mind the national forest is still Federal land. It’s like the person, this hunter, knew he wasn’t supposed to be hunting on tribal land and crawled a few feet over the boundary to the national forest to bleed to death. Gunshot wound to the abdomen, right? I mean, let’s face it, his death still occurred on Federal land.”
Gemma laced her fingers together, propped her chin on top. “Would Jocelyn know the boundaries that well?”
“The girl was born and raised here, grew up here,” Lydia pointed out. “The only time she went away was to college in San Francisco. She knows this entire area like the back of her hand. She’s most certainly been to Six Rivers before her husband died there. Her parents used to take the girls out there to camp.”
Lando cocked a brow. “You’re sure of that?”
“Positive.”
Gemma toyed with her napkin. “Well, if you add Ben Zurcher to that list and now this Albrecht guy, technically, you shouldn’t leave out poor Laura Leigh Baccarat.”
Lando frowned at her. “Anna Kate’s sister? Why?”
“Well, to hear Anna Kate tell it, Laura Leigh used to babysit for Sandra and Todd. The girl was like their nanny. And Laura Leigh thought Jocelyn was part of what happened.”
Lydia stood up to clear the table. “Oh, I remember Laura Leigh. Sweet girl. You know, she died in a one-car accident.”
Gemma’s hands flew to her necklace. Clutching the stones that hung from her amulet, she shifted in her seat to stare at Lando. “Laura Leigh’s car careened out of control on that roadway leading up to Moonlight Ridge. She was driving a little gray Prius. You should look into Laura Leigh’s death. I don’t think it was an accident.”
Lando traded skeptic looks with Zeb. “Is that based on something you just saw?”
“Oh, yeah. Because Laura Leigh’s mouth was getting under Jocelyn’s skin. Or more like, the rumors were starting to get back to Jocelyn and not in a good way.”
“This is like telling ghost stories on a rainy night,” Luke ventured, getting up to retrieve another beer. “You weren’t kidding when you said there were a lot of people dying around this woman. I can’t say that I’ve seen much of her around town. Kind of glad about it now.”
“That’s because she usually has a staff of underlings who do everything for her,” Gemma explained. “Jocelyn wouldn’t dare get her own hands dirty.”
Lando leaned toward Lianne. “Speaking of dirty hands, before I forget to mention it, someone from Portland PD is picking up Kirk Ritter in the morning. Nine a.m. sharp.”
Lianne sat up straighter in her chair. “Really? You should’ve led off with that when we got here.”
Lando chuckled. “I guess I should have. But you two were too busy making out in the back booth to notice much else going on.”
Luke linked his fingers with Lianne’s. “Guilty. Now, what else should we expect after this guy gets back to Portland? Will Lianne have to testify in court against him?”
“I doubt it. Ritter violated parole. Period. He fled the state in possession of a firearm. That probably counts more than stalking an ex.”
“Sad, but true,” Gemma spat out. “Violence against women doesn’t seem to be a big deal for anyone these days, which brings me back to Laura Leigh. Someone wanted her to stop the wild speculation. Listen to me when I tell you that it wasn’t an accident.”
Lando squeezed her fingers. “I trust your instincts. Where should we start?”
“We need to ask Anna Kate what happened to Laura Leigh’s Prius.”
17
When Anna Kate Baccarat opened her door to find Gemma and Lando standing there, she seemed surprised to see them, even though they had called ahead of time.
As Gemma stood in the entryway, she could hear soft music playing on the stereo somewhere else in the house. Chopin’s nocturnes seemed fitting for a rainy Sunday night. Although she wouldn’t in a million years have pegged her old high school alum as a classical music buff. This was the same woman who’d stood in line to get tickets to see Guns N’ Roses in concert. But the sound of a piano concerto in the background went a long way to show people could change given enough time.
Anna Kate ushered them into her living room. Her kids were huddled across from each other at the dining room table, heads down, noses in their textbooks, doing last-minute homework.
Gemma dropped into one of the comfy-looking chairs. “I hope we’re not interrupting anything. I know this is last-minute.”