Incident at Carter Trail

After her briefing, Evelyn went out to her patrol car, where Sergeant Barnes approached her, holding a Mossberg 500 pump-action shotgun.

"Deputy Brown?" He said with a shit-eating smirk.

"Yeah?"

"Good news. We finally got your shotgun fixed." He handed her the weapon that had been absent from her trunk for the last month. "It's unloaded."

"Great." Evelyn began loading up the magazine with buckshot.

"I also talked to the Sheriff too."

"Yeah?"

"He said if you need the cruiser for a while, that's fine."

"Jeez, you'd think it's Christmas." Evelyn was a little surprised by the Sheriff's generosity, considering he had brought his big-city bureaucracy and concerns with liability with him.

"Just don't get this one written off." Barnes walked away as Evelyn wondered why the Sheriff couldn't have brought his big-city budget rather than big-city bullshit with him.

On the road, Evelyn did her best to keep her mind on anything other than her need for a new car. As she drove around, she found exactly what she needed, when she saw the broken brake light of Darcie Collins' car. When she pulled Darcie over, who got her frustrations out by muttering some profanity. Evelyn herself prepared for the meeting taking a deep breath. As much as she liked Darcie, she knew that she wasn't afraid to unleash her anger, something she learned during her first year as a deputy.

When Evelyn arrived by her window, Darcie asked "How's it going Evelyn?"

"Good. Just wanted you to know you've got a damaged brake light."

"Ah fuck... I'll get it looked at."

"Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

"If not you, someone else right?"

"Yeah." Evelyn smiled at Darcie's surpising amount of calmness.

"So how you and Spencer going?"

"Pretty good." She smiled.

"Yeah. Did he chicken out at the Textile Factory?"

"Well he did, but he made it up to me."

Darcie gave her a nod. "That's good to know. Anyway, I better get the car to the repair shop."

"Sure, see you soon. Stay safe."

"See you Evelyn."

Getting back in her cruiser, Evelyn heard over the radio "This is Dispatch, we've got reports of a shooting on the Carter Trail. Please respond."

After a deep breath, Evelyn grabbed her radio "This is Bravo 121, I'm on the way, over."

As Evelyn rushed to the scene, she wondered what could have happened. She knew there was a good chance that some tourist may have gotten spooked by a hunter taking a buck, or that Eric Wynn was for some reason still around. When she pulled up by the scene, she found two cars, including a nice-looking Audi with blood-splattered windows.

Out of her cruiser, Evelyn moved towards the vehicle with her pistol drawn. As she neared the vehicle she saw a man slumped over. Her first course of action was the look around for any potential shooter, knowing the forest had numerous hiding spots. Evelyn rushed towards the back of the Audi for cover, before radioing "This is Bravo 121, I need back up at the Carter Trail. Be advised we have a gunshot victim."

After a deep breath, Evelyn looked around the surroundings, hoping to find any traces of where a shooter may have gone. Seeing nothing, she moved forward towards the victim, knowing that if they're still alive, that time is of the essence. Nearing the vehicle, she checked the door, finding it was open. Inside, she turned to see blood pouring out of one side of the victim's head, and a pistol still in his hand. Next, she checked the windows for any bullet holes, finding none.

"This is Bravo 121 to dispatch, we've got a DOA. Appears to be a suicide."

As she looked at the body, she started to realize she'd seen him before, two days ago when he crashed into her car.