Page 100 of Trigger Happy

Bobbi in an oversized plaid shirt and round sunglasses, smiling at her Cowboy Candle booth next to Ella (granddaughter, dead-woman extraordinaire), but that’s not what makes a chill ripple down my spine. It’s the brown-haired, blue-eyed man with his arm casually slung around Bobbi.

Those familiar, almond-shaped eyes, that fake, golden-retriever smile.

It’s Walker.

46Sabrina

Walker.

Lawton’s brother, Walker.

My heart can’t decide if it wants to freeze or gallop. I squint, staring at the photo again, just to make sure I’m not seeing things, but no. That’s him. Icy blue eyes, a smirk that’s more conniving than Lawton’s lazy one. Just looking at this photo makes me want to smash it into a million pieces.

“What the…”

Walker was a “freelancer” like us, so he traveled all over the world for jobs. It’s not completely outlandish that he would come to Wyoming, but still. Why was he here?

I take a step back, and bump into a side table covered in tiny wooden horses, almost knocking one to its tragic death.

There’s a sick twist in my gut, like that kind you get when you just know it’s going to be a both-ends type of stomach bug situation. The woman in the hot spring. The dungeon full of wigs. Bobbi. Walker. So many floating threads.

I can’t let Lawton see this.

We need to leave.

Now.

I pull out my phone and snap a photo of the frame, and then I take a slow, controlled breath before checking my reflection in the hallway mirror. My hair’s still sleek, thank you, smoothing oil. My cheeks are flushed, but I can pass that off as too much blush. I take a deep breath and force my lips into a grin.

My god, is that really what I look like when I smile?

I try again.

Not much better, but it’ll have to do.

“Find anything?”

I yelp, spinning around until I’m face-to-face with Lawton. I quickly shift so that I’m standing in front of the picture, blocking his view. “Shit, you scared me.”

“Did I?” His brows pinch. “You don’t scare easy.”

“I guess I’m just on edge.”

He nods. “Well, Bea keeps crying every time I mention her granddaughter, but I did get her full name. Ella Payne. If she is the woman in the hot spring, we can search the missing persons reports in Montana.”

Montana.

That’s why we couldn’t find her. If she went missing in Montana, that’s where the case would have been filed, not Wyoming.

Lawton tilts his head, peering at me. “You okay? You seem nervous, and you’re never nervous.”

He searches my face, and I do my best to smile. I used to be able to look him dead in the eye and lie my ass off, but now I can barely meet his concerned gaze.

I swallow the dryness in my throat. “I’m okay. I just feel bad for Bea. Her granddaughter deserved better.”

“Yeah, she did.” He puts an arm around me. “Come on, let’s head out. I don’t think we’re gonna get much else out of her, but at least now we can see if there’s anything tying Bobbi or Arch to her granddaughter.”

We get into his truck, and the four hours back to Benson feels like twelve.