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Grinning, Rowley dropped the little girl into his arms and traced a finger over her pink cheek. The smile she gave him melted his heart. He’d found the twins overwhelming when they’d arrived. Having Sandy’s parents living with them, he had the feeling he wasn’t needed, but since they’d returned home, he’d formed a special bond with the twins. They recognized him, became excited when he arrived home, and loved cuddles. Best of all, the twins had dropped into a routine, and apart from a few sleepless nights, things had gone really well. “I think you’re right. Vannah is a daddy’s girl.” He looked into the big brown eyes and smiled. “Daddy has to go to work and you need to go to sleep so Mommy can get some rest.”
“I’ll put Cooper down and grab her, or you’ll be late for work.” Sandy stood slowly, placed Cooper on her shoulder, patted his back until he burped, and then headed for the nursery. “Are you working with Jenna today?”
Following her, Rowley shook his head. “Nope, with Zac. It’s routine, nothing to worry about. I’ll meet him at the office and we’ll head out.” He handed Vannah to her and then kissed her rosy cheek. “You be good for Mommy now.” He stopped to look down at his sleeping son and slipped one arm around his wife. “Can life ever get better than this?”
“It does every day.” Sandy kissed him. “Now go. I’ll see you tonight. Love you.” She waved him toward the door.
Sighing with contentment, Rowley climbed into his truck and headed into town. He made it to the office with five minutes to spare, greeted Maggie on the front desk, and looked around for Rio. He strolled back to the counter. “Rio not in yet?”
“Not unless he slipped in and hid somewhere when my back was turned.” Maggie raised both eyebrows. “Come here.” She pulled out a tissue and dabbed at his shoulder. “You been cuddling those gorgeous twins of yours before work again?”
Rowley laughed. “All the time.” He stared out of the glass doors for any sight of Rio’s vehicle and sighed. “I guess I’ll wait for him at my desk. Anything need doing before I head out today?”
“Nope.” Maggie rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. “Ain’t one murder enough trouble for you?”
“One too many.” Rowley headed back to his desk and checked through the files, reading through Jenna’s updates, and called Colby Hahn asking where he could find him. The man had been cooperative and given him a local address. He’d done the same for Archie Bueller.
He glanced at the clock. It was unusual for Rio to be late for work. He’d been very quiet of late and he wondered how his romance with Wolfe’s daughter Emily was progressing. They’d had a few dates since the ball at the ski lodge, but Rio hadn’t discussed the outcome. Rio played his cards close to the vest and it was always difficult to know what he was thinking. He pulled out his phone and called him. When the phone went to voicemail, he left a message. Maybe he’d decided to take Cade and Piper to school and grounded him from using the truck. Rather than speculate, he collected his things and a statement pad, and went back to the counter. “I’m heading out to speak with Colby Hahn. He’s working out of 3 Maple Crescent today. If Rio decides to show for work this morning, ask him to call me.”
“I’ll be sure to tell him.” Maggie made a note and then gave him a wave.
Rowley checked the information on his iPad and headed for his truck. The drive to Maple was only a few minutes and he noticed the handyman’s GMC pickup in the driveway. He parked some distance away from number three rather than call attention to his visit and walked to the house. A man, he assumed was Colby Hahn, was around the age of thirty, wearing jeans, a pale blue T-shirt and a ballcap, was replacing the steps to the front porch. He waited for the man to finish using an electric saw to cut a length of wood and walked closer. “Colby Hahn?”
“Yeah.” Hahn’s eyebrows rose in question as he turned from the saw to look at him. “You didn’t mention why you wanted to speak to me. Is there a problem, Deputy?”
The man appeared relaxed but with the number of tools within reach, Rowley pushed his statement book under one arm and rested his palm on his weapon. “I’m Deputy Jake Rowley. I’m investigating the death of Agnes Wagner out of Snowberry Way. I believe you did some work for her recently?”
“Yeah, I’ve worked for Mrs. Wagner a few times. This time, she had problems with a few of her doors sticking since the melt.” Hahn shrugged. “It wasn’t a big job but she’s getting older now and doesn’t have the strength to pull open the doors when they jam shut.”
Hahn’s mention of Mrs. Wagner in the present tense surprised him. He’d already told him the woman had died, so was he consciously speaking about her in that way to throw him off or had he misunderstood him? Most people would make a comment about the death of somebody they knew, but he went on as if it didn’t matter. He’d make sure Hahn hadn’t misheard him. “I see. We found her dead on Monday morning. When did you last work for her?”
“Wednesday and Friday.” Hahn brushed sawdust from his shirt. “I had to go back on Friday and give the doors a second coat of paint. I had to run a plane down the sides and the doors were kinda scruffy, so Mrs. Wagner wanted them all painted. They were the doors along the passageway… including the cellar door.”
Rowley made notes, adding the man’s manner and cooperation and other things he’d observed as he went along. “Would that be the last time you saw her?”
“Yeah, Friday. She paid me in cash and preserves.” Hahn smiled. “I have the same deal with most of the older ladies in town. I’m happy to trade in supplies. I don’t get time to put up preserves myself and I don’t have a wife to help out, so it makes good sense.”
Hahn’s complete lack of empathy for the death of a woman he’d worked for more than one time set off alarm bells. Rowley’s neck prickled in a warning to be careful. He had no backup but had the advantage of being out in the open with the man, and if anything happened, the curious woman peeking out from behind the curtain at him would call it in for sure. He glanced at his information on Hahn and chewed on his cheek, thinking. There wasn’t an actual address listed, other than Bear Peak, and that part of the mountain was vast. “Where exactly do you live on Bear Peak? Do you have a property name or a road?”
“Not really.” Hahn smiled. “I’m living in one of the old cabins. It’s via the fire road accessed by Rocky
Road but has no precise address, no. I don’t get mail delivered. I have a box at the post office and I use my cellphone and satellite sleeve if necessary. There are many abandoned cabins up there and when I arrived, I needed a cheap place to stay. I hunted one down and moved in.” He chuckled. “I found newspapers from the 1960s tied in bundles. The place was sturdily built and it didn’t take too much time to fix up.” His eyes wrinkled as he stared into the sun. “I’ve been living up there about a year now. Has the owner suddenly returned? I tried to hunt them down and found no trace of them.”
“No, I haven’t come about the cabin and people at Bear Peak have been going missing since before I was born. It’s not the most popular place to live—darn right dangerous if you ask me. There are countless numbers of old cabins all over Stanton Forest. Most built illegally but they’re not hurting anyone and people often use them in the hunting season. Those that do keep them clean and some even fix them up.” Rowley looked him straight in the eye. “Can you account for your whereabouts on Sunday night through Monday morning?”
“I’d have been home.” Hahn shrugged. “I start early and work through until dark most days, but on the weekends I catch up with my chores and sleep.” He gave him a lazy smile. “It’s just me, a few chickens, and my guns, so I don’t have anyone to vouch for me unless you speak chicken.”
“I don’t, no.” Rowley’s mind went to Jenna’s notes about Jolene Darvish’s run in with a GMC truck earlier in the day. “What time did you come down the mountain yesterday morning?”
“Going on eight.” Hahn indicated with his chin toward the house. “They didn’t want me here before the kids left for school, so it was a later start than usual.”
Rowley scratched his head with his pen and acted nonchalantly. “Did you see anyone on Rocky Road?”
“Can’t say that I did.” Hahn frowned.
“Have you ever worked for Jolene Darvish? She lives on Rocky too.”
“Yeah, a few times.” Hahn looked annoyed. “Is that all? I need to get back to it. I’m almost done and want to head home.”
