On the Horizon – Dead Man.

There’s an enormous challenge in writing this book.

First, some of it has already been told. The entire case (or most of it) has, in one form or another, spanned the existing books. It also spans a period of years.

Of course, I haven’t told the ending yet.

Here’s what’s known so far:

• 1992 – A massive snowstorm in the mountains traps several hunters. Two sons walk out to get help for their ailing father, Howard Brigthman. Howard cannot make the trek in the snow, so he stayed behind at their camp. The idea was they’d get horses or snowmobiles and come and get him. One brother got injured, and the weather decided otherwise. It’s up to RJ and the high Angle rescue team to mount a helicopter rescue. Because of the weather, that doesn’t work out, and it isn’t until the storm breaks that they’re able to insert in and find the camp. But it’s empty. Howard Brightman is long gone. Despite a massive ground search, they couldn’t find him.
• 1993 – A hiker finds a wallet belonging to Howard Brightman. A search of the area doesn’t turn him up.
• 1994 – A group of hikers find human remains. RJ takes a team up to collect them. One of the last things collected is the skull. When they found it, they discovered a bullet hole behind where the right ear had been. A pistol is found at the scene.
• 1995 – The FBI identifies the body as belonging to Howard Brightman. Now, the question is what happened to him?

So far, the story has been told from Will’s perspective and is based on reports and conversations with RJ. Translation: he wasn’t there.

But there are several things that are established.

First, Pam knows the Brightmans. When James Brightman sees her in the Conejos County Sheriff’s Office, he says, “You travel hundreds of miles to go hunting in the middle of nowhere and what happens? You run into the girl next door.”

Also, most everything concerning RJ and Pam’s relationship is third hand.

But if you’ve read the first four novels, there’s something going on between them, and I thought it would be fun to look into that. Hence, this novel looks at them and the challenges they overcome as a couple.