Page 22 of Beneath Still Waters

It’s not a guilt trip. It’s really not. It’s how she cares.“You’re going out with Dad anyway. I’m not trying to avoid you.” She wiggled her swollen foot into her running shoe.

“That’s not the point, dear. In case you didn’t notice my sarcasm, you’re supposed to be resting. You told me working for the Cody department was what you wanted. You’re taking a big risk by not resting.” She punctuated every few words by tapping her finger on the table.

“Mom, it can’t be that bad. You haven’t broken into my baking ingredients yet. You always bake when you’re stressed. So, I’m not to the point of stressing you out yet. Do you want to talk about it, or should I get out the flour now and let you have at it?”

Mom made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort. “You’re not a psychologist, you know.”

“I don’t need to be one. I’ve lived with you most of my life. You didn’t answer my question.”

“I’m fine.”Bang.She was going to bruise her finger if she kept that up.

Ferd flinched. Hopefully Mom wouldn’t scratch her new coated pans. The coating seemed too fragile for what Mom could throw at them. “I’m going running. I likely won’t be alone, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about out here. Go on your date. You didn’t get to have dates for years. I’ll talk to you later.”

Mom continued abusing her fingertips on Ferd’s table as she gingerly made her way out the front door and down her front steps. She shivered in the early evening cool filtering from the earth. Spring never warmed up fast enough. To warm up, she started with a walk that turned to a stride, then a speed walk and finally a jog. Nope, that’s as fast as her body would go.

“Wasn’t sure I’d see you.” Duke fell into step at her side and matched her pace. “Running helps me think. I’m glad you suggested it.”

“You keep showing up. You're making this look intentional.” She frowned, keeping her body facing forward so he wouldn’t see it. In no way did she want to give off the impression that she was available.

“Well, like I said earlier, I don’t date people I work with. And you’re not staying here anyway. Not saying you’re not cool. I’d work with you if you wanted to come to Piper’s Ridge, but . . .”

“I’m not staying in Piper’s Ridge.” She couldn’t put her foot down any harder than stating the truth out loud.

“Then we don’t have anything to worry about. I’ll owe you one, though. If you ever need help with a case in Cody, you’ll have to call me.” He gave a self-deprecating snort.

“You didn’t even have a chance to work on this alone. If you want me to back off . . . I mean, my mom just lit into me about not resting while I’m here. Maybe she has a point.” If her muscles had any say, Mom was right.

“That’s not what I meant. I’m not saying I couldn’t handle the case alone, but it’s been good to have someone to step in and flex where I’m not strong and even to have another set of ears in a situation. If you hadn’t been there when we went out to Kevin’s farm, I never would’ve known how creepy Heath was.”

She laughed and slowed her pace. “I’m not sure it matters. Every person we talk to has a different read on this man. It’s like he was sixteen different people.”

Duke slowed his pace to keep alongside her. “That’s not uncommon. People act a little differently with everyone they know. You probably don’t act the same around your pastor as you do with the guys you work with, right?”

And you will know them by their fruit . . .“I’m not profane, if that’s what you mean.”

“No.” He shook his head. “That’s not it at all. I mean your overall personality probably doesn’t change, but you adjust some things to be more visible around your pastor and some to be more visible around your co-workers. That’s all.”

She let a few paces go by. Duke’s phone buzzed loudly, and she abruptly slowed to a walk so he could answer.

“Duke speaking.” He took slow, long strides. “Are you serious? Where?” The speaker went on for a good long while.

Ferd stopped and rubbed her leg muscles.It’s been four weeks. When will the pain stop?

“We’ll need to go find it then. Send the coordinates to me. Looks like we’ll be taking on Red Lake tomorrow.”

Ferd froze. Out. On the water? That was the last place she wanted to be.

NINETEEN

Choppy water roiled the boat along with Ferd’s stomach. She held tightly to the rail. “Seems like we needed a bigger boat.”

Duke held the tiller at the back to steer the outboard where to go. Compared to Bailey’s, this boat was a speck on the water.

“It’s the only watercraft available to the Piper’s Ridge PD. Hopefully, we won’t have to be at these coordinates for long.” He dug inside a duffel bag and handed her a pair of binoculars. “Start looking along the water for anything that doesn’t look right. There are no markers or buoys placed out here. No one swims on Red Lake.”

Why? How deep was it?

She resisted releasing the side of the boat for as long as possible. The speed alone made her feel like she’d be tossed to the waves and plummet to her death. The front of the boat popping up a few inches randomly didn’t help either. Bracing her feet against the wooden bench seat, she lined the binoculars to her eyes and adjusted the dial.