The Bear by Peggy L Henderson

Author:Peggy L Henderson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peggy Henderson

Chapter 12

What in the blazes was he going to do with her?

Theo gnashed his teeth as he guided his horse through and over the dense undergrowth among the trees. His primary focus at the moment was to get Bernadine back to Alex’s cabin as quickly as possible.

Trouble was, he couldn’t travel as fast with her in tow as he could when he was alone or with his comrades. If he pushed her hard, they could be at Walker’s place by sunset the following day. Then what? He couldn’t simply leave Bernadine there and go about his business.

And if Bernadine’s arrival in the mountains wasn’t enough trouble, he had to be more vigilant than ever. Whoever had killed Winter Flower was still out there.

Yancey and Keaton had remained at Tallan’s cabin where they would continue the search for any sign the killer might have left behind. Whoever had committed the crime was a skilled woodsman, perhaps an Indian. The Bannock had their share of enemies, and it was possible that someone from another tribe had come upon Winter Flower while she’d been at the stream and killed her.

Adding to the mystery was the fact that Winter Flower had been slain with Theo’s knife. The weapon had been left next to the body, which made little sense. If an Indian had found and used Theo’s weapon to kill someone, he wouldn’t have simply left it behind. Then again, neither would another woodsman. Perhaps Winter Flower had put up a fight. It was possible the knife had fallen out of her killer’s hand, and he’d had to make a quick retreat for fear of being discovered.

None of it was adding up. If the killer had made a quick escape, there would have been obvious tracks left behind, but there hadn’t been any sign of a struggle, much less footprints. Last night’s rain hadn’t helped, either, and had washed away any tracks.

Keaton was as good at reading sign as Theo, something they’d both learned early on their ventures into the mountains, but they hadn’t noticed even a stone out of place.

In the wilderness, a man’s life depended on being able to read tracks and the smallest changes in the surroundings. Neither he nor Keaton were as skilled as Daniel Osborne. The veteran mountain man had a lifetime of experience in the mountains and nothing escaped his notice. Their friend Todd Baronette had also become an exceptional tracker. It sure would have been nice to have either one of them here now to help find out what had happened to Winter Flower.

Laurent and his distraught wife had taken the body of her cousin back to her family in the Bannock village. The tribe would demand restitution for her death. Between the warriors of the tribe and Keaton searching for sign, the killer would most certainly be found quickly.

Theo would rather help with the search than ride to Alex Walker’s cabin, but he had a more immediate problem sitting on a horse right behind him. Like it or not, he was responsible for Bernadine, and he had to look out for her safety.

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