CHAPTER EIGHT
Now that Brody had had time to digest the news—that he was single and unemployed—he’d given some thought to not finishing the assignment.
Why should he? After what they’d done to him?
But after a lengthy mental debate, his professionalism prevailed.
He would complete the job. Plus, they’d already paid for the seven-day stay and the flights.
If he didn’t finish it, they might come after him for reimbursement, and the last thing he wanted was to owe them anything.
On yesterday’s drive from the airport to Green Valley Falls, he’d done some thinking. Well, probably better described as stewing.
How could Chloe cheat on him? How did he not see she was the type of woman capable of it? And how could he have been so far off on where their relationship was?
He thought he’d done okay as a boyfriend. Except for being gone all the time, he listened, was supportive, rubbed her feet, and drew her a bath after a long day of work. What more could he have done?
At thirty-five, he’d had his share of girlfriends. And though he usually did the breaking up, he was always respectful and gentle. If he’d had a Yelp page, he guessed most women would rate him five out of five. Never had a complaint anyway. And certainly never been cheated on.
Brody had gone to The Rusty Nail for dinner. He’d been honest when Nick approached him at the bar and asked how the trip had gone.
News would spread, but Brody didn’t much care. He wouldn’t debase himself by begging Nick to keep his business a secret. Seemed too junior-high-ish and not worth relinquishing his man card over.
This morning, he slept in and then drove around assessing photo opportunities, finally stopping at the diner in town. He was hungry, and they had free Wi-Fi. He sat in a booth, opened his laptop, and ordered a club sandwich.
First, he logged into his bank accounts and investment portfolio. He needed to determine how long he could go without income. Since his phone bill and payments to his mom were automatic, it had been a while since he’d checked his account.
Wanderlust paid all of his travel expenses. And because he was constantly on the road, he had no rent or mortgage, no water or electric bills, no car payment. Really, except for his phone, food while he wasn’t on the job, and a new shirt every now and then, he hardly spent any money.
Which explained all the zeros in his savings account. He’d be fine. Even paying his mom’s mortgage, which he’d been doing for years, he could take his time figuring out what to do next.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he pulled it out to check the caller ID. Speak of the devil. It was his mom.
Since he’d walked in, the other diners had been shooting him dirty looks. Small-town folk were always wary of strangers, but this had more menace to it. They probably suspected he was the prison escapee.
“Hi, Mom,” he said louder than needed, hoping it would put to rest any fears that he was about to rob the place. After all, what kind of cold-blooded killer would take a call from his mother?
“Honey!” she said. “How are you? I don’t know what took me so long, but I just put two and two together and realized your latest assignment is right up there by where this escaped convict is running around.”
“Yeah. Funny story about that.” His mom would get a hoot out of Alex mistaking him for the bad guy and calling the police. “Later though. I’m in a diner having lunch right now. How are you?”
“I’m fine. How’d the trip to New York go?” Sometimes he regretted telling her everything.
“Oh, well.” He lowered his voice. “I didn’t do it.”
“Really? Why not?”
Brody couldn’t tell if it was disappointment or relief in his mother’s tone. She’d never been outright rude to Chloe, but he sometimes got the impression that she didn’t really like her.
“Uh, we actually broke up instead.” No way he was giving details about why, especially not here, in the middle of the lunch crowd. The other patrons had given up the pretense of not watching him and were openly eavesdropping on his conversation.
“What? Why? What’d she do?”
The bells on the front door rang, and Nick walked in. Seeing Brody, he held up a hand and started his way.
“I can’t get into it now,” Brody whispered. “I’ll call you later with the details. Love you.” He clicked off just as Nick arrived.
“Mind?” Nick asked, nodding at the seat across from Brody.
“’Course not. Saved me from an awkward convo.”
“Chloe?”
“Nah,” he said. “My mom.”
“Ah, yes.” Nick chuckled. “I have one of those. She upset about the breakup?”
“Not sure yet,” Brody said. “She was kinda weird about it. Thanks for sitting with me. I get the feeling everyone thinks I’m The Grocer. Lunching with local law enforcement might be the only thing that keeps the pitchforks from coming out.”
“I bet. Stranger danger gets a whole new meaning in a small town.” He turned to the room and raised his voice. “He’s cool, y’all.”
An audible collective sigh rang out. Shoulders slumped in relief, eyes reverted to plates of food, and the whispers stopped.
“That was easy.” Brody chuckled. “Thanks. Any word on whether they’re closing in on this guy?”
“Green Valley Falls is in their search parameters, so I receive updates from the task force every few hours. I’m guessing there’ll be feds in town by the end of the day.”
“Hey, Nicky,” the waitress greeted. “What can I get cha?”
“Edna,” Nick said. “This is Brody. He’s staying out at Alex’s for a while. Don’t let Saul poison his soup, eh?”
“We that obvious?” Edna laughed. “Sorry, Brody, but you know, this whole thing’s got the town on edge.”
“State and federal law enforcement will be pokin’ around soon,” Nick said. “I trust you’ll spread the word?”
“’Course, hon.”
“Thanks. Can I get a turkey on rye and a slice of raspberry cheesecake to go? Boxed separate if it isn’t too much trouble.”
“You bet. If the cheesecake’s for Faith, I’ll run it over to her.”
“That’d be great. I gotta get back to the office.”
Brody liked how everyone seemed to know stuff about each other and thought it would be nice to someday live in such a close-knit community. That reminded him of his conversation with Nick last night.
“You told your friends about my misfortune in NYC?”
“Eh.” Nick shrugged. “They woulda found out anyway. No sense trying to keep secrets around here.”
“No worries. I get it.”
After Nick left, Brody finished his sandwich, wrote a few notes on his current project, and packed up his laptop. He exchanged friendly nods with a few of the patrons on his way out, already feeling more included.
On the drive back to Whispering Pines, he noticed the turnoff to the state park and diverted, thinking maybe he’d take a short hike.
Nature would soothe his battered soul. Whether it was the rhythmic waves of the ocean, the heavy, humid blanket of the jungle, or the wide open, windy cliffs of Scotland, the sights and sounds of Mother Nature always calmed him.
He found the trailhead for the falls and parked. The trees were gloriously stoic. Bright, vivid leaves would soon wither, leaving them naked and vulnerable. But even in the face of losing everything, their spines remained straight and proud.
Okay, perhaps he was being a little dramatic. But the metaphor did sort of fit his situation. And if the trees could survive total exposure, so could he.
He double-timed it up the hill. Blood pumping and breath heavy, he crested the last part of the trail before it broke out to the falls. He heard voices and slowed, recognizing Alex’s right away.
She and a man he assumed to be Drake faced the falls, their backs to him. Drake’s arm hung around Alex’s shoulders, her arm around his waist. She stared intently and commented on how beautiful it was. Drake nodded and agreed, but discreetly checked his watch.
Alex said something about being all alone. So, not wanting to startle them, Brody cleared his throat loudly before approaching.
“Ahh,” Alex gasped, turning to face him, but relaxing once she saw him. “Oh, it’s just you. You scared the crap out of me.”
“Hello to you too,” Brody greeted.
“You guys know each other?” Drake asked.
“He’s staying in one of the cabins,” Alex explained.
“Ah. Hey, man.” Drake lifted his chin in greeting.
“Sorry to intrude,” Brody said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just grab a quick picture and then head out.”
“No worries,” Drake said over the top of Alex’s, “Okay.”
“We’re done here anyway,” Drake continued. “Take your time.”
Alex looked up in astonishment, as though this was news to her.
Brody glanced between the two of them, landing on Alex. “You sure?”
“Yeah,” Drake answered. “Let’s go get a beer, hon. All this hiking’s made me thirsty.”
Alex pursed her lips, clearly biting her tongue about something. But she didn’t protest when Drake reslung his arm over her shoulders and pushed her toward the trail.
They collectively mumbled goodbye, and once they were out of earshot, Brody found a place to set up his tripod. The sunlight came in like a perfectly placed spotlight on the falls, causing the water to shimmer and glow.
It was soothing and therapeutic. He could spend all day up here, but eventually a small family popped through the trees. Kids yelled, ran, and took turns throwing rocks into the water, killing the moment. He loaded up his stuff and headed back down the trail.
Now that he was in town for a solid few days, he stopped by the Kitchen Kart grocery store and stocked up on meat, cheese, bread, and apples.
Coming out, something in front of the hardware store next door caught his eye. He put the groceries in the trunk and crossed the parking lot to The Tool Shed.
A sturdy pine-wood rocking chair was what had snagged his attention. He sat down to give it a test drive. It was perfect. Totally impractical—it’s not like he could take it back to New York—but he had to have it.
When he entered to inquire about it, a kid in a red vest was talking with an elderly gentleman.
“Tyler went home sick today,” the pimply-faced teen said. “So I’m the only one here until closing. I could come by after work, but that’d be late. How about tomorrow?”
“That’s okay, Danny. Just sell me the parts and I’ll see if my granddaughter can help me out. I’d do it myself, ’cept for this stupid arthritis. Won’t let me hold a drill straight anymore.”
“Anything I can do?” Brody asked, approaching the duo. “Sorry to interrupt, but I couldn’t help but overhear. I got nothing but time on my hands if you need assistance with something.”
Both men gave him a cautious once-over.
“I swear I’m not The Grocer.” Brody held up both hands as a sign of goodwill. “I’m only visiting, but I know Sheriff Walker. He’ll vouch for me. You can call him if you want.”
The older man laughed. “All right, son. If you got nothin’ better to do. I need help installin’ a deadbolt. It’ll be the first time in forty years I’ve locked my door, but no sense turnin’ a blind eye to a murderer on the loose.”
“I understand. Better safe than sorry. If you have the tools, I’m sure I can figure it out. I’m Brody, by the way.” He thrust out a hand, and the old man shook it.
“Charles. Thanks. I’ll just check out, and you can follow me home?”
“Sounds good.” Brody turned to the employee. “I wanted to ask about the rocking chair on display out front. How can I get one? Preferably delivered since I only have a car.”
“That’s luck,” Charles said. “We’ll throw it in my truck and swing by your place before we head out to mine. Where you stayin’?”
“A campground called Whispering Pines.”
Charles’ eyes widened, and a dubious expression crossed his face. “Alex know you’re bringing in new furniture?”
Of course he knew Alex. “Oh, well, I figured it might be better to ask for forgiveness than permission.”
“Smart. We got ourselves a plan then?”
They each checked out, and the teen helped Brody put the rocker in the bed of Charles’ truck. After a quick stop at his cabin, where he unloaded his groceries and the rocking chair, he followed Charles to his place and installed the lock.
While he worked, they listened to the local news, which was all about the manhunt.
There were conflicting reports. One sighting was on a road near Lake Winnisquam.
Another person swore they saw him hitchhiking on Highway 104.
There was a report of a stolen vehicle in Meredith, and the latest theory was that it was him, and he had long since left the area. The gist was that no one knew for sure.
“This was a good idea,” Brody said, tightening the final screw and returning the screwdriver to the toolbox. “Now you can rest easy. Or easier anyway.”
“Hope they catch him soon. We’re losing tons of tourist business over this nonsense.”
Brody nodded.
“Well,” Charles said. “Thanks for your help. Maybe I’ll see ya around. Stay safe.”
Even after the newscast’s speculation that the escapee could be anywhere in the area, Brody still thought the odds were slim that he would end up in Green Valley Falls. But on the off chance he was wrong, he locked the cabin door when he got home.
He glanced through some of the pictures he’d taken at the falls, which made him think of Alex and her douche-y boyfriend. Brody had contemplated telling Alex what he’d seen on the plane, but there hadn’t been an opportunity. Plus, it wasn’t his place.
She was a grown woman and seemed entirely capable of making her own decisions. Brody would be leaving in a few days, and it was none of his business.