Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
The following morning, Ferd answered her door in her running shorts and tank top, ready to go for an early morning jog. Her sore muscles needed a stretch after so much time in the car the day before.
Duke handed her a mug of coffee. “Caramel latte, extra whip.”
“Bless you.” She took a tentative sip, and it was still piping hot. “But . . .” She held her arms wide. “I can’t drink and run.”
“We can do a short jog while these cool.” He set his own mug on her catch-all table next to her door. “What do you say?”
“Sure.” Why not? She already had her shoes on.
They started at a slower pace, then quickened it to a solid jog within a half mile. Both remained silent. The only noises were their feet hitting the gravel alongside the road.
“I hear voices.” She slowed a little. “By the lake.” She pointed in the direction of the sounds.
“Do we care? It’s a public lake.” Duke bounced in place.
“I do. It’s where the boat was. What if it’s someone who expected the boat to be there or the delivery to be there and now, they’re looking for Bailey?”
Duke glanced at his watch. “Okay, but our coffee will be cold. If they see us, we’ve got zero protection. I’m not even carrying my badge.”
She headed down the path, keeping her footsteps quiet as possible.
As she neared the beach and the cover became shorter, she had to crouch to get close enough to hear what was being said.
She immediately recognized Carl, the old guy who’d breathed down her neck on the boat, talking on the phone while leaning against a car.
Duke squeezed her arm and dug his phone out of his pocket. He typed up a quick note.
We’re worried about Carl?
Was she? Not really. He had as much reason to be there as they did. He was a boat captain who could be doing any number of things, including satisfying his own curiosity. She lifted a shoulder so she didn’t have to talk or dig out her phone.
He waved her back away from Carl as he kept low but headed back for the road. Acid burned her throat, but she ignored it. Carl had been weird and rude, but he’d given no reason for them to add his name to an already overflowing list of suspects.
Duke walked along the road, and she followed him, careful not to make the long grass move or to trip and give away their position with noise. She wanted to listen instead of going. Concentrating on both being silent and focusing on what Carl said was impossible.
She stopped when Duke did, just as Carl raised his voice to whoever he was talking to.
“It’s not my fault. I didn’t lose anything. I did the job you paid me to do. I’m a fisherman. You want to do something about it. Come and do it!”
A few seconds later his car door slammed, and the tires kicked up dirt as he accelerated toward the road. Duke gripped her hand and yanked her into the reeds and long grass, out of sight in case Carl looked in his rearview mirror. Rocks and sand pressed into her hip and palms.
When Carl had driven far enough away that she couldn’t hear the engine, Ferd rose and brushed the debris from her knees. “Wonder who he was talking to? Are the local fishermen known for working with companies far away?”
Duke frowned. “No. Most of them only fish for some of the expensive restaurants in Cheyenne, but there’s no way of knowing how far away that person was or if it has anything to do with our case.
Let’s walk back. There’s no way all these people are wound up in this murder.
I refuse to believe it. While we drink our coffee, we can talk about knocking people off the list. I also need to call The Piper’s Ridge Rest and find out if George has decided to join us in Wyoming. ”
She looked back to the spot where Carl had just sped out. “I had no idea that place was even still open. There’s never anyone there.” She massaged her leg as they continued to walk. The scar wasn’t as tender now as it had been even a week before. “Duke, I should probably tell you something.”
“Uh oh. I don’t like the sound of that.”
She closed her eyes for a few paces and let the sound of his steps lead the way.
“I got an email last evening from the Cody chief of police. He wants to meet with me in person to discuss my future with the force. I’ve been gone four and a half weeks and, other than to inform him I re-injured myself, I haven’t updated them.
He wants to see me and all my medical records showing I’m actively trying to do what I need to in order to return to work, including physical therapy and counseling.
The state has paid for me to take the time off, now I need to prove I still need it.
” After last night, there was no question she did. Would they give it to her?
“Do you?” he asked, then gave her space to answer.
She ran her fingers over the grass that reached as high as her elbows.
“I don’t know what to say to him. Mentally, I’m not there yet.
Even wearing my sidearm the last three days when I’ve been out working this case with you has been hard.
I don’t know how I’ll act in a shooting situation.
I don’t want to go back if my mental state could put another officer in danger.
” Thank God Connor had texted her at 5 A.M. that Brendon could fit her in tomorrow.
“I don’t need to point out that you’re already doing it here. Right? You’ve been an active part of this case.”
“You trying to get rid of me and send me back to Cody?” She elbowed him.
“Not at all. Just pointing out that you may have a better handle on your fears than you think.”
She shook her head. “I wish I could agree with you, but I can’t. I watch how you interact with people. I trust that you would handle the situation if anything happened because you’re the officer here, not me. I may be trained, but my badge means nothing here.”
“Maybe not nothing.” Duke toed off his shoes on her porch and waited for her to unlock the door.
“Thanks. That actually means a lot.” She let him inside and hung her keys on the hook just inside the door.
“Hey, I brought you coffee and I run with you. Why can’t I give you a little moral boost, too?”
“I wish I knew for sure what to do. I want to be here when you solve this case.”
He leaned against the counter as he grabbed his coffee and took a drink. “When we solve the case. You might still be here. You don’t know what they’ll say. If you really need more time to get your emotions in order, it’s better to have you stay on leave than to force you to return.”
He might be right, but if he was, it meant she shouldn’t be helping him either.