The figure paused, and then a man stepped into partial view, wearing a blaze-orange vest over a flannel jacket, the universal marker of someone who wanted to be seen in the woods, which made the stealth of his approach feel all the more unsettling. He held his hands slightly away from his body, palms out. “Easy,” he called, his voice smooth in a way that seemed practiced. “I heard chatter on my scanner. Everything okay here?”
Juniper didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked immediately to the deputy, assessing rather than concerned.
Silas, phone pressed to his ear, said quietly, “He says he heard it on a scanner.”
The dispatcher’s voice tightened. “Officers are close. Stay put.”
The man took a step closer despite her warning. “That’s Deputy Ellery,” he said, as though naming him proved something. “He’s been poking around where he shouldn’t.”
