He tromped around in a take-charge kind of manner, now in his deputy-detective mode. His deputy buddies started forward, and he held up his hand. “Wait.”

He rubbed his chin, anguish twisting his features. “The deputy coroner’s on the way?”

Deputy Sarnes pushed through the group and approached Jack and the body. “Yep. Emmett Hildebrand.”

The grim set of Jack’s mouth and the deepening furrow between his brows told her he was processing the scene. He peered at her then, and she removed her sunglasses so she could look closely at those dark-green eyes that she remembered so well.

He studied her and appeared to make a decision. Terra would love to know what he was thinking.

“We don’t need an audience,” Jack said. “Sarnes, can you get rid of the sightseers?”

Terra replaced her sunglasses and murmured to Case. “Our cue to head out too. Our assistance is no longer needed.” To the larger group, she said, “Case and I will be happy to hike out with them.”

“I’d like you to stay, Special Agent Connors.” Those intense eyes pinned her again. “Terra . . .”

Oh? She glanced at Case. He shrugged.

“Okay then,” Case said. “I guess I’ve been dismissed.”

As SAR volunteers exited the area, the forest swallowed them up, and Terra turned her attention to Jack.

“I’m happy to assist, Jack.” Since he’d used her first name, she would return the favor. “What do you need?”

“National forest is your jurisdiction,” he said.

“Of course, but this, whatever it is, isn’t something I would investigate. What are you getting at?”

Clearing her throat, she grabbed more water from her pack, giving her an excuse to look anywhere except at Jack.

“You know this forest like no one else. You spent your life in these woods.” His professional county-detective tone had shifted to something more familiar and personal.

Chugging her water, she considered her response. When she finished, she capped the bottle and faced him. “You’re talking millions of acres. I didn’t spend my childhood in all of millions of acres.”

“I’m asking for a little assistance, that’s all.” He offered the hint of a smile as he studied her, then his expression turned serious again as he shifted his attention to the body. “What do you think happened here?”

“Are you working a case now? As in, this could be murder?”

“I haven’t been officially assigned, no. But we’re here now. Sheriff Gibson wants me to assess things while we wait for the deputy coroner. I brought up the FBI. This is federal lands, after all.”

“Are they coming?”

“He said they’ve deferred murder investigations to his department in the past, but of course will likely offer assistance if we need it, and he would keep them informed.” Jack rubbed his neck. “They rarely investigate murders unless it involves a serial killer or crosses state lines.”