“Are you all right?” Cree was quick to ask.
She nodded and took a deep breath before turning to once again glance upon the horrid scene.
“We’ve both seen beatings like this before,” Sloan said. “Ones delivered in fits of anger.”
Cree agreed with a nod. “But what brought on that anger is the question.”
Dawn felt her stomach roil once again and felt the need to look away.
“Dawn?” Cree questioned with concern.
She did not intend to leave until he was finished and so she gestured that she was wondering about the area where her attacker had suddenly vanished.
Cree raised a skeptical brow but relented and walked her to the spot. Sloan followed along.
No tracks remained, the snow that had fallen since then having covered the area. Dawn glanced around and noticed a group of rocks, the last and largest rock not far from a pine tree, the lowest branch drooping from the weighted snow.
She went to walk away from Cree and was yanked to a sharp stop.
“By my side, remember?” Cree said with a tilt of his head.
She nodded and pointed to the group of rocks two steps away, and then to the low tree branch. Cree looked to Sloan who had followed Dawn’s gesture and gave a glance at the tree.
Sloan nodded at the silent command and with careful steps jumped from rock to rock, almost slipping once, then leaped for the low hanging branch and pulled himself up onto it.
“So that’s how the tracks vanished so suddenly,” Sloan said dropping down from the branch.
“I’m surprised that Henry didn’t realize that,” Cree said.
Sloan scratched his head. “I think I recall seeing a warrior sitting on one of the rocks when I arrived at the scene.”
“He was sitting?” Cree asked annoyed. “We’ll discuss his punishment later. Right now make Henry aware of what we have discovered.” He pointed at Bree’s body. “And I want to know why the sentries assigned to this area saw or heard nothing. And where was the guard assigned to Bree? Get me answers, Sloan, and see that her body is stored until the ground is soft enough to accept her. Also, I’m moving Dawn to the keep.”
Sloan was too shocked to speak, not so Dawn. She quickly darted in front of him and shook her head vigorously along with a finger she held up in front of him.
“You will put that finger down and we will discuss this in private,” Cree ordered.
Dawn dropped her hand to her side, realizing it was not at all proper for his warriors to see her arguing with him. She tugged at his hand, anxious to settle this with him, for there was no possible way that she was moving to the keep.
“I have a few more things to discuss with Sloan, then we’ll take our leave.”
Dawn held up their joined hands and nodded at them.
“I will release you as long as you promise to stay in sight.”
Dawn crossed her heart and he released her hand. “I will not be long.”
She gave him a curt nod and wandered toward the body. She wondered over the rage that had caused such a horrific beating. Then she recalled the beating Colum, the former liege lord had given to Timmins, the smithy for questioning him. What she recalled most about it was that Colum seemed to enjoy every blow he had inflicted on the defenseless Timmins. It had served as a warning to others that Colum was not to be questioned. It had taken weeks for Timmins to recover. Bree hadn’t been so lucky, and Dawn couldn’t help but wonder if the man who did this to her had intended to beat her to death or had he been unable to stop.
She drifted closer to the body and gazed at the smashed ankle. Had he stomped on the slender ankle after he had realized she was dead? Was he angry at himself or at her? Had Bree been his accomplice or an innocent in it all? And if he could do this to Bree, what would he do to her if he caught her?
The thought caused her stomach to roil once again and that caused her to think of the babe. Even if she were to survive a bad beating like Timmins had done, would the babe? Knowing she was with child changed everything. She had to be more cautious and sensible in the choices she made. And she had to be careful of who she trusted. The killer could be lurking among them, a smile on his face, and a pleasant nature just waiting for the right time to strike.
Her glance went to Bree’s face and it was as if she suddenly felt the blows the young woman had suffered and the fear that had to have churned inside her. This time her stomach did more than roil, it rushed up into her mouth and she hurried behind thickened bushes to heave.