“I saw that,” said Sonny Leven, the younger of the two security guards from the resort. He had been born and raised in the small town as well. He’d never left, not even to go to college. Stella knew he supported his father and that was why he hadn’t gone away to school. He’d never had that opportunity. Like many, he had worked multiple jobs before becoming a full-time security guard at her resort. “There was blood on another rock where Marley hit his head.”
Stella glanced at him sharply. He sounded a little strange. She’d forgotten that he lived in close proximity to James Marley, just down the street from him. She vaguely recalled that there was some kind of feud between Marley and Leven’s father, but she didn’t know what it was about or when it had taken place. Not while she’d been living there.
This was what they did after one of the rescues turned into a recovery. The members came together at the Grill and talked about the mission in low voices, especially if they knew the deceased. Stella knew it helped them to get rid of some of the aftermath of their grief.
“We had to walk in those reeds for what seemed forever,” Carl Montgomery said. “We all knew he was there and we didn’t want to face his family without bringing him home, but those reeds were so close together, choking the water and preventing any sight.”
“I stepped on him,” Vienna said in a low voice. “I felt so awful stepping on him, but that’s how I found him.”
Stella felt the delicate little shudder that went through her body. That shocked her. Given all the things Vienna faced, all the surgeries and trauma victims, all the rescues and dead people she brought home to families, she hadn’t expected her friend to be so shaken. Still, James Marley wasn’t just anyone. He was well liked and respected. He had been a friend.
“An accident is one thing,” Vienna continued, “but to think that someone would viciously target a man like James is so ugly.”
“The worst of it is,” Harlow said, “it really does look like an accident. He slipped, hit his head. He has that injury on the back of his skull, which easily could have made him disoriented or even unconscious. He didn’t have signs of a struggle, nothing that would indicate someone drowned him. He had a finger broken in two places, but there was fishing line wrapped around it. Cause of death was drowning.”
“That fishing line was everywhere,” Denver said. “It was around the reeds and partially around his wader, anchoring him underwater. It looked like he rolled a couple of times with the waves and that was what wrapped him up in it.”
Bale came in and ordered a beer, seating himself a few barstools over from Denver, who immediately acknowledged him. “Came to pay my respects to the old man,” he muttered. “Helped me out when I was a kid a few times.”
“Yeah,” Carl said, “I have to admit, he did me as well. Loved his family and got a little crotchety as he got older, but always did the right thing in the end.”
“Loved those grandkids of his,” Raine said. “Heard he called them every single day. Even the younger ones. Liked to take them fishing with him. He had patience for them.”
“I do business with his sons. They’re good, honest men. Don’t know his daughter …” Carl trailed off, as if he might have heard things he didn’t want to repeat.
“She lies,” Bale said. “Always did, even in school.”
Stella wondered if that was the truth. She glanced at Carl. She tended to believe him. He didn’t make a reply, but then he didn’t deny it either.
“Why did it take so long to find him?” Sonny Leven asked. “I mean, his family looked in the water all around that area because his truck was there, right? They searched before we did. Why do you suppose they didn’t come across him?”
“The reeds are really thick there, Sonny,” Vienna said. “We didn’t actually see the body, and it was close to the surface. The reeds hid it.”
“There are rocks all through there as well,” Bruce said. “The reeds choke out everything so you can’t see the rocks. The rocks are green under the water.”
“But wouldn’t the fishing line have been at the top of the water where they could see it?” Sonny persisted.
“You don’t think his own family did him in, do you?” Carl asked.
Sonny shook his head. “No, it’s just weird that no one could see him when he was in such shallow water, even with the reeds.” He was the newest member of Search and Rescue and trying to learn.
Stella knew this was their process, but still, it sickened her. She didn’t know why she felt so guilty, but she did. All the rescuers were hurting. She stood up and moved away from them, needing fresh air. Although intellectually she knew it wasn’t her fault, guilt still weighed on her. She told herself there was no way she could have foreseen that the murderer would have rushed from attempting to kill Sam straight to another fisherman. James had been miles away, so there had been a boat involved. Boats meant launching into the lake. Pulling behind a vehicle. Someone had to have seen something—someone. There were so many people out that morning.