Angels Fall

that. And it's been better since I made myself clear. But this won't hurt. So I guess I owe you another one."
    "I guess you do. Do I get another dinner out of it?"
    "I… well. I suppose." Her brows drew together in confusion. "It you want.
    "When's your next night out?"
    "Ah…" God. how'd she managed to box herself in so neatly? "Tuesday. I have the early shift, off at three."
    "Great. I'll come bv at seven. That work for you?"
    "Seven. Sure. Sure. Well, is there anything you don't eat, don't like, have an allergy to?"
    "Don't fix up internal organs and expect me to chow down." Nix the sweetbreads, got it.
    Now what? she wondered. She just couldn't think of any small talk, conversational gambits. Once she'd been good at this, she thought. She'd enjoyed dating, liked sitting with a man over a meal talking, laughing. But her brain just wouldn't walk down that road.
    "He'll be here when he gets here."
    She met Brady's eyes. "If I'm that transparent, I'm going to have to install some shades."
    "It's only natural to have it stuck in your head. You let it go some while you were cooking."
    "He must've found her by now. Whoever did it couldn't have taken her far, and if he buried her . . ."
    "Easier to weigh her down with rocks, throw her in the river."
    "Oh God! Thanks very much for that image, sure to dance in my head later."
    "Of course, the body probably wouldn't stay down, not with the current. It'd end up surfacing downriver somewhere. Some guy going down to fish is going to stumble over her, or some hiker, paddler, tourist from
    Omaha, whatever you like. Someone's going to get a big surprise when they find her."
    "Would you stop that." But she frowned. "Even if he did something like that, there'd be some sign, some evidence of what happened. Blood. He rapped her head pretty hard, or where the brush got trampled, or… footprints. Wouldn't there?"
    "Probably. He didn't know anyone saw him. so why bother to cover tracks at that spot? Seems to me he'd be most concerned about getting rid of the body and getting away."
    "Yes. So the sheriff will find something."
    She jumped at the sound of footsteps outside.
    "Probably him now." Brody said easily and slid off the stool to answer the door himself.

Chapter 7
     
    "BRODY." Rick removed his hat as he stepped inside. "Reece." His gaze skimmed over the counter. "Sorry to interrupt your dinner."
    "We're finished. It's not important." Though her knees shook, Reece slid off the stool to stand. "Did you find her? '
    "Mind if we have a seat?"
    How could she have forgotten the ritual when cops came to call? Ask them to come in, to sit down, otter them coffee. She'd stocked coffee in those days, for friends. For police.
    "Sorry." Reece gestured to the sofa. "Please. Can I get you something?"
    "I'm just fine, thanks." After settling on the sofa, Rick set his hat on his lap and waited for Reece to sit. As he had earlier in his own cabin, Brody remained leaning against the counter.
    She knew before he spoke, saw it in his face. She'd learned to read the carefully neutral expression police wore.
    "I didn't find anything."
    And still, she shook her head. "But——"
    "Let's just take it slow." Rick interrupted. "Why don't you go over what you saw for me again?"
    "Oh God." Recce rubbed her hands hard over her face, pressed her fingers to her eyes, then dropped her hands in her lap. Yes. of course. Go over it again. Another part of the ritual. "All right."
    She recited it all. everything she remembered. "He must have thrown the body in the river, or buried it, or—"
    "We'll look into that. Are you sure about the location?" He glanced at Brody as he asked.
    "I showed you the place on the map where Recce told me she saw it happen. Right near the little rapids."
    "Other side of the river." Rick said to Recce, with his tone as neutral .is his f.ice. "That kind of distance, you could've been off. Considerably off."
    "No. The trees, the rocks, the white water. I wasn't off."
    "There wasn't any sign of struggle in that area. There wasn't any I could find when I branched out from there."
    "He must've covered it up."
    "Could be." But she heard the doubt in his tone, a slight slip out of neutral. "I'm going back in the morning, once we've got some light. Brody? Maybe you want to go on out there with me, make sure I've got the right area. Meanwhile, I'm going to make some calls, see if any female tourists or residents are missing."
    "There are some cabins scattered around that area." Brody picked up