Eyes on the Mountains: Chapter 1
#1 of Eyes on the Mountain
Chapter one of my Mystery Story.
The smell of pine blanketed the clearing. The cool air was quite as the early morning sun began to rise in the sky. Any other morning like this would be considered beautiful, but alas this was not meant to be on this day. The calm air was disturbed by the sound of an engine approaching the clearing. The vehicles headlight illuminated the clearing as two men stepped from it. Both men were donned in matching Khaki shirts and jeans, a star sat on both of their shirts. The pair approached a large tower in the center of the clearing, which loomed over space like a leviathan.
"Holy shit, they are tall." One man said, looking to the other.
"Haven't you been to a fire tower?" The other replied.
"No, Sheriff. This is actually my first time in the park."
"Well Greer, sounds like you need to get out more."
"I get out plenty."
"Hooters for Tuesday Deal Day doesn't count. The scenery here is more, breathtaking."
"You need to go with us sometime if you think that. Hooters does have some pretty good scenery. Lots of... Mountains, if you will."
"Shut up Greer." The Sheriff scowled, grinning once his back was turned to Greer.
The pair made the climb up to the top of the fire tower, both a bit out of breath once they reached the door. Greer noticed a small hole in one of the windows that encompassed the walls of the tower. His train of thought was broken as a man opened the door of the tower.
"Hi, you guys with the sheriff's office?" The man asked in a low voice, his face flushed and sweaty.
"Yeah, I'm Sheriff Branch and this is Deputy Greer." The sheriff noticed the hole in the window then looked to the man. "You the park Ranger that called this in?" The man looked at the hole, shivering a bit as he did.
"Yea-Yeah, it was me. Someone took a shot at me last night while I was coming back from a hike around the lake."
"And you waited to call this in?" Greer asked, a confused look on his face.
"I had to run five miles to get a phone, in the dark!" The Ranger exclaimed. He moved from the doorway and all the men walked into the tower. "The bullet took out my radio!" Sheriff Branch looked over the radio on the table, a hole through the center of it.
"The shooter was close, very close," Greer stated as he looked around the tower's interior. It was an open fifteen by fifteen room with windows on all sides, giving an occupant a commanding view of the surrounding mountains and forest. There was a bed on the left-hand side of the room, parallel to the wall the door was on. A small bookshelf next to the bed opposite a stove and sink on the adjacent wall. A small blue dresser and oak table with matching chair sat next to a couch. In the center of the room sat the main purpose of the tower, the Osborne Fire Finder, a device used to locate distance and elevation of a forest fire.
"How do you figure?" The Ranger asked
"There is a rather small exit hole in the roof." Greer pointed out the hole to the others. "Judging by the small diameter of the hole, the round came from a rifle. The diameter also shows little to no deformation of the round after it passed through your radio, meaning that it had a lot of energy left in it once it left the room."
"Go see if you can find the location of the shooter when they shot." Branch said, looking to Greer. Greer nodded and headed down the tower. Once at the bottom, he looked over the area before heading in the direction of where he figured the shot was fired from. He noticed a set of bushes that would be good cover from the tower. Pulling his flashlight from his belt Greer looked through the now illuminated bush.
"Found something!" Greer yelled as he bent over to retrieve a brass rifle casing. HE examined it closely. He noticed how clean and polished it was, no burs around the neck or irregularities. ".308 Winchester," Greer yelled to the pair in the tower. "Probably a hand load."
"Well that's good you found it. I am lucky he missed." The Park Ranger said, chuckling nervously.
"No, he didn't miss." Branch declared in a low voice as his eyes swept the landscape nervously. "He hit exactly what he was aiming for, your radio." He didn't want you to call for help and probably expected you to hide in the tower, not run off for help. Our shooter is still out there and will probably be back." The Sheriff looked to the ranger, "Don't worry though you are coming back with me." He then looked to Greer who was still looking through the bushes. "Greer!" He yelled
"Yes, Sheriff?" Greer replied his head still pointed down at the ground.
"You are gonna miss Hooters Deal Day this week." Exclaimed the Sheriff, a grin on his face. "Grab your three-day pack from the Bronco, you're going camping."