Page 14 of Beneath Still Waters

If a tough big brother was going to humble himself and ask for forgiveness, who was she to keep it from him. “Of course. Always.”

He leaned against the counter next to her and crossed his arms, forming a semi-intimate private space. “You think we have squatters nearby? That’s not good. I don’t like it. They’llbe hiding who they are. They’re close enough that it could be someone looking for one of our guests.”

That hadn’t occurred to her but it made sense. “Well, I’m not sure. I suggested what could’ve happened. You never know who they are or why they’re there. They could’ve known the owner and could’ve been given the property when Abe died.”

He nodded slowly. “Plausible, but after knowing the man . . . doubtful. What does your gut tell you? For real.”

She blinked.He really wants to know?She'd missed this. Real conversations with her brother. “Honestly, it’s bad. Could just be the place wasn’t maintained and was creeping me out. But the two guys were weird. Was that how the place was when Abe was alive?”

He tilted his head. “No, not really. I mean, the trees made it shady up there and the house needed a couple coats of paint, but he maintained the yard and the few head of cattle he had. He wasn’t a rancher by any stretch of the imagination, but he worked hard. The reason I don’t believe he left it to anyone is because no one ever came to see him. He died alone. Nixon didn’t find him until he was crusty.”

She held back a flinch. She couldn’t let hearing things that turned her stomach show on her face. Even though Connor wasn’t on the force, he’d been in the military, which led to the same blunt way of looking at things.

“Why was he found after so long? Do you know?”

Connor stared her straight in the eyes. “A stranger called it in. Never did find out who.”

TWELVE

Ferd paused mid-bite when someone knocked on her cabin door. She dropped her spoon into her cereal. “Who is it?” She dashed to her room for her robe, not that she wore anything embarrassing to bed. No one needed to see her jammies though.

“Duke. Had a thought this morning.”

She rolled her eyes. He’d be burned out by forty if he didn’t let his home life be a place to relax. She gave her robe a quick tie and whipped the door open. “And what makes you think I want to talk to you at seven in the morning about the case?”

He gave a sheepish grin. “You didn’t come running, so I had to come find you. Want to go for coffee? I’ll buy you a Danish.” His grin spread wider.

Sacred Grounds coffee was amazing, but their pastries even topped her mother’s. “Give me ten minutes. Oh, and dump my cereal, will you?” She dashed back to her room, leaving him with the mess.

If you aren’t careful, you’ll find yourself staying in Piper’s Ridge, just to stay on a force that’s close to home.She shoved her cotton tee over her head and ignored her thoughts. With denim capris on, she met Duke in the living room. “Okay, ready.”She used the hair tie around her wrist to whip her curls into a semi-subdued bun.

He shook his head. “I don’t get you. You act like we’ve known each other for years. Partners or something.”

That stung. Maybe he didn’t really want a partner. “You don’t want me to be comfortable with you? Look, don’t answer that. I lived out in the middle of nowhere on an RV dude ranch most of my life. I had a few friends in high school, but no one close enough to keep up with. If I’m being weird, just let me be.”

“Noted.” He held up his hands in surrender. “I’ll drive.”

He never answered the question.Tension coiled in her chest. Was she acting strangely? She got in his car and buckled, ready to hear what had been so important that he had to come pick her up.

Duke turned on the local radio station then adjusted the sound down. “Nice place you have over here. I stopped at Wayside first. Lacy told me you live at The Haven, in cabin six. Why don’t you live at the ranch or in the big house? Like your brother? Or even in that house.” He nodded in the direction of the massive home that had been on the property since the 1800s. “Seems like as a sibling, you should get better digs than a cabin.”

Mixed signals. Now he sounds like a friend. What kind of answer does he want? “It’s condemned. There was a fire inside about five years ago. Connor can’t bring himself to bulldoze it, and it’s not really repairable. I like my little place here, not that it’s home or anything. I have an apartment in Cody.”

“Oh.” He went silent as he backed out of her driveway, then onto the road.

“So, are you going to tell me what you thought of?”

“I want to ask our team to look at the data from the boat. It had a decent navigation system for one that old. That electronics package cost more than the rest of the boat. It’s state-of-the-art.”

“I don’t know enough about boats to know what you mean. I saw the big computer-looking system when I found Bailey, but I was honestly distracted.”

“Understandable. I was too, which is why I didn’t think of it right away. Why would a boat that’s only on Red Lake need that? Nobody fishing Red Lake needs a chart plotter with side-scan sonar.”

That didn’t fit the boat she’d seen. “Wait . . . Why would Bailey need that system on a lake this size?”

“Good question. It makes me think Bailey knew there were things on or in his boat that would get him in big trouble if anyone else found them.”

“That’s why he was so stressed out that day. Not just because his boat was missing—which was a big deal, even without the drugs and nav system—but because he could’ve landed in jail if anyone else found it.”