Page 35 of Peak Suspicion
“We just miss you,querida.”
“I know, Mama. I miss you, too. You should plan to visit soon. I’d love to show you around.”
“You know how hard it is for your father to get away from work. You should come here instead. At least come look at this darling house and talk to Carmen. She says it’s a very good job.”
“I’m sure someone else will love the house and the job. And I appreciate you thinking of me, but I’m happy here.” Despite all that had happened, this was true. She liked her new job, her apartment and the friends she was making. Maybe one friend in particular, she thought, as the image of Carter filled her mind. She was still wary of getting too attached to anyone, but he was proving very hard to resist.
She refocused her attention on her mother. “It was good talking to you, Mama,” she said. “I need to go now. I love you.”
The called ended, Mira poured a glass of wine and began preparing the chicken. Returning to Santa Fe was tempting, if only because it would probably end the harassment she’d experienced here. But leaving Eagle Mountain would feel like running away. Like giving up and letting her persecutor win. She was far too stubborn to do that.
When Carter reportedfor work Saturday morning, his mother handed him an envelope. “This was taped to the front door when I got in this morning,” she said.
The white legal envelope had no information on it other than Carter’s name, neatly typed, centered on the front. He tore it open and took out a folded sheet of paper. Goose bumps rose on his arms when he saw the typed words on the sheet. DON’T THINK YOU CAN BREAK THE LAW AND GO UNPUNISHED.
“What is it?” Mom asked.
“It’s one of those anonymous notes people have been receiving around town,” he said.
“The ones the paper wrote about?” Mom moved in to look over his shoulder. She had to stand on tiptoe. He lowered the paper to make it easier for her to see.Tour Jeeps aren’t exempt from no parking rules,the note read.Yet I’ve seen you parked on the shoulder up near Anderson Falls multiple times with your load of tourists. Stop it now or you’ll be reported.
His mother looked at him. “Are you parking illegally near Anderson Falls?”
“I’ve idled there a few times to let people take a picture,” he said. “I’m not parking and I’m not blocking traffic. We’re never there more than a couple of minutes. I’ve even seen sheriff’s cruisers up there and the deputies have never said anything to me.”
Mom shook her head. “Someone has too much time on their hands. Throw that away and get busy. We’ve got three tours this morning and four this afternoon.”
“Four? Who’s doing the extra afternoon tour?” He and Dalton and an older man named Clayton were the regular tour drivers.
“Your father is going to take them up.”
“Dad?” His father was a good mechanic, but not the most garrulous person in the world. “He knows he has to talk to people, doesn’t he?”
“Your father can talk plenty when he needs to.”
“You should send Bethany with him.” He looked around. “Where is she, anyway?”
“Ian needed her at the via ferrata. They’ve got a big group coming in. I can handle the front desk by myself.”
He folded the note, replaced it in the envelope and tucked it in his pocket. “What are you going to do with that?” his mother asked.
“I’ll give it to the sheriff to add to his collection.”
“I would think the sheriff would have better things to focus on than a bunch of petty letters sent by a busybody.”
“Sure. He could come narrate the afternoon tour,” Carter said.
His mother sent him a look that told him she had no time for his foolishness. “Get to work,” she said, and left the room.
The Eagle Mountainschool boosters’ annual barbecue was held in the gymnasium, from noon until three o’clock, with grills set up in the back parking lot and tables loaded with potato salad, cole slaw, two kinds of beans and a variety of other sides set up in front of the home bleachers. Volunteers dished up bowls of homemade ice cream beneath the basketball net at the north end of the gym while cheerleaders mingled with the crowd and sold raffle tickets for items donated by businesses in the community.
Mira, in a red-and-blue sundress—the Eagle Mountain Raptors colors—cradled a plastic cup of sweating lemonade and watched as Shayla, in a blue sheath that showed off her curves, smiled up at Mitch Anders. Mitch, in a red Raptors polo and black track pants, nodded at something she was saying, his freshly shaven jaw sharp as a chiseled statue.
Mira’s attention shifted to the ice cream servers. Shayla’s mother was dishing up chocolate cones to a trio of elementaryschool–age girls. If she had seen her daughter with Mitch, she wasn’t paying any attention now.
Mira studied the rest of the room. She recognized many of the people here—parents, other teachers and business owners who had contributed to the raffle.
The sheriff was here, too, with his wife, who Mira had learned was an elementary school teacher. They each carried a child on their hip—boy and girl twins who looked to be about two. The sheriff wore his khaki uniform, neatly pressed as ever.
