his irritation with the man while he was wearing Duke’s badge.
The road forked in front of him and the ambulance turned right, away from the main house. Skylar had said Rip Jackson lived in a hunting cabin not far from the main residence, so Logan wasn’t surprised when they’d turned. The trail to the cabin was slow going due to the snow, and Logan wondered how the kid had gotten through with Rip’s food. When they arrived, he caught sight of a four-wheeler and had the answer to his question.
Logan parked a distance away from the front, so the ambulance had room to leave, then climbed out of his truck and took a good look around. There was an old truck parked to the right of the cabin, he presumed was the victim’s. He scanned the area for footprints and found one set leading from the parked four-wheeler but no others. He didn’t know why he was looking for foul play, except for Skylar’s observation Rip Jackson’s death made five in one week. She was right, Logan decided, in a town with less than a thousand people, five in a short period of time was excessive.
Logan approached a kid about the age of Jake. He was huddled on the porch staring at the ground where Rip Jackson still lay. Snow had covered the old man, but it looked as if the kid had brushed it off in an attempt to rescue him. “Are you Lucas Meyer?”
The kid’s head bobbed up and down in quick jerks, never taking his eyes off the body.
Christ. No kid should have to deal with finding someone dead.
“You eighteen, Lucas, or do I need to wait for a guardian to question you?” Logan moved to the side of the cabin as he spoke until the kid had to turn his body to answer. With Rip Jackson out of his line of sight, the kid finally looked Logan in the eyes. He was scrawny, fair-skinned and fair-haired, maybe one twenty-five soaking wet. His eyes were haunted, red-rimmed from tears. “I turned eighteen last month. Both my parents are in Bozeman buying supplies. They won’t be back for hours.”
“All right. Tell me what you saw when you arrived, Lucas.” He started to turn back to look at Rip, so Logan barked out, “Eyes on me, kid. Nothing you can do for him now.”
The kid swallowed and nodded his head. “I help my mom with deliveries. We just live up the road about a mile, so she sent me to deliver Rip’s meal while she and my dad headed to Bozeman.”
Logan waited him out, knew from experience that witnesses to a crime tended to start at the beginning and work their way forward. It helped them retrace their steps, so Lucas had more to say.
“When I arrived, I didn’t see him at first. He was . . . covered with snow. I almost tripped—” he closed his eyes and took a deep breath “—I almost tripped over him. If I hadn’t been looking down, I would have stepped on him.”
“Did you brush off the body? Clear the snow?”
He nodded once. “I had to make sure. If he was still alive, I wanted to help.”
“You know Rip well?”
The kid shrugged. “He wasn’t much of a talker. I’d drop off his meals sometimes, that’s all. He’d open the door and let me in, then I’d ask if he needed anything else before I left, like I was told to do.”
“He ever have visitors when you dropped off his meals?”
“No.”
“Did you see anyone hanging around today?”
The kid shook his head then his brows pulled into a deep crease on his forehead and he mumbled, “Chance.”
Logan jerked solid, cocking his head. “Chance? You saw Chance Bear here today?”
“Not here, but up the road about a quarter mile or so. When I was headed here, I saw him walking through the trees.”
Logan could feel his blood begin to race through his veins. “You’re sure it was Chance Bear?”
“Positive. Chance is the only man around here with long dark hair.”
Logan’s breath stuttered, and Skylar’s words from earlier thundered through his brain.
“The length suggests it’s a woman’s hair.”
Possibilities ran wild through Logan’s head. Rip Jackson lived on the same property as Chance. If Skylar’s brother was involved with Duke’s disappearance, Rip might have seen something, causing Chance to retaliate.
“You’re positive it was a man and not a woman?”
The kid paused, considering. “Build and dress suggested man. He was wearing jeans, western hat, and a black down