Eight
Eliza couldn’t get back to the car fast enough, her heart pounding in her chest, her mind whirring and pinging with ideas.
“I think I have something,” she said as they shut themselves inside.
“I know!” Joey’s eyes were bright, his smile wide. “That was the wheelchair, right? It had all the stickers you told me about.”
Eliza frowned and waved a hand. “Yeah, it was, but there are no security cameras over there. Anyone could’ve taken that wheelchair. It’s a dead end.”
“Oh.” His smile fell.
He had such a cute smile. It was horrible to ruin it.
“But I just remembered something else,” she said. “I’m in all of the local Facebook groups – I live for small-town drama.”
“Who doesn’t?” Joey said, the corner of his mouth curving upward.
Eliza sucked in a breath. That smirk . He could totally pull off a leading role in a 90s movie. “Last week, a guy made a post ranting about people parking on his property. He went on and on about how he was going to set their cars on fire and this was their final warning.”
Joey’s eyebrows went up, his eyes round. “That’s a bit dramatic.”
It wasn’t just his smile, it was his whole face. He could convey so much with just the tilt of his head. He was so cute…
Eliza forced herself to look away. “He’s convinced some tourists are trying to move in and claim squatter’s rights – and I know it sounds weird, but what if it’s the truck from the robbery? Who else would just leave their car abandoned like that?”
“Do you know where he lives?”
Eliza nodded. “He’s one of Granny’s neighbors. He’s nice enough, just private. Sometimes angry.”
“Angry and a pyromaniac,” Joey said with a nod. “If we step on his property, will he come after us with a flamethrower?”
She tapped a finger to her chin. “You never know. We should bring cookies. You know, just in case.”
Joey pulled a plastic bag out of his pocket. “I’ve got scones!”
The absolute joy on his face made her burst with laughter. She bent forward, covering her mouth, her body shaking with giddy excitement. He followed, laughing like a fool.
Was this really happening? Was she really hunting down robbery clues with a handsome, charming, world traveler like Joey?
It took her a moment to recover. She wiped a tear from her eye and said, “Whew, okay. Shall we?”
It felt like it took forever to get to the property, even though it was only a seven-minute drive. They turned off the main road and drove slowly along the makeshift path, the car rocking left and right in the ruts.
A quarter mile into the property, Eliza spotted it.
“There!” She pointed. “I think that’s a truck, right?”
“It’s definitely some sort of white vehicle.” Joey squinted and stopped the car. “Yeah. It is a truck.”
Her heart skipped a beat and made her cough.
“Are you all right?” Joey asked.
She took a deep breath. What were the chances the robber was camping out in that truck? Everyone was obsessing over how he’d managed to get away from the island, but what if he’d never left?
And what if he recognized her and came after them? “Uh, yeah. Just scared. Maybe we should go back and call the police.”
“Let me creep a little closer. We’ll just peek in.”
The car lurched forward and Eliza shot him a look. “ Joey! What if he’s in there?”
“What if it’s not even his truck?”
It looked like his truck. She squinted to make out the license plate. “I’m pretty sure it’s his. I’ll call the police.”
A person stepped in front of their car and Eliza and Joey screamed.
“Reverse! Get out of here!” Eliza yelled.
Joey fumbled with the gear shifter before putting them into neutral and revving the engine.
The woman walked closer, waving her arms. “Hey!”
Eliza glared at him. “I thought you were good under pressure.”
“I’m better with planes,” he said in a low voice. “It’s fine. We’ll just say hello and be on our way.”
They got closer and Eliza recognized the woman – Stacy, the ATF agent who’d insinuated she was stupid.
Just what she needed.
Eliza slid down in her seat, doing her best to disappear into the floor.
Joey rolled down his window. “Hey there! Didn’t expect to see you here.”
She scowled at him. “What are you doing?”
He whipped out the bag of scones and held it up. “I was going to drop off some scones for my neighbor.”
“Your neighbor?” She crossed her arms. “What neighbor?”
With her heart still thundering away and the car refusing to absorb her, Eliza made a mistake: she coughed.
Stacy leaned down to look at her. “Miss Dennet. Interesting seeing you again.”
Eliza leaned forward and meekly waived. “Hi, Agent Stacy. Ned is my Granny’s neighbor and she wanted us to bring over some scones and –”
Stacy cut her off. “This is an active crime scene.” She paused. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
Joey said, “No,” just as Eliza said, “Oh?”
She stared at the pair of them. “You weren’t poking around, were you?”
This time, they both said no.
She nodded, hands on her hips. “Tell me you’re not doing something as dumb as trying to get that reward.”
Joey and Eliza looked at each other, each trying to master the look of innocence to varying degrees of success.
“The robber is a dangerous man. You’re going to get yourselves killed.”
“What? Us? No!” Joey said. “We had no idea this was a crime scene. Did you catch him? The bank robber?”
“I don’t have time for this,” she said with a sigh. “Get out of here.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Joey said.
This time, he was able to appropriately put the car in reverse.
“Hang on,” Stacy said, leaning into the window. “Leave the scones.”
He handed them to her and she waved them off. The car reversed rapidly down the hill.
When they got back to the road, Joey burst into laughter. “Did you see her face? She was so mad!”
Eliza forced herself to sit up. It still felt like her heart was on the floor of the car. “That was the ATF agent who thinks I’m an idiot.”
“ Oh, ” Joey said with a groan. “That’s why she knew your name.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m sorry, but isn’t this amazing?”
She scrunched her forehead. “What? Proving her point that I’m stupid?”
“You’re clearly the opposite of stupid. You were right! That was his truck. You almost got there before they did.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m not still an idiot. She’s right. We should stop looking for this guy. He could hurt us. He could—”
The car lurched to the side of the road and stopped.
Eliza gripped the handle of the car door, her knuckles white. “What’s wrong?”
“Are you serious right now?” Joey stared at her, eyes narrowed.
“ Are you serious right now? Why are we stopping?”
He sighed and tilted his head. “Are you really going to make me say it?”
She kept her grip strong. “Say what?”
He unbuckled his seat belt and turned to face her. “You are not an idiot, Eliza. In fact, you’re frighteningly smart. You scare people. You scare me .”
The tension dropped from her shoulders and she laughed.
Joey said nothing. His expression softened and his eyes remained fixed on her, taking her in.
Her stomach was off the car floor now, back up in her throat.
“When I told you that you remind me of my best friend,” he said. “I meant it. He’s the funniest person I’ve ever met. Hilarious. My face always hurts whenever I hang out with him.”
Eliza looked down at her hands. “Sorry about your weak face, Joey.”
He laughed and shook his head. “Stop trying to distract me.”
“Distract you from what?” she asked, raising her eyebrows in mock alarm. “Clearly, it’s not driving. You’re terrible at it.”
“I’m trying to have a moment with you here and you’re roasting me.”
“I didn’t know we were having a moment. My apologies.”
He smiled. “Thank you. Like I was saying. My best friend has the same problem as you.”
She couldn’t stop herself. “He’s a loser?”
“No,” Joey said gently. “He’s too hard on himself. He thinks he has to be perfect, that anything else is a failure. Anything human is a failure.”
Eliza was tempted to crack a joke about not being human, but instead she said, “Ah.”
“We don’t have to keep looking for the robber. That’s fine. But you’ve got to help me out. You’ve got to believe in yourself a little. ”
This was getting serious. Eliza fidgeted, pushing her hair behind her ear. “Okay, sure. Fine!”
“I’m not trying to yell at you, but come on! You’re a step ahead of the federal agents investigating this crime, and that’s without any help. Just your own memories and critical thinking. That’s incredible.”
She glanced at him. “Thanks.”
“I’ve served literally no purpose except to bring the scones, and still, I feel pretty great about my role in the whole thing.”
“Well, that was pretty clever.”
“Thank you. I agree.” Joey sat back. “I’m happy to keep looking for this guy, especially with you as my partner. But you’ve got to show some faith.”
She looked over at him. “In you?”
“No.” His stare was unwavering. “In yourself.”
She groaned. “Fine.”
“Fine?”
“I said fine!” Eliza crossed her arms.
“Cool.” He put the car back into drive. “How about we go to a bakery to get some more scones and talk next steps?”
“Sounds good to me,” she said, turning to the window to hide her smile.