Chapter 33
CHAPTER 33
TODAY
O live, Reid, Trick, and Tevin left after breakfast the next morning to look for the body Tevin had spotted with his drone.
Did it look suspicious that the four of them were going somewhere together? Probably.
But they had no choice right now. They needed to keep this part of the investigation under wraps until they figured out some answers.
“Turn here,” Tevin said as he stared at his computer screen.
Reid did as he was told.
They continued to drive deeper into the wilderness on Reid’s property.
It was really so beautiful and pure.
Too bad so many bad things were happening here, Olive mused.
Reid pulled to a stop on the side of the service road. “We’ll have to go the rest of the way on foot. There are no roads leading to the stream—I didn’t want to make it any easier for hunters and fishermen to use my property. Everyone, gear up.”
He parked and then they pulled some backpacks from the back.
From all appearances, it would only be a two-mile hike. But they needed to be prepared for anything.
Olive heaved her backpack onto her shoulders. She’d packed it carefully, complete with water, beef jerky, and nuts. She’d also brought a flashlight and blanket, just in case.
Her gun was tucked into a holster at her waist.
After what happened to Tevin yesterday, they had to be careful. Very careful.
Reid led the way, Tevin behind him calling out directions. Olive came next, and Trick brought up the rear.
As they walked, they all kept their eyes wide open for trouble.
“How long ago did Andy disappear?” Tevin asked.
“It’s been almost three weeks now,” Reid said. “Part of me hoped he’d just left. I didn’t want to see any harm come to him.”
Olive remembered the gun she’d seen Edgar and Jon placing in Skip Carson’s desk.
Had they been trying to set Skip up? The man was married to Edgar’s sister—although there could be bad blood between them. It was an angle they hadn’t explored yet.
What connection did these men have to this situation? Or were there two separate crimes going on here? Did those guys have anything to do with the will? With Andy being missing? With Reid being blacklisted?
Olive still wasn’t sure. Answers were slow to emerge during this investigation—which was driving her crazy. But sometimes these things took time, she reminded herself.
Suddenly, Reid stopped and held up a hand.
She reached for her gun, expecting the worst.
Then a shadow stepped from the woods and faced them.
“What exactly do you do when you encounter a moose in the wild?” Tevin murmured as he stared at the enormous creature in front of them.
Yes, a moose. The animal was huge and much more intimidating than Olive had imagined—over six feet, if she had to guess. Its antlers rose like curvy cleavers on either side. Its huge hooves were planted in front of them—hooves that could crush someone’s ribs.
“For now, stay still.” Reid barely moved his lips and remained stiff as he spoke in a soft tone. “Let’s see what this guy is going to do.”
Olive’s heart beat harder.
The creature looked docile, but she knew they could be deadly. She’d never encountered one herself. She would have to trust Reid’s expertise on this.
The animal glanced at them as if sizing them up.
Then he looked back into the woods as if contemplating his actions.
Would he think they were a threat and charge them? Or would he retreat?
Olive waited, her heart thrumming in her chest.
Finally, the moose turned. He took a step, glanced at them one more time, and then sauntered into the woods. Leaves and sticks cracked under its weight, and the creature let out a small snort as if to say, “That’s what I thought . . .”
Olive released the breath she’d been holding.
They waited until the moose was a safe distance away before they relaxed and started to walk again.
“That’s one beautiful animal.” Tevin glanced through the trees at the creature again.
“Beautiful but deadly,” Reid noted.
Much like people could be, Olive mused. Daphne’s and Lucy’s images filled her mind.
Did evil lurk beyond their good looks? It was a definite possibility.
“Are people allowed to hunt moose around here?” Trick asked.
“At certain times of year and with special permits,” Reid said. “Mostly locals get those types of permits, and there are a lot of stipulations to what you can hunt. But the people who are able to get those permits live for open season.”
They continued to walk.
“It should be just up ahead.” Tevin looked at the screen on his phone again.
The trees cleared, and the stream appeared in the distance.
Water gushed over the stones there, and evergreen trees reached toward the sky. Sandy banks stretched on one side of the area, almost giving it a beach-like appearance.
Tevin pushed ahead and paused. “It should be right here.”
Olive looked around, recognizing the landscape from the photo.
But she didn’t see a body. “Are you sure this is the right spot?”
“I’m positive.”
Olive suppressed a sigh.
Those guys had clearly known Tevin had discovered the body. They must have come back last night and moved it.
This time, they’d covered up any evidence. She didn’t see any footprints or other indications that a body had been here and then been moved.
She paced among the rocks, searching for anything that might give them some answers.
Then the sun glinted on something.
She leaned down to get a better look, and her breath caught. Was that . . . ?
She pulled a glove from her pocket and lifted the object from the pebbles, holding it to the light.
“What is it?” Reid asked.
“A bullet casing. If I had to guess, it’s from a Glock . . . like the one I saw those two men putting in Skip Carson’s office drawer.”
“We just found our connection,” Reid muttered.
“Yes, we did.”
Andy hadn’t disappeared of his own free will. No, for some reason, he’d been killed, and his body hidden.
But why? What was his involvement in all of this?
As she pondered those questions, a stick cracked in the woods behind her.
Olive realized they weren’t out here alone.