“Let’s interview the woman who found the body,” Warren suggested. “See if she heard anything, or came upon anyone.”

Tara agreed. The cops already interviewed her, but they now knew from interviewing the camping store owner, they weren’t always thorough.

They made their way to the car and Tara could feel a dribble of sweat down the back of her neck. It was an unusually hot day, but she wondered if it really was just the heat, or if this case was finally beginning to take a toll on them.

Chapter Fourteen

Tara and Warren weren’t in the car long before the home they were at days earlier appeared amongst a row of houses. As they pulled into the driveway, the sound of laughter caused Tara’s head to turn.

Two young children were kicking a ball around in the yard, where days earlier an active crime scene was held, and it gave Tara a sudden eerie feeling. As the children noticed the car, they stopped, and their eyes moved briefly to the porch, where their mother sat. Reassured by her presence, they began to play again as the mother made her way down the steps. Tara and Warren both stepped out into the driveway.

“Can I help you?” the woman asked.

She stood a few yards from them as if careful not to get too close. There was a hesitation in her voice and step that Tara assumed was most likely from the trauma of the days prior.

“We’re with the FBI,” Tara confirmed as she held out her badge.

At the mention of FBI, the woman flinched as if it were a word she didn’t want spoken, and she glanced over toward her children. They had now stopped playing, instead listening to the conversation, and the woman spoke again.

“Can we talk on the porch?”

Tara agreed and followed her onto the wraparound porch. Once out of earshot, she spoke again.

“Look, I already told the cops everything,” she said as she glanced back out to the yard at her kids. She lowered her voice. “I really don’t want to have to relive what I saw.”

Tara knew she had to approach this delicately. “I can certainly understand,” she said. “We won’t keep you long.”

The woman nodded hesitantly. She knew she couldn’t avoid their questions, and she braced herself for them.

“The trail runs right by your house, correct?” It was a question Tara already knew the answer to, but it was a good way to ease her in.

The woman took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes, it runs very close.”

She pointed toward the edge of her property, where days earlier Tara and Warren followed the sheriff into the woods—where there were probably still remnants of blood upon the forest floor. She knew this woman would probably never look at these woods the same.

Tara’s eyes followed the row of trees. The house was the last one on a dead-end street, the trees wrapping around the side of the house and curling around the back. She wondered if neighboring houses sat just as close to the forest.