Hawk Moon by Rob MacGregor Page A

ever saw her was when she was with you."
    "You never saw her last summer?"
    Burke shook his head, looking puzzled. "Jeez, Will. Give me a break. Where did you come up with this?"
    Will's throat tightened. He pushed past Burke and bolted toward the front door.
    "Hey, wait!" Burke raced after him.
    Will jerked open the door and nearly knocked over his mother, standing there with her keys in hand. "What's going on?" she asked.
    Will sucked in a breath of air and a familiar scent of perfume. He didn't know what to say.
    "I'll tell you, Marion," Burke said. "We've got a problem here."
    She looked between the two of them.
    "You're not going to believe what Will just laid on me."
    "Let's go inside," she said and closed the door behind her.
    They walked over to the kitchen counter. Marion put her purse down on a stool and turned to Will. "Okay, I'm waiting. What is it?"
    He told them about the E-mail messages he'd been getting and described what the last two had said.
    "Who's writing this stuff?" Marion demanded when Will had finished.
    "I don't know. I've been trying to find out."
    "I can see how you might be upset, but you don't really believe Tom was seeing Myra, do you?"
    Will realized he'd been letting his imagination run wild. He shrugged, feeling foolish and embarrassed. "I guess not. No."
    "I'm thirty-five, Will. If I'd been messing around with a sixteen-year-old this past summer, you know I'd be the first one the cops would be questioning. Hell, they'd be on my trail day and night."
    "That's right," Marion said. "I don't know who's done this to you, Will, but I'd like to take the little jerk's computer and throw it off a mountain right after him."
    Will nodded, regretting that he'd said anything about it. He didn't know what to think anymore.

Chapter Sixteen
    Â 
    L ittle Annie's Eating House in downtown Aspen was one of the few places left that wasn't chichi. (That was Ed Connors's term for pretentious, expensive dining.) The atmosphere was relaxed and casual. The place was dimly lit and noisy at times, with the kitchen activity spilling into the dining area, but the waiters and waitresses were friendly and the food was good. In Will's opinion, it was the best restaurant in town.
    Will, his father, and grandfather found a table in the corner away from the kitchen and after several people had greeted Connors, a waitress left them menus. Lansa studied it, but Will and his grandfather already knew what they were going to order.
    "I'm glad you've allowed me to take you out to dinner tonight, Pete. I know that when you and Marion were married, I acted like a horse's ass sometimes. Well, maybe more than sometimes. I wasn't a very good father-in-law."
    Lansa put down his menu. "It's okay, Ed. I wasn't exactly expecting a warm welcome in those days."
    "Well, I've learned a lot since then. I'd take you as a son-in-law any day over these rich Hollywood snobs who've destroyed this town."
    "Thanks," Lansa said in a noncommittal tone.
    "Dad, can you tell me now what you've been doing today?" Will asked, hoping to steer the conversation away from his grandfather's obsession.
    "I went to Ashcroft earlier this morning and had a look around," Lansa said.
    "What do you think?" Connors asked.
    "Well, I can understand why Will hasn't been arrested. The scenario doesn't work. It's even more implausible than I'd imagined."
    "What do you mean?" Will asked, feeling encouraged.
    "The sheriff's got a big problem, and I think he knows it. Not only is the body missing, but so is the blood. If Myra was stabbed at Ashcroft, there would be more blood than what was found on the knife."
    "What's that mean for Will?" Connors asked.
    "It's the key to his innocence. If Myra wasn't killed in Ashcroft or in the surrounding fields, then she was killed either inside a vehicle or somewhere else. Will's Jeep is clean. Same with the minivan Myra was driving. It would mean that Will took Myra somewhere else, killed her there, then drove back to Ashcroft to dispose