch up to them. Meet them at the falls where the trail stopped. From there you could choose between two other trails, and I didn’t want them to go farther without me. It shouldn’t have been so complicated.”

“And were they at the falls when you got there?”

“No. I stopped to watch the waterfall. Silas liked to explore waterfalls. Maybe you remember that we used to travel around to see the falls in the region, even as far south as Ketchikan. He liked to study them. Kayak over them, if possible.”

“And what about you? Did you enjoy that, too?”

She shook her head. “I’m not into thrills.”

No. He hadn’t thought so. She was adventurous, yes, but was more the kind to enjoy the beauty rather than the challenge of nature.

“So did you call for Meral and... What is his full name again?” She’d only given her brother-in-law’s first name when she’d mentioned him earlier. Colin didn’t want to be too invasive. Let her tell the story. He hadn’t met Buck yet. Apparently he’d just missed the man and Jewel’s sister when he’d got to the clinic.

“Buck Cambridge. Yes, I called out for them when I made the falls, and they were not there. I heard a twig snap behind me. Before I turned, something slammed into my back.”

Colin hated thinking about the bruises that covered the rest of her, if her face was any indication. “I’m just glad you survived. It seems...”

“Impossible. I know.”

For a moment, Colin let himself visualize her battle, experience it with her. If he let himself think about it too long, he’d be visibly shaking, trembling like she was.

“Tell me the rest.”

“After my initial panic, I swam beneath the backwash and let the current pull me away from the churning falls. I swam toward the surface to get air and happened to glance to the top of the falls.”

“And what did you see?”

“Someone. Just a figure. My vision was blurred by water, but I saw someone for a split second before the water pulled me away.”

“You sure it wasn’t Meral you saw, arriving after you’d fallen in? She was the one to call this in. Her quick thinking got the search for you going.”

Jewel closed her eyes. After a moment, she shook her head. “I don’t think so. No, I’m sure it wasn’t Meral. The jacket she’s wearing is too bright—even though I couldn’t make out the face of the person I saw, that color would have caught my eye. It was the person who pushed me in. They were standing exactly where I’d been before being pushed.”

Colin hated that her story could be picked apart, especially since she appeared so frazzled. And after his experience in Texas, he resolved to look at the facts and only the facts. He couldn’t go on gut feelings alone.

Jewel’s experience and what she’d seen could be based entirely on her emotional state. But this was Jewel Caraway. Writing her off wasn’t something he was willing to do. Colin would take her seriously. If someone truly had tried to kill her, then he would do everything he could to make sure she was safe.

He frowned. “Was the person you saw male or female?”

“I couldn’t tell.” She looked up at him again. “You do believe me, don’t you?”

“Of course.” He believed she wasn’t deliberately lying, but could her memory be faulty? Eyewitness stories almost always conflicted. Everyone had his or her own perspective. Had Jewel really seen someone? And had that person pushed her?

“Did you see anyone else on the trail during your hike?”

“No.”

“I’ll need to question your sister and her husband.” He wouldn’t divvy this out to his officers. No. This investigation belonged to Colin.

“Of course. They’re waiting out there. I’m surprised you didn’t already meet and question them. They are still out there, aren’t they?”

Colin let out a slow breath. Would she be disappointed if he told her they had already gone? A fact he found strange. What was more important to them than Jewel’s well-being?

“Oh, wait. Meral wasn’t feeling well.” Disappointment edged her voice. “Maybe Buck wanted to get her home. Maybe they decided not to wait for me to get dressed.”

Colin’s throat tightened. Nice guy. “I’ll take you home, Jewel. Don’t worry. Now can you think of any reason why someone would try to kill you?” Maybe this wasn’t a random act, though he couldn’t think of a single enemy she would have made. She was kind and generous, and her guests always raved about their experience at the B and B. But if he’d learned anything as a twenty-five-year police veteran, it was that everyone had dry bones buried in the backyard. As hard as it was to believe, Jewel would be no exception.

“I almost wish I did. Then it would be easy to find out who pushed me.”

Colin agreed. “In that case, I don’t want you to be alone until we figure this out. Do you understand?”

“That should be easy enough to comply with. After all, my sister is here now for a short visit.”

Colin didn’t bring up that she was supposed to be with her sister when someone had tried to kill her—Meral hadn’t been any protection for her then. At any rate, maybe her sister and husband would stay until this investigation was closed. “Come on. I’ll give you that ride home now. Doc give you some scripts?”

“Yeah, painkillers and an antibiotic, I think.”

“Fine. I’ll get you home first, then I’ll run those over to the pharmacy for you.”

Jewel stood, ready to leave, her confusion over the day’s events evident, mingling with exhaustion from the strain on her beaten body. Colin was glad to be the one to see her safely home. If it was actually even safe. He’d determine that when he arrived.

He pursed his lips, envisioning what he wanted to do to her attacker or attackers once he got his hands on them, and before he put them in a jail cell. But that was all it was—a vain imagining.

He opened the door and assisted her out to the waiting room, where they found Tracy with David. Tracy said she had encouraged Meral to go back to the B and B, seeing that she wasn’t feeling well, reassuring them that she and David would get Jewel home. Colin could see the relief in Jewel’s eyes that she hadn’t been abandoned, but all Colin could think was Tracy and David were behaving more like family to her than Meral and Buck. While Jewel thanked Tracy for finding her, Colin talked to David about going back to the falls to look around.

Then he ushered Jewel through the exit where his Jeep waited and assisted her into the passenger seat, taking care he didn’t hurt her. On the drive back, he took the bumps and the potholes slowly and carefully.

Anger boiled beneath the surface at the thought of her injuries. At the thought of someone actually trying to hurt her. At the image of someone pushing her into those falls.

He would have to prevent them from trying again.

But he knew firsthand how difficult it could be to stop a killer. He’d attempted and failed before, and as a result, Katelyn, the woman he’d planned to propose to, had been murdered.

And he’d known all along who had wanted to kill her, and still Colin hadn’t been able to prevent her murder. With no idea where to even look for Jewel’s attacker, how was he going to be able to keep her alive?

THREE

The next morning, Colin walked the trail with one of his officers, Terry Stratford, along with Cade and David Warren, who were friends and had been part of the search and rescue for Jewel.

He almost wished Dead Falls Canyon, both the river and several waterfalls, were far from town, where they’d be less of a danger to the people under his jurisdiction, which included the city and borough of Mountain Cove and encompassed two thousand square miles, most of that wilderness in the Tongass National Forest.

But the majestic scenery and unparalleled adventures of the region were all part of the package. The splendor, the pristine nature and magnificent views brought tourists. One of the many reasons people chose to live here.

But beauty had turned deadly more than once.

After his officers and forest rangers had searched the area yesterday and came up empty-handed, he’d decided that Jewel’s attacker was long gone, and there wasn’t reason enough to close off the whole region to nature enthusiasts.

Today’s revisiting of the crime scene hadn’t turned up any evidence or clues either, so far. Jewel’s party hadn’t been the only one to hike the trails or view the falls, so there was no way to try to trace anyone’s tracks.

Colin maintained a keen sense of his surroundings in case someone was watching him. He had that sensation as they hiked the trail, but it could simply be curious hikers wondering what had brought the police out on the trails today.

They’d walked the five-mile circular trail that led to the top where Jewel claimed to have stood and looked down. This was some of the most beautiful scenery in the world, and now it would likely be ruined for Jewel unless she could somehow put those events out of her mind.

He was asking for the impossible. Colin had moved to Mountain Cove to escape his own devastating experience in Texas. He hoped Jewel wouldn’t have to take such drastic measures.

Under normal circumstances, he’d have his officers roam the woods now, searching again for evidence, rather than coming out here himself. He had enough paperwork stacked on his desk and phone calls to answer to last a lifetime, and the tourist season was only beginning.

But this wasn’t normal. This was Jewel Caraway. The thought of losing her, that moment when he’d thought she could have been dead, had forced him to look deep, even though he knew he couldn’t make it too personal and had to tread carefully.

As police chief, loving someone would only cloud his judgment and get someone killed one day—he’d already paid that price. He would never let that happen again. He found it easy to care about someone from a distance, but better not to care at all.

David and Cade stood next to him, staring down at the crushing force of rushing water. Listened to the roar. Felt the moisture cloud envelop them. No wonder she hadn’t heard someone approach from behind until the instant before impact. And she certainly hadn’t known to be wary of someone who would push her over.

“I’m still wondering how nature could push a body under and keep it there, and that body still survive,” Cade said.

“Maybe it’s more the nature of God that she survived.” It was easy to believe that Jewel had a special place in God’s heart like she had in Colin’s.

“Why would someone try to kill her?” David asked. “Was it just a random act of violence?”

He voiced the question they were all wondering, but had no answer for yet. David had endured a fight to protect the woman he loved not long ago and understood better than most there had to be a reason. A secret not shared.

Finding the person responsible for the attacks against Tracy had taken far too long. Colin could still hear the questions from the city council echoing in his ears, and they mingled with the new questions. The same questions.

What are you going to do about it? How are you going to stop it before it happens again?

* * *

Two women approached the falls from the trail, pulling Colin from his thoughts. He nodded to David, Cade and Terry. They’d seen enough for now. They moved away from the falls and headed back down the trail.

“What do you know about her sister and brother-in-law?” Colin asked.

“Not much,” David said. “They’re newlyweds, I hear. I imagine it means a lot to Jewel that they’ve come to see her, since she’s been estranged from her family for a long time. Once when Silas and I were out fighting wildfires in the interior, he shared a little about Jewel. What a rare find she was.”

Colin wouldn’t argue with him there. Her name said it all.

“She comes from a wealthy family, and they didn’t think Silas was good enough for her. When her parents made it clear they disapproved of him, he almost walked away. He loved her too much to tear her away, but in the end, he’d been selfish, after all. He couldn’t let her go. They were young and impulsive.”

“And that’s why she hasn’t been in touch with her family all these years?” Colin asked.

“They didn’t give her much choice—her family disinherited her when she chose to marry him.”

“What kind of parents did that? Disowned or disinherited their child?” Cade asked.

“That’s just weird,” Terry spoke as he led them down the trail.

Colin couldn’t say much. Guilt and shame over how he’d treated his own family had followed him here to Alaska. He’d left his parents behind in Texas and, as they aged, his sister was forced to take sole responsibility for their care. Colin hadn’t been much of a son or a brother, but after what happened, he saw himself as a burden to his family—one they would be better off without. They must see what he wanted to forget every time they looked at him.

“She left it all behind—her family and the wealth—to follow Silas to Alaska.” David kicked a rock down the path.

“I can see why he would think she was special,” Colin said. “She must have loved the man deeply. It’s not easy to live here or to give up your family. To give up wealth on top of that.”

“You know, she could love deeply again, right?” David studied Colin.

Cade and Terry walked together up a ways. Colin was glad they hadn’t heard David’s question. He was just prying into Colin’s personal thoughts. Either that or nudging him toward a place he had no business going.

They’d almost made the trailhead where they would kayak back to Mountain Cove, following the path Jewel’s group had taken in their search. Colin eyed his friend. Understood the meaning behind his words.

“Jewel deserves someone far better than me.” And if she had a wealthy family, she was more like Katelyn than he’d realized. That wealth had come between them more than once. Her wealthy family had questioned his investigation, blamed him for her murder as if he hadn’t already been weighed down by it.

“So what do you think? Who do you believe is a suspect?”

“Hard to say at this point. The fact she has a wealthy family could be motivation for murder.”

“But how if she’s been disinherited?” David asked. “There has to be more to the story.”

“There always is.”

* * *

Meral had gone down to the kitchen to get Jewel a cup of green tea. Jewel was glad to have a minute of relative privacy. She was glad that she had people who cared about her enough to want to help her, but the hovering was already starting to feel overwhelming.

She definitely didn’t like being confined to her room, even though her body was sore and she needed to recover from her injuries. Not to mention she had guests to attend to, but neither could she let any of them see her like this. She’d give it a day or two, leaving running the B and B to her staff, and hope it didn’t take a week for her bruised body to heal. Jewel would give anything to forget about the fall and her injuries and to go back to life as usual. She needed normalcy. To get that, she would have to stop taking the painkillers. They made her groggy, and she couldn’t think straight.

When she sat up, dizziness swept over her. She made the mistake of glancing in the mirror over the dresser, and her mouth dried up.

Chief Winters saw me like this?