As silence fell, I looked at Connor, wondering about all the things that hadn’t been said. Cash hadn’t mentioned the attack on Beth last night, and either the sheriff hadn’t noticed the fact that Loren had been placed there, or he’d decided not to mention it in front of us.
Connor shook his head just enough to give me the signal. We weren’t going to talk, either. Not now.
The sheriff turned away from Cash, settled his gaze on us again. It wasn’t difficult to guess that he’d done so because we were strangers. We were the odd men out.
He walked closer, pulled off his hat, ran a hand through his short hair.
“Ken Paulson,” he said, and didn’t extend a hand. “I don’t know you.”
“Connor Keene. Georgia’s my great-aunt. We’re here from Chicago for the baptism.”
“We?” the sheriff asked.
“Me and my girlfriend.” He reached out a hand for mine, and I took it, squeezed, offered a smile that I hoped skirted just between shy and sad.
The sheriff looked me over, but if he recognized our faces or biology, he didn’t mention it. “You see anything unusual?”
“Not until this,” Connor said, gesturing to the scene. “We were talking with the family when a child ran up, said she’d found a body. You’ve seen the rest.”
“I have.” He shifted his gaze to me.
I met it, worked to look sheepish. And being a vampire, and skilled at fooling humans, I apparently pulled it off, as he settled the hat back on his head, looked at Cash.
“He have family that needs to be notified?” Paulson asked.
“If you mean biologically, no. We’re his family as far as it matters. Which means I guess we’d better call the funeral home. Or do you have to call the medical examiner?”
“County doesn’t have an ME right now,” Paulson said. “We contract with Lake County, but it could take two, three days before they can get someone down here. And autopsies aren’t mandatory.”
“Oh, that’s right,” Cash said. “You mentioned that when Paisley was hit. I’d forgotten.” But the calculation in his eyes said that was a lie. He knew very well what the rules were.
“Your people are having a hard month,” Paulson said. “I don’t see any need to add to that by forcing a discretionary autopsy. Especially since this looks like a wild animal attack.”
And just like that, I thought, any chance of figuring out exactlywhat had happened to Loren disappeared. A very tidy result for Cash, which made me even more suspicious.
“We’ll search the woods,” Cash said. “Look for signs of wild animal activity, for the bear, if that’s what this was. We don’t want to feel useless here,” he added. “We need to feel like we’re contributing.”
The sheriff adjusted his hat. “Unfortunately, I don’t have people to offer up for that, either. Not since they made us a satellite office. I can call in, ask for help from Duluth, but I’d rather not if you can handle it. We don’t want word of attacks to spread, not with fall-color season approaching. Would be more helpful to locate the animal, get it down, get it tested.”
Cash nodded. “We’ll contact Flanagan’s regarding the body, the service. And we’ll take pictures of anything we find on the search, keep you updated.”
“That’s agreeable,” Paulson said. “I’ll check in with you later.”
“What the hell was that?” Alexei whispered when Cash led the sheriff back toward the trail. “Doesn’t Cash want to know what’s happening?”
“Or the sheriff?” I wondered. “No autopsy, no search, for a body that’s been brutalized?”
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Connor said as he watched, gaze tracking the men’s retreat. “But I don’t like it.”
***
It took only a few minutes for Cash to return, boots cracking dry leaves and hard grass across the trail, with Everett in his wake.
“The sheriff is content to let you investigate a homicide?” Connor asked, not bothering to hide his incredulity—or his suspicions.
“Did you not hear the part about the bear attack?” Everett’s tone was aggressive.
Connor didn’t spare him a glance. “I’m hearing a lot of things. Why did the sheriff walk away?”