Cole ignored him. “Publish one word about me and Hammy and I will sue you into oblivion. He can afford it! Besides, I just told you. I loved Roger, and I loved Evan. You think they were so innocent? Both of them took advantage of me. You think I don’t realize I’m arm candy? Okay, I figure, work with what you’ve got. But I have goals and ambitions of my own. You probably don’t believe me. Well, who cares? Guys can think what they want about me. That’s not my problem, is it?”

  “We didn’t mean to upset you,” Darian said, dazed. “Really.”

  “I’m glad to hear it. And now you’d better run back to your teaching post, don’t you think? Hammy won’t appreciate you grilling me instead of doing what you were hired to do. I’ll see both of you later—if I can’t avoid it, that is.”

  Whirling, he stormed away down the hall and disappeared from sight.

  “Whew,” Argo said when he was gone. “I can definitely see why Lanislaw’s latched on to this one.”

  “Argo, how did you know that? About Cole’s first husband—Evan?”

  “While you were at lunch with Hammond and Kaz, I took a break from unpacking and ran a quick background check on my laptop. Though it wise to find out exactly who we were cooped up with for the week.”

  “I…uh….why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I saw no reason to. But I admit, the reports made for interesting reading. Besides, I thought you’d want to be there when I sprung what I’d learned on Lanislaw for the first time.”

  “So you knew he wasn’t telling the truth about why he was here.” Darian almost smiled with triumph, but stopped himself in time. “You don’t trust him any more than I do.”

  Argo shrugged. “I don’t know anything for sure. I’m just gathering information in case it becomes useful. As far as Lanislaw, I’m willing to go along with his ruse…for now. But I reserve the right to change my mind.”

  Darian shook his head, bewildered. Then he checked his watch. “Cole’s right about one thing—I do need to get back to the workshop.”

  Argo nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

  Behind them, a boisterous argument erupted inside Aubrey’s office. Thanks to the closed door, the words were muffled, but the gist of the conflict was clear enough. Hammond denied he’d done anything wrong, while Aubrey screamed at him to get his act together or get off his property. Darian and Argo hurried away just as Hammond started loudly defending Cole’s honor.

  Lanislaw would be furious to miss all the excitement. The thought gave Darian enough satisfaction to provide a touch of guilt.

  Thankfully, Raymond’s—or was it Terry’s?— letter-swapping exercise had filled the gap perfectly. Darian slid back behind the podium and the lesson continued as though no interruption had occurred. No one mentioned either Hammond or the scene he’d made. From down the hall, the muffled argument between Hammond and Aubrey continued on and off for the next forty minutes or so.

  At noon, Darian thanked the writers for their hard work and sent them off for their lunch break. He watched them all rush off, no doubt eager to discuss the morning’s events over sandwiches and iced tea. Only Lanislaw seemed inclined to linger, but Marc Fresno shepherded him away, still chattering about the letters they’d exchanged.

  While Darian was gathering his notes, Kaz reappeared.

  “I heard about what happened,” he told Darian and Argo. “Talk about crazy! This is shaping up to be some seminar, isn’t it? We could just write about this retreat and never run out of material.”

  “That’s for sure,” Darian agreed.

  Next, Aubrey stepped into the room. His expression was haggard and his bushy hair was more disheveled than usual, as though he’d been tugging at it in frustration.

  “Hammond’s out like a light again. Can you guys help me drag him back to his cabin? I’m tired of my office smelling like a brewery.”

  “Sure,” Argo said.

  “Not me,” Kaz said. “If I’m going to run the afternoon session on my own, I need some coffee and food. As you know, I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night, though at least I didn’t end up as bad as my host.”

  They returned to the office and found Hammond still stretched out on the couch, red-faced and breathing heavily.

  “Let’s drape his arms over our shoulders,” Aubrey told Argo. Soon the four of them had set off on the path to the cabins, with Darian leading the way and Hammond stumbling along in a near-comatose state. Darian didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone quite that drunk. How much liquor had he and Cole stashed in their cabin, anyway?

  Since his hands were free, it fell to Darian to knock on the door. No one answered.

  “Cole! Open up!” he shouted.

  Still nothing.

  “Probably enjoying his beauty rest,” Aubrey grumbled. Leaving Argo to balance Hammond on his shoulder, he used his master key to pop the cabin door. They all went in together, dumping Hammond in the nearest chair. They saw no sign of Cole.

  “Maybe he went for a walk,” Darian suggested.

  “Well, we can’t leave Hammond here alone,” Argo said, though Aubrey seemed inclined to do just that. “Let’s find him.”

  “Probably out back.” Darian gestured toward the sliding glass panels facing the tree line. As he reached for the handle, he spotted something outside. He blinked twice to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

  “Argo,” he said softly.

  Argo turned, followed Darian’s line of sight, and cursed.

  Chapter 8

  Cole’s nude body lay halfway between the sliding glass doors and the woods, face down with his limbs splayed out in four directions. An arrow protruding from the center of his back pinned him neatly to the ground. His grotesque position reminded Darian of a desiccated butterfly in a display case. He tamped down a wave of nausea as Aubrey pushed his way past Argo so he, too, could peer outside.

  “What the hell?” he whispered.

  Argo put a hand on Aubrey’s arm, not just to offer comfort but to warn him to step back. Despite everything, Darian once again found himself admiring the effortless way Argo took charge in such situations—a good thing, since there had certainly been plenty of them since they’d met.

  “Aubrey, stay with Hammond while I check this out.”

  Speechless, Aubrey simply nodded while Argo slid the door open. Darian swallowed hard and followed him outside. “I’ll come with you.”

  Argo didn’t object when Darian moved forward, knelt, and touched Cole’s wrist. Despite the warmth of the afternoon, his skin felt still and icy.

  “It’s too late,” he told Argo, who nodded grimly.

  “I could tell from inside, but I knew you’d have to check.” Argo’s gaze followed the perpendicular line of the arrow’s shaft. “Well, we can say one thing for sure. This was no suicide. Better move away now.”

  As Darian got to his feet, a nearby rustling sound caught his attention. He motioned to Argo, who tensed up and started scanning the trees around them.

  “Go back inside,” he ordered Darian. “He might still be out here, taking aim at us.”

  “Only if you come with me,” Darian said. “He can’t shoot two arrows at one time.”

  “Don’t be foolish,” Argo barked. Darian recognized that tone as the same one he’d used in the convenience store the night he’d been shot. Instinctively Darian’s gaze dropped to the waistband of Argo’s jeans. With a sinking feeling he realized he wasn’t carrying his gun. And why would he? They were supposedly on a peaceful vacation at a writer’s retreat, where the only required weapon was a dictionary and possibly, in case of emergency, a thesaurus. “Do what I say, now!”

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  The underbrush crunched again. Whoever was making the sound was coming closer. Darian stood frozen in place, as exposed and defenseless as Cole. Well, at least he had clothes on. His body would be spared that indignity if worse came to worst.

  Nearby, Argo squared his shoulders and positioned himself to leap forward. Whether he was planning to tackle Darian to the ground for his own safety or take off in pursuit of the intruder, he had no idea. And thankfully, he didn’t have to find out. A clump of leaves and branches parted and Greg Hodge stepped out with both hands in the air. His face was ghostly pale as he took in the bizarre scene in front of him.

  “What’s going on?” he demanded.

  “Someone used Cole Dalton for target practice. Beyond that, we can’t say for sure,” Argo informed him. “Keep your hands where we can see them and come toward me slowly. Do you know anything about this?”

  “Of course I don’t! I saw you two standing around outside Hammond and Cole’s cabin and came over to see what you were up to. I didn’t expect…this.” Greg’s left hand began to shake and he thrust it into his hip pocket.

  “Hands up,” Argo reminded him. Greg complied. “What were you doing in the woods?”

  “Same thing I do every few hours.” Greg’s eyes frosted over. “Make the rounds, keeping an eye open for trespassers, fallen trees, or wild animals. You think it’s easy maintaining a place like this? I’m the only groundsman, you know. I came back out as soon as I finished setting up lunch for the guests. I didn’t want to be in their way while they ate.”

  “Did you notice anyone else walking around here?”

  “I did, actually.” Greg’s attention shifted toward Darian. “That other teacher guy. Kaz. I saw him walking toward the lodge about half an hour ago. Thought it was odd, since all of you were supposed to be together, writing those damn books of yours.”

  “Slight change of plans,” Darian said, unnerved by Greg’s accusatory gaze.

  “Yep. Thanks to Hammond,” Aubrey’s voice broke in. Darian turned to see him coming down the steps of Hammond and Cole’s back patio. He grimaced when he passed Cole’s body but continued on to stand between Argo and Greg. “He’s fallen asleep for the moment, thankfully. Well, isn’t this just great? I assume Cole’s….?”

  “Yeah,” Argo said, bowing his head momentarily. “Sorry.”

  Aubrey cleared his throat before continuing. “Kaz wanted to touch up his talk for the afternoon. We knew he was going back to his cabin.”

  Argo turned back to Greg. “I don’t suppose Kaz was carrying a bow when you saw him? And he was…ah…fully dressed?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary.” Greg gave an angry shrug. “I woulda stopped him and asked otherwise.”

  “And speaking of weaponry,” Aubrey cut in before Argo could ask a follow-up question, “How did someone get hold of that arrow in the first place? Why wasn’t the sports shed locked?”

  “It’s always locked, but you know as well as I do that the wood’s rotted. It’s easy enough to jimmy the side open. In fact, your friend Kaz did just that first thing this morning. I told you, remember?”

  “Yeah. I do.” Aubrey scowled and took his phone out of his pocket. “Okay, time to call the cops. They can sort out who was where and at what time. If you want my opinion, it was one of those creeps from the village. They’re always sneaking on my property, sabotaging stuff. Tell them, Greg.”

  “It’s true. That’s one of the reasons I walk around as much as possible. Trying to discourage them from causing trouble.”

  Argo held up a hand to stop him from dialing. “Why don’t you let me handle the necessary phone calls? You should go back and see to Hammond. Better if he doesn’t wander out here before someone can break the news to him. Either way, it’ll be ugly. Greg, go to the lodge and make sure no one leaves the dining room until the authorities give the okay. Don’t tip them off that anything’s wrong. Make up a story about a maintenance issue if they press the issue. A power line down, a bear on the loose, something like that.”

  “Wait just a minute,” Greg Hodge exploded. “Who are you to demand we do anything? You’re a guest here.”

  “He’s not just a guest,” Darian said while Argo slid his ID out of his jeans. “He’s an off-duty sheriff. We need to let him handle this. He knows what he’s doing.”

  “This isn’t my jurisdiction, technically, but it would be best if I took charge while we wait for the locals to arrive. Darian, will you go with Aubrey? I’ll just be a few minutes here.”

  To Darian’s relief, Greg and Aubrey seemed too stunned to argue. Greg headed back to the lodge, shaking his head in wonder, while he accompanied Aubrey back past Cole’s body and through the sliding glass doors.

  Darian saw at once that they were too late. Hammond sat crumpled in a different chair than the one they’d left him in. His shoulders rocked back and forth as violent sobs wracked his body.

  “How could this happen?” he wailed when he saw them come in. “Who would do such a thing to Cole? And why?”

  “We don’t know yet,” Darian said. “We’ll find out, though. For sure.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss, Prescott. Come with me now. I’ll move you to another cabin.” Aubrey stretched out a hand, but Hammond batted it away.

  “Sorry? Are you serious? You hated Cole. Hated seeing us happy.”

  “Of course I didn’t.” Aubrey pulled his hand back and briefly balled it into a fist. “Prescott, get your head together. You’re making this harder on everyone, including yourself.”

  “No! I want to be with Cole’s things.” Pushing himself upright in the chair, he scanned the room for something to hold onto. He settled on a well-worn green sweatshirt draped over the back of the sofa and clutched it close to his chest. Darian’s own heart ached for him as tears streamed down his hollow cheeks. He seemed to have aged ten years in less than an hour.

  “Aubrey’s right, you know,” he said gently. “It’s not safe here. Whoever did this might still be lurking. Besides, you shouldn’t be alone.” The cops, when they arrived, would insist on searching the cabin, too. It would be better for Hammond not to be present when that happened.

  “Prescott, stand up and walk back to my cabin. Making a scene isn’t helping,” Aubrey tried again. Darian blinked at the harsh choice of words, though in such extreme cases he supposed the direct approach was necessary. But Hammond only doubled up in the chair, submerged too far in a drunken crying jag even to respond.

  Darian went into the bedroom and grabbed a blanket. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying. Most likely he’s in shock,” he said when he returned and draped it over Hammond’s quaking shoulders.

  “Maybe it’s for the best that he’s out of it,” Aubrey reasoned. “He won’t feel the real pain until later. This is the second time for him.”

  “You’re talking about his friend Roger. Cole…ah…mentioned the circumstances under which they met.”

  “Yep. Prescott never saw Roger’s body. But sometimes what we imagine is worse than what’s there.”

  “Maybe not in this case.”

  They turned when Argo entered the room. “Okay, the cops are on their way. We should clear the scene so the forensics team can process it as soon as they show up.”

  “Can you help me haul Prescott to my cabin? It’s not far.” Aubrey asked him. “I’ll sit with him until he’s sober enough to answer questions. Spoiler, though. It might be a while.”

  Argo nodded, and they hoisted Hammond up without dislodging the blanket. The fight had gone out of him, and he shuffled along as numbly as he had on the way to Aubrey’s office. “We’ll have to play it by ear, I guess. Let’s take him through the front. That way we won’t have to walk past Cole again.” Argo motioned for Darian to open the door for them. From the road, they heard more than one siren approaching.

  “Good luck keeping the guests in the lodge with all that racket,” Aubrey grumbled as they hauled Hammond the short distance to his own cabin and dumped him on the sofa.

  “They’ll find out about it eventually,” Darian said. He leaned in the doorway while Aubrey bent down and adjusted the blanket around Hammond’s chest. Dizziness crept over him as the full horror of the afternoon’s events sank into his consciousness. The image of Cole’s skewered body would linger in his mind’s eye for a long time to come.

  As expected, when he and Argo emerged from Aubrey’s cabin, the sirens were louder and many of the retreat guests had already gathered nearby, pointing and whispering. Greg stood in front of them, holding his arms out as though preparing to contain the group if it suddenly surged forward. Fortunately, everyone seemed content to hang back. Familiar faces dotted the crowd—Marc Fresno, Raymond and Terry, handlebar moustache guy. All of them were craning their necks, trying to see what was going on. Thankfully, the position of the cabin hid Cole’s body from public view.

  Spotting them, Lanislaw pushed his way to the front, dodged Greg, and hurried over. “Do I even want to know?” he asked, his eyes wide.

  “Let’s just say your surveillance of Cole Dalton is at an end,” Argo said grimly. “Along with Cole himself, unfortunately.”

  “What?”

  “Game over, Stuart. Darian and I now have a good idea why you’re here, and it has nothing to do with seeking literary fame.

  Lanislaw blushed but listened, open-mouthed, while Argo tugged him off to the side and summarized their gruesome discovery. Though it seemed hours had passed since he had first glanced out the window and spotted Cole, Darian realized with a start that it had really been less than half an hour. Somehow, no matter how many crime scenes he stumbled across, he never got used to the disorientation. In a way, he hoped he never would. He had no desire for his heart to grow that cold.

  “I have an important question for you,” Argo told Lanislaw when he finished describing the scene. “Where is Kaz?”

  Lanislaw blinked. “Kaz? He was eating lunch with the rest of us when we heard the sirens. I admit I didn’t wait around for either him or Marc. But I assume they wandered up here with everyone else.”

  “Go and find him. Bring him to me.”

  At first, Lanislaw looked as though he wanted to object to Argo giving him orders, just as Greg had earlier. Then, thinking better of it, he nodded and took off.

  “You think Kaz saw what happened?” Darian asked him when they were alone again. “Or do you suspect him of….”