Read the book: «Ranger's Justice»

Chapter 1

Two weeks later

“Do I need a lawyer?”

Rebecca Wade paused in the doorway to the interrogation room, taken aback by the question. As a psychologist in the FBI’s famous Behavioral Analysis Unit, she’d interviewed all sorts of men and women over the years. She had dealt with any number of threats, both overt and subtle, lies, tears, accusations, claims of innocence and a few attempted seductions during these conversations. Rarely were the people she talked to so direct right off the bat.

She closed the door behind her with a soft snick. “That depends,” she said.

The man stiffened at the sound of her voice, and he turned around to face her. His eyes widened when he saw her. “You’re a woman.”

Rebecca lifted one eyebrow. “Is that going to be a problem?” Her mind was already whirring with possibilities. She was here to talk to him about the deaths of two women in Big Bend National Park. This ranger had found their bodies a week apart, making him a potential suspect in the murders. And if he was such a blatant misogynist, maybe this conversation wasn’t going to take as long as she’d estimated.

“No, ma’am,” he said. “Not a problem. Just a surprise.” He pushed back the chair and stood, and Rebecca’s body tensed. Was he going to attack? It wouldn’t be the first time a suspect had come after her, and while she was confident in her self-defense skills, she didn’t want to test them against this man. He was taller than her by a good six or seven inches, and he likely outweighed her by about forty pounds.

He must have read the tension on her face because he took a step back and gestured to the chair across from him. Rebecca kept her gaze on him as she took the long way around the table. Only when she had taken a seat did he sit back down, and she realized with a small shock that he had jumped to his feet in a display of manners rather than an attempt to scare her.

Interesting.

“As I was saying, Mr. Gallagher, you’re not under arrest. You are free to have a lawyer present during our conversation, but if you elect to do so, I won’t talk to you until your counsel arrives.” It made no difference to her what he decided. She’d talked to plenty of guilty men who had rejected an attorney because they thought they were smarter than her. Conversely, the innocent often asked for a lawyer, just to make sure they didn’t get into unnecessary trouble. Either way, she couldn’t read too much into his choice.

He was quiet, his expression thoughtful as he considered her words. She took the opportunity to study his face. He was handsome, she could say that objectively. Long, straight nose, tousled hair and brown eyes that looked like twin pools of melted chocolate framed by long lashes. The dusting of stubble on his cheeks kept him from looking too boyish. There were faint lines at the corners of his mouth and eyes, indicating he probably smiled a lot. She was willing to bet he had dimples when he did.

Yes, a handsome man. One a woman wouldn’t think twice about talking to, especially if he turned on the charm. It would probably be easy for him to gain a woman’s trust.

But did that make him a killer?

Finally, he shrugged. “Let’s just get this over with,” he said. “I have nothing to hide.”

That’s what they all say, Rebecca thought.

“My name is Rebecca Wade. I’m an agent in the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, and the Alpine police have asked me to talk to you about the women you found in Big Bend.” Alpine was a decent-sized city about a hundred miles from the borders of the park. The Alpine police was taking point on the investigation because its members had resources some of the smaller, closer towns lacked.

He nodded, as if this was information he already knew. “You already have my name. But I’ll introduce myself anyway. I’m Quentin Gallagher. Call me Quinn.”

“All right.”

“How does this usually work?” He shifted in the chair and it rocked a little in response, indicating the legs were not all the same length. Shortening the legs was a classic interrogation technique designed to keep the suspect uncomfortable and literally off balance. Rebecca wasn’t convinced it worked all that well, but she wasn’t going to argue with the Alpine police department about their methods right now.

“We’re just going to talk,” Rebecca said. “I have a few questions for you, but I’m mainly interested in hearing your story in your own words.”

A shadow crossed Quinn’s face, as if he was remembering something especially troubling. He cleared his throat. “Where should I begin?”

“Tell me about your wife.”

“My wife?” Quinn asked, his voice cracking a little on the words. Rebecca watched his face carefully, noting how his skin went pale under his tan. “What would you like to know about Ashley?”

“How did you two meet?”

He hesitated, and for a brief second, Rebecca wondered if he had changed his mind about talking to her. Maybe opening with his wife was a mistake, she mused. But if so, she had other tricks up her sleeve. One way or another, she was going to get Quinn Gallagher’s story.

Just as she was about to try another tack, Quinn spoke.

“I’ll tell you whatever you want to know,” he said quietly. “But before we get started, I need you to understand something.” His brown eyes shone with an emotion she couldn’t quite name, and he leaned forward a bit, his expression earnest.

“Okay,” she said agreeably. “What’s that?” She was careful to keep her tone neutral, but her heart rate picked up. Was he really going to confess so quickly? It normally took her hours, or even days, to coax a confession from a suspect. Maybe Quinn was going to make it easy on her...

He met her eyes, his gaze intense, as if he was trying to see her very soul. Rebecca resisted the temptation to look away and tried to appear friendly and interested in what he had to say. It was important to gain Quinn’s trust so he would open up to her. The faster she got him to let down his guard, the sooner she’d discover the truth.

“I didn’t kill those women in the park.” His voice was low, but he enunciated every word clearly, as if he wanted to make sure she didn’t misunderstand him.

“And I damn sure didn’t kill my wife.”

* * *

If Quinn’s words shocked Rebecca, she didn’t show it. She smiled slightly, and he got the impression this wasn’t the first time she’d heard a man proclaim his innocence.

But in his case, it was the truth.

“If I really thought you’d killed anyone, you’d already be under arrest,” she said smoothly.

Yeah, right, he thought. Quinn wasn’t stupid. The only reason he wasn’t in handcuffs right now was because the police didn’t have enough evidence to charge him with the murders of those two unfortunate women he’d found in the park. Finding the first body had been bad enough. Finding the second victim, a week later, on a different trail, had been a new level of horrible. He knew he was still a suspect, though. Actually, the term the detective had used was “person of interest,” as if that was supposed to make him feel better.

It didn’t.

Nothing about this situation was okay. The only thing that made it tolerable was the fact that he knew with absolute certainty there wouldn’t be any evidence linking him to the deaths of those women.

Once the police realized he was innocent, these “voluntary” conversations would come to an end.

But until that day, Quinn intended to cooperate. The memories of his gruesome discoveries demanded he do everything in his power to ensure those poor women found some kind of justice.

The FBI interrogator was watching him, her face completely calm with no hint of impatience. She looked like a woman without a care in the world, as if she was happy to spend all day sitting in front of him, waiting for him to start talking. Her calm demeanor was a skill that likely served her well in her job, and under different circumstances, Quinn would have asked her more about her career. Working for the FBI had to be exciting, or at the very least, interesting.

Now was not the time for pleasantries, though.

Quinn took a deep breath, bracing himself for the jolt of pain that always came whenever he thought of Ashley. “We met in college,” he began. “We had a couple of intro classes together. I noticed her on the first day, and after a few weeks, I finally worked up the nerve to talk to her.” He smiled briefly at the memory, remembering the way his knees had practically knocked together as he’d stood in front of her desk and asked how she was doing.

He shook himself free of the memory and continued. “I was so nervous around her that if it had been up to me, I’d probably still be searching for the courage to ask her on that first date. Fortunately, Ashley was braver than I was, and she took matters into her own hands. She asked me to dinner, and I said yes. Four years later, we got married a week after graduation.”

“Were you happy together?” Rebecca’s voice was quiet and unobtrusive, the question a gentle conversational nudge to steer him in the desired direction. He knew where they were headed, and he swallowed hard.

“She was my everything,” he said, his throat tight. “Ashley was unique. She was insatiably curious, so full of life. Being around her was like holding lightning in your hands—she had so much energy and spark. Her personality was magnetic, and it was impossible not to be drawn in, to want to get close to her. When she looked at me, I felt like I was her whole world.” Quinn paused and shook his head. “She certainly was mine.”

“What did she look like?”

Ashley’s face popped into his head, the image crystal clear even though he hadn’t seen her in two years. “A little like you, actually,” he said, glancing over Rebecca’s features. “Red hair, pale skin, full lips. She had the most beautiful smile...” He trailed off, unable to continue. Not a day passed that he didn’t think about her and the life they should have had together. Knowing he would never see her again was a special kind of torture, and Quinn often wondered if he’d ever be able to think about Ashley without pain. He knew she wouldn’t have wanted him to suffer like this. Their time together and the year and a half they’d spent married had been so full of happiness, it seemed wrong to have it overshadowed by his grief. But he’d learned the hard way he couldn’t control his emotions, no matter how he tried.

“She sounds very special,” Rebecca said quietly.

Quinn nodded. “She was,” he agreed.

“I know this is difficult for you, but will you tell me how she died?”

He’d known the question was coming, but it still hit him like a punch to the gut. His eyes stung, and he blinked rapidly, determined not to shed tears in front of a stranger. Just because she looked like Ashley didn’t mean she was Ashley, and he couldn’t let Rebecca’s appearance distract him now.

“Ashley loved to go hiking. It was something we both enjoyed, and we took a lot of camping trips together. She was so happy when I got assigned to Yosemite as my first ranger job—she always said it was her favorite national park.” He smiled briefly at the memory.

“One of her friends had come out for a weekend visit. They had planned a hike on one of the more advanced trails, but since they were both experienced hikers, I didn’t worry about them. Ashley and Naomi knew what they were doing, and they weren’t the kind to take unnecessary risks with their safety. I had planned to go with them, but I was unexpectedly called in to work. I dropped them off at the trailhead and said I’d try to meet up with them later.”

Rebecca nodded. She probably knew these details already—it was the same thing he’d told the police at the time. He knew it was her job to make him tell the story again, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Quinn took a deep breath. Might as well get on with it. Drawing it out would only make him feel worse.

“After a few hours, my boss told me I wasn’t needed anymore and I could go. I called Ashley and got her coordinates, and told her I’d meet her at one of the waterfalls that was a landmark along the trail. I knew a shortcut and set off. But when I got to the meeting point, they weren’t there. I waited around a few minutes, thinking maybe they’d stopped for pictures or a water break. But when they still didn’t show, I grew worried. I called Ashley’s phone again, and that’s when I heard it.”

“Heard what?”

“Ashley’s phone. I could hear it ringing. The sound came from somewhere below the trail.” His gut twisted at the memory, and he heard the echo of her cheerful ringtone in his mind.

“I... I walked to the edge of the trail and saw...” He trailed off, unable to continue.

“They had fallen?” Rebecca asked softly.

Quinn nodded. His throat tightened up, and he didn’t think he’d be able to go on. He forced out the words, and they scraped against his tongue as he spoke. “They were too far down for me to get to them. I yelled to them, but neither one responded. I called for a medical evacuation right away.” The wait for the rescue crew had been the longest stretch of his life. He’d stared down at Ashley’s still form, unable to look away, straining to see any small movement, any twitch that would indicate she was still alive.

“The police questioned you after your wife and her friend were recovered?”

“Yes.” Quinn turned his thoughts away from that horrible discovery and focused instead on the aftermath. The small interrogation room, not unlike this one, where he’d sat, talking to the detectives.

“Why were you considered a suspect?” She sounded genuinely curious, even though she had to have read his file before walking into the room. Quinn thought about asking her the same question, but decided to humor her with a reply.

“Ashley and Naomi were experienced hikers, and the trail was in good condition,” he said again. “It was determined they had most likely slipped over the edge, probably after getting too close for a photo. But I guess the police had to consider foul play, and since I was the last person to talk to Ashley, that made me a potential suspect.”

“But they never arrested you.”

“There was no evidence,” he said simply. “I told you before, I didn’t kill my wife or her friend. No matter how hard the police looked, they weren’t going to find any evidence to the contrary.”

Rebecca was silent a moment, considering his words. “When did you ask to be transferred?”

“About a week later. I couldn’t continue to work at Yosemite—it was too hard.”

“So you were assigned to Big Bend National Park about two years ago.”

Quinn nodded. “It was a good change. Ashley would have loved it here, too, but it’s easier to go to work knowing I’m not going to be ambushed by a sudden memory of us hiking this trail or camping in that spot.”

Rebecca smiled. “I can imagine.” She leaned back in her chair, her head tilted to the side. “I take it you enjoy your job?”

“I do. Very much.”

“And you’re feeling comfortable here? Like it’s home?”