Page 24 of Shattered By the Currents

“Lottie.”

Raven’s jaw dropped.No. The town couldn’t bethatsmall, could it?

“She had quite the story to tell me about how you embarrassed her today,” he continued.

She rubbed her temple, a headache throbbing behind her eyes. “That was a private conversation?—”

“Really? She said you yelled at her in front of all her friends.”

“No—”

“That youhumiliatedher.”

“Dale. Please. Where am I supposed to go?”

“That’s not my problem. You didn’t pay your rent on time, so I found someone else. I’ll be there tomorrow morning for you to grab your shit. We can talk about your security deposit. Then I never want to see you again.”

He hung up—and Raven stood there, jaw open, wondering what the heck she was supposed to do and where she was supposed to sleep.

Connor leanedback in the deck chair, the Montana air cooling his skin. He was back at Deep River Residence, cup of tea in hand, Herbert beside him.

He wasn’t a tea drinker. But the beverage options had been peppermint or chamomile…he’d gone peppermint.

Herbert sipped his own drink. “This is nice. I don’t usually get a visit from you or your team unless I’ve tried to hightail it out of here.”

Connor chuckled. The fact the old man could joke about his great escapes was good. It meant he was having an okay day, and Connor might get a bit more out of him. “I’ve actually got something I’d like to talk to you about.”

A resident passed them, but Herbert paid them no attention. He lifted his brows at Connor. “I don’t know what you could possibly need from an old man like me?”

Connor sipped his tea. Fuck, it was worse than he’d thought. He set it on the small table between them. “Can we talk about your daughter, Lila?”

The small smile slipped from Herbert’s mouth. “Lila. Don’t get to talk about her much. Think about her all the time though. What do you want to know?”

“I’d love to know about the circumstances of her disappearance.”

Herbert looked into the forest beyond the fence, but it was clear he wasn’t really seeing it. “She went missing on a Friday. She called me that morning. I remember because she was checking on me after Thursday night poker. She always checked on me. She was good like that.”

“But neither of you lived in Deep River, right?”

“No. We’re from Minnesota. I only moved here after she went missing. For so long, I thought I could find her. Or convince that damn sheriff to take her disappearance seriously. But neither of those things happened. Now I just go to that spot to feel close to her.”

“Why was she here?”

“She was a hiker. She told her friends she was here to hike the trails.”

“But you don’t think that was true?”

Herbert’s frown deepened. “She was also a journalist. I knew she wasn’t telling me something. I pushed and she revealed she was here for a story.”

“What kind of story?”

He was silent for a moment, his gaze on the trees again, unfocused. “I tried to call her that night. She didn’t answer. Immediately, I knew something was wrong. She always answered my calls.”

“Herbert—”

“I called the sheriff.” He laughed, but the sound held no humor. It was almost angry. “Rodney Ward. Couldn’t believe it when he wouldn’t even start a search. So I caught the first flight I could and searched myself. I didn’t know these woods, but I learned them.”

“Why do you think she was killed, Herbert?”