“Did you try to help him?” Mark’s silence was answer enough.
The Terrible Decision For several minutes after the shooting,
Mark claimed he could barely move. He had never seen someone die before.
He remembered the sudden stillness. The birds returning.
The wind moving through the branches.
The terrible realization that the rest of the world
continued even though a human life had just ended.
Liam, however, seemed focused on one thing. Avoiding prison.
“We have to move him,” Liam said. Mark stared at his brother.
“What?” “We can’t leave him here.” “He needs an ambulance!”
Liam looked down at Jaden. Then back at Mark. “He’s dead.”
Mark started shaking. “We have to call somebody.”
“Call the police and tell them what?” No answer came.
Liam stepped closer. “They’ll put us both away.” “I didn’t shoot him!”
“You were here. Your truck. Your equipment. Your fingerprints.”
Mark whispered, “That doesn’t make me a murderer.”
Liam’s face turned cold. “Then don’t become one by talking.”
It was a threat disguised as advice. And Mark obeyed.
The brothers took Jaden’s equipment. They removed his backpack.
They collected his belongings.
They searched for identifying documents and photographs
that could link them to the scene. Then Liam noticed the orange tent.
It was still packed among Jaden’s camping gear.
Mark later told investigators that his brother stared at
it for several seconds before making a decision. “We’ll use that.”
They wrapped Jaden’s body in the tent.
Tied it tightly with synthetic rope.
Loaded it into their pickup truck beneath a dark tarpaulin.
And drove toward a narrow ravine. The Shadow Wedge.
A place surrounded by steep slopes and dense vegetation.
A place few people visited.
A place where even experienced search teams could easily
miss something hidden beneath the branches.
Mark helped carry the wrapped body down the slope.
He told Rivers he remembered slipping on a rock.
Liam shouted at him to be careful.
Not because he was concerned about the young man they were carrying.
But because he didn’t want the bundle to tear.
They lowered Jaden into the ravine.
Covered the orange fabric with branches and stones.
And climbed back toward the truck.
Before they left, Mark looked behind him.
A little piece of orange was still visible. He started to walk back.
“What are you doing?” Liam demanded. “You can still see it.”
Liam dragged another branch across the ground and dropped it over the fabric.
“There.” Then they drove away. They returned home. Ate dinner.
And pretended nothing had happened.
