Twilight: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 3

The others exchanged apprehensive glances.
“Carl, what is it?” Bo prodded gently. “Tell us.”
Carl looked up, his throat working. “The new body. It’s Harry.”
Chapter Twelve
    “Oh, my God.” Sandra dropped into the chair beside Carl’s. “Are they sure? There couldn’t be any mistake?”
    “No. No mistake.” Sighing, Carl rubbed his fingertips against his temples. “They brought me to the utility shed to identify him. It was Harry.”
    A stunned silence followed Carl’s quiet declaration. Sam frowned, his mind racing. Does this mean Harry was the focus for the portal? If he was, what made him a focus? And how did he die?
    “I’m sorry,” Bo said quietly. He traced the rim of his coffee mug with one fingertip. “Do they have any idea what happened to him?”
    “The edge of the drop-off is very sheer right above where they found the b…” Carl swallowed, his face going even paler. “Where they found him. Parsons wouldn’t tell me what she thought, but I figure he took a wrong step and fell. The spot where he fell was about twenty feet away from where you found Harry’s prescription bottle, and the trees and undergrowth are really thick there. He probably just didn’t see the dropoff.”
    Sam and Bo glanced at each other, and Sam saw his own questions echoed in Bo’s eyes. After all the years Harry had worked here, wouldn’t he know the drop-off was there? Wouldn’t he know to be careful in that area? And if the undergrowth was so thick, how could a simple misstep cause Harry to fall off the edge of the cliff in any case?
    Unless he saw something which scared him so badly that he wasn’t paying attention, Sam mused, staring at the table to hide his excitement as the scene recreated itself in his mind. Unless he was running for his life from something which had already killed one person.
    He cut his gaze sideways to catch first Bo’s eye, then Dean’s. Bo looked grim, Dean thoughtful. Sam could tell they were both thinking the same things he was. Dean raised his eyebrows at Bo, a question in his eyes. Bo gave a minute shake of his head, which Sam instantly understood to mean no, they would not voice their questions here and now, when Carl and his employees were grappling with the fact of their friend’s death. Dean nodded, accepting Bo’s decision.
    The whole silent exchange took only a couple of seconds. If it weren’t for the grief-stricken faces surrounding him, Sam would’ve smiled. It amazed him sometimes how he and his friends could communicate so much with nothing more than a tilt of the head, or a change in expression. He’d never had that level of trust and understanding with anyone before, and he cherished it.
    The dining hall door opened. Every head swiveled to look. Lex entered and went straight to Carl, who stood and folded her into his arms.
    “Detective Ramirez told me about Harry,” she said in a voice thick with tears. “God, Carl. What happened? Why did he fall?”
    Carl pressed a kiss to her hair. “I don’t know, honey.”
    “I hope it was quick. I hate to think of him lying there, probably calling for help, with no one to hear him.”
    Jerome made a small distressed sound. “Christ.” Glancing at Jerome, Carl shook his head. “His skull was…” Carl’s face took on a greenish tinge, his hands trembling. “His head hit a rock when he fell. It was about forty feet. Parsons says he probably died on impact.”
Darren groaned, slumping in his chair. “God. Poor Harry.”
“Yeah.” Looking thoughtful, Sandra planted an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand. “He must’ve had a seizure. He knew better than to get too close to the edge at that spot.”
Sighing, Lex pulled away from Carl’s embrace. “I don’t know if the police can ever tell us why he fell. We’ll probably never know.” She rubbed at the corner of one eye. “They checked out that cave you told them about, Jerome. They found Anne’s sleeping bag in it, but she wasn’t there and they have no idea where she might have gone.”
“Crud,” Jerome said, disappointment clouding his features. “So what now?”
“They’re still searching for her. They don’t think she’s left the area.” Lex turned wide, solemn eyes to Sam, Bo and Dean. “The detectives think it would be best if the three of you went back to Asheville, considering Anne’s threats against you. They’ll send two officers to escort you down and drive you back to the Kimberley Inn.”
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