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was…his face had been…” Frankie rubbed her eyes with the heels of both hands, as if trying to scrub away some image.
    “So why didn’t you leave him in the vehicle and go for help?” Pritney said.
    “I figured whoever shot at us would come across the Jeep sooner or later. It just didn’t occur to me to leave Tim behind for them to find.”
    Deputy Rollins nodded. He’d seen more than one Marine carry a dead buddy for miles, refusing to give him up until left with no other choice. “So you buried him and went for help.”
    “I couldn’t leave him out in the open where the animals could get at him.”
    Nick took a business card out of his wallet. He studied the laptop screen in front of Deputy Pritney, wrote a case number on the back of the card, and handed the small square to Frankie. “I’ll stay in touch over the course of the investigation. But feel free to call this number if you have any questions or remember anything.”
    Frankie dropped the card into the breast pocket of the borrowed shirt. She sat still, as if unsure what to do next.
    Nick allowed his face to soften. “I know this is hard for you, but time is crucial. Can you tell me where you left your brother’s body?”
    “No. But I can take you there.”
    Pritney’s head shot up from behind the laptop, and she squinted at Frankie. “I thought you were lost.” Her voice oozed a level of sarcasm that surprised Nick but that Frankie seemed not to notice. “If you were lost, how can you remember where you left him?”
    “Our uncle schooled us in woodcraft.” Frankie turned her head toward the female deputy. “I kept track of the location.”
    Pritney cut her eyes sideways at Nick. Her lips pursed at whatever expression she saw registered on his face, and she turned back toward Frankie. “So you spent part of the night cuddling with a hibernating bear?”
    This time Pritney’s tone of voice did register, and Frankie cocked her head at the deputy. “I know that sounds weird, but that’s what happened.”
    Nick looked at his partner. “Actually, there’ve been several bears spotted in residential areas this year. Because of the drought, they’ve come down out of the mountains looking for food. Some have lost their fear of humans and even interacted with them in bizarre ways.”
    Nick’s face heated at the look Pritney shot back at him. And she had a point. For all he knew, Miss O’Neil was lying her ass off, making the story up as she went. He rubbed his hand along the thigh of his right leg, the hard, pea-sized knobs of scar tissue discernible through the fabric of his uniform trousers. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d been conned by a female in distress.
    “Okey dokey.” Pritney lowered her head and jabbed her fingers on the laptop’s keyboard, the subsequent clacking loud in the otherwise silent room. Once she’d finished typing, she snapped down the lid and stood.
    Perplexed by his partner’s behavior, Nick studied her face for a couple of seconds. “I’ll take Miss O’Neil in the Rover, you follow in the squad car. I’ll call it in on the way.”
    “You’re the boss.” Pritney grabbed up the laptop, her movement radiating more heat than the glowing potbelly stove.
    ****
    Two hours later, Frankie sat inside Deputy Rollins’ Range Rover a few feet from where she’d buried Tim. The area around the temporary grave had been cordoned off, and several people moved with purpose, fulfilling their roles in the well-oiled machine set up to deal with a suspicious death within the county’s confines.
    Frankie forced the memories of the past several hours into the dark recesses of her mind. She would bring them out into the light when things settled down. She’d go over every detail, relive every second, and allow herself to feel all of it. It would fill her, and she would grieve.
    But not now. Not until she’d done everything she could for her brother. She swallowed the lump that kept creeping up her throat and turned her