A man had come to Logan with his meager life savings wanting him to investigate what he believed to be the murder of his son. Logan was one of those investigators who worked with the police and this case was not an active crime file. The young man had died in an auto accident and there was nothing to indicate it was murder – nothing except a possible connection to drugs. The accident had been in a remote area of Madison County, Arkansas. It was mountainous and shrouded in heavy forest. What Logan needed was someone who had a reason to be there and knowledgeable about the forest.
Barrett reached the car and paused a moment, digging the keys from his pocket. His idle gaze was drawn to the magnetic sign on the car door. “Monroe Lumber Company, Ft Smith, Arkansas," he read in a quiet voice. At least he was official.
He climbed into the car and pulled the door shut. Pulling the pistol and holster from his shoulder, he shoved it under the driver’s seat. That wasn’t the best place for it, but in this kind of country, it felt safer. He had a permit to carry it but he had been cautioned not to trust the local law.
Starting the engine, he turned the vehicle around and headed back toward the main road. He didn’t want to get stuck on this road at night. He pressed harder on the accelerator.
He had barely gone a half mile when movement in the brush beside the road sent his foot to the brake pedal. A doe and fawn leaped from the brush into the road, directly in his path. He instinctively jerked the steering wheel to the side, slamming on the brakes. The tires were unable to get enough traction on the loose dirt and rocks and the rear end of the car slid to the left, sending the front end off the edge of the road.
Pumping the brakes did little good on the dusty road. Momentum sent the vehicle plunging down a steep embankment. Once out of control, there was little he could do but try to avoid personal injury. The car bounced over clumps of brush and rocks, careening wildly down the steep slope. A canyon yawned ahead, dark and threatening. He frantically turned the steering wheel; hoping brush would stop his descent. The car crashed through the brush and slammed into a tree. The seatbelt and air bag prevented him from going through the windshield, but his head hit the driver's side window with a solid thump. His last cognizant thought was that no one knew where he was.