Bear Stalker by Paty Jager

Author:Paty Jager
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Native American Master Tracker, Oregon mountains, Pacific Northwest murder mystery, remote settings, mystery with a twist, Game Warden Mystery
Publisher: Windtree Press
Published: 2023-01-31T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

Marion woke to the sound of a dog barking in the distance. She sat up and studied the room she slept in. It took nearly a minute before she remembered Adrian’s death, her flight, and now being hidden in this cabin in Montana. Her heart ached. She felt numb and wondered if she’d ever feel anything else again.

Her fiancé was dead, her boss thought she’d killed him, his secretary most likely trashed her apartment, and the man who actually strangled Adrian was dead. But by who? And did that person want her dead or with the real killer dead would they forget about her? It was too much to think about when all she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and stay in this bed.

A knock on the door. “Marion, are you up? I’ve got coffee on and muffins just came out of the oven,” Gabriel called through the door.

A weak smile crept across her lips. This reminded her of when she was small. Gabriel would get up to go to school but he always made sure she had something to eat before he left. Their mom would come home from her night job as Hawke walked out the door to school. Then while Marion was at the preschool, their mom would work another four hours, pick her up from school, and they would both have an afternoon nap. Unless her father was home. Then he’d ask his wife to do all kinds of tasks that wouldn’t allow her mom to get any sleep before she headed out for her night job.

“I’ll be there in a couple of minutes,” she called back. Whenever she looked back on her childhood before her father died in a car crash, she wondered at how strong her mom had been to endure the long hours of work and the beatings from her husband. She never raised her voice to her children and always had a smile for them. “Why did I stay away so long?” she voiced out loud. Now her heart held an ache for her mother. She wanted to see her and tell her she realized how much the woman had sacrificed for her and Gabriel.

In the kitchen, she took a seat at the table where a plate with two muffins and a steaming cup of coffee sat. Gabriel was hunkered over the laptop. “Where’s Bo?” she asked.

“He went to town for some supplies and to ask questions.” Hawke glanced up and smiled. “I’m glad you are thinking about staying with Mom for a while after we clear you. She’ll like that. But beware, she still has all your clothing from high school in your closet.”

She laughed. “I wondered how she managed to send me a retro outfit when I mentioned Adrian and I were going to a costume party.” Her memories of that party flashed through her mind. It had been the first time they’d gone out in public together. They’d had a wonderful time and he’d told her he loved her that night.

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