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his thin lips, or that he wiped his hands on his shorts long enough to make me wonder if he had a complex. Average height, better than average build—wouldn't have expected less from someone who could bike the hill we just climbed—brown hair and brown eyes, the man reeked of normal.
    And that set my gut off for some strange reason.
    Kabe nodded to Warner in greeting. Not going all the way into the man's camp, he hadn't been invited; Kabe chose a spot where a fallen log might serve as a bench. Then he shook off his pack and grabbed his water bottle. The three of us, with Ramon huffing behind, moved more slowly toward the site. If Nadia were any good, and she seemed to be, she'd be doing the same mental inventory of Warner and his camp that I ran through in my head. The campsite seemed too clean; the normal chaos of living out of nylon stuff sacks didn't seem present. 'Course they'd only been there one night and Gunter Warner had a good amount of time to just stay busy.
    That worried me, too. Put another edge on my distaste.
    What a suspect could cover up in a matter of hours: cleaning, tossing, moving things ... just like we'd caught ol' Gunter at.
    "Gunter Warner? Howdy." Nadia stepped up to him with an outstretched hand, but dropped it when the man didn't take the shake. "Sorry to meet you under these circumstances. I'm Nadia Slokum, with the National Parks." With a tip of her hat 39

    Hard Fall
    by James Buchanan
    brim toward me and Fred, "This here is Deputy Sheriff Joe Peterson, Fred Noces, also Park Service, and Ramon Piestewa from Land Management. I believe you've already met Mr.
    Varghese."
    "Yes." Warner's response seemed less tense than I'd expect. Could have been just the language though, or that he was in shock. Or could have been that he'd had from before breakfast 'till right 'round lunch to get his story straight.
    Nadia'd given me my role, and I played it. 'Course my natural suspicions helped me fall into the bad cop mode.
    Crossing my arms over my chest, I did one of those slow once overs on Gunter Warner. Similar to the one I'd done the first time I saw Kabe, but with a lot more glare thrown in for effect. "We got to ask you a few questions," I growled out.
    Shooting me a mock glower, Nadia added, "We're sorry to intrude on your tragedy." If she loaded any more sugar into her voice, I'd end up with a toothache.
    "Yes, very tragic." His face fell, as though the reminder of it shook him. "Very sad. I will miss her." He sniffled and brought his hand to his mouth. I noticed that his eyes weren't the least bit red. Maybe he just wasn't the crying type.
    Yeah, my bells were ringing about Gunter Warner. "Can you tell me what happened this morning?"
    "My wife, Anya, woke up very early. She wished to take photos of the sun as it came up where the canyon is." A hitch in his voice sounded, but it didn't quite jibe with his expression. I couldn't help but think something seemed off as he continued. "I fell back to sleep. Then I woke up and made our breakfast, our tea, but she did not come back. So, I 40

    Hard Fall
    by James Buchanan
    thought this was strange and I went to find her. I looked many places, much time before I found her. I thought she was not hurt, but she would not answer when I called. I saw she was dead. I thought I should tell someone, but my phone will not work here. When I heard Kabe coming on his motorbike, I ran down to meet him. I brought him to see the body of my wife. Then he went to call. I stayed here to look after things."
    "You knew she was dead when you found her?" Okay, that didn't square with what he'd told Kabe. Nadia and I traded quick glances.
    "Yes." Another sniffle and nod. It felt like he'd scripted when he should show emotion. "I could see."
    "Why did you bring Kabe back to see her?" Bad cop got easier and easier to wing the more I studied Warner. I darn near growled my next question. "Why didn't you just head back to the ranch with him?"
    "I thought that I should stay with