30. Lana #2
She finished the drink she was working on, then quickly made another for me, adding my favorite syrups without asking. I wrapped my hands around it as she passed it to me, letting the warmth seep into my hands and deeper, into my bones.
“Toren’s on his way here. We need to figure out what we’re going to do. I want to say Deke’s tying up loose ends, but I think it’s more than that.” The man creeped me out from the moment he entered the tent that night. There was just something about his eyes. They were so cold.
Dead.
I suppressed a shiver and glanced at the clock on my phone. Toren should be here in another ten minutes or so.
That ten minutes passed at a snail’s pace as I sat at the end of the counter and sipped the latte Mina made for me.
Then another five minutes slid by.
Then another.
I picked up my phone and opened my recent calls, tapping his name.
It rang five times, then rolled to voicemail.
“Oh, come on,” I muttered. Sighing, I ended the call. He was probably driving. I’d give him another few minutes.
But when those minutes ticked by, and he still hadn’t walked through the door, my worry ratcheted up a notch, and I dialed again.
Mina wandered over as the third ring trilled in my ear. Two more sounded and it rolled to voicemail again.
Growling, I ended the call.
“Maybe he’s in a dead zone,” Mina offered. “The service out there is terrible, especially for phone calls.”
“Yeah. But it’s been forty-five minutes since we talked. He said he’d be here in thirty. He should at least be on his way, and I know his phone connects to his truck.” The vehicle was too new not to have that feature.
“I’m going to drive up there. Maybe he needs help with Eloise.” I hoped that’s all it was, and that I’d pass him on the road on the way to his house, then feel like an idiot for overreacting.
“Who?” Mina frowned.
“One of his chickens.”
“A chicken? Named Eloise?”
I nodded, stepping away from the counter. “She’s a menace.”
She chuckled. “Sounds… interesting.”
“Oh, she is.” I raised my coffee cup in farewell. “I’ll be back.”
“Be careful,” she called. “And keep your phone on. Call me when you find him, so I know you’re all right.”
Waving, I acknowledged her request and walked out the door.
Back in my car, I quickly pointed my little crossover SUV in the direction of Toren’s house. On the way, I called Ozzie, something urging me to have a backup plan.
“Quartermaine.”
“Hey, Ozzie. It’s Lana. Do you have a minute?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“So, Toren was supposed to meet me at The Cozy Cup almost twenty minutes ago. I’m driving up there now, but if you don’t hear from me in like half an hour, can you come up there?”
There was beat of silence on the line. “Do you know something I need to know?”
“No. I just—it’s a feeling. Luke told me about Vic. I can’t shake the feeling Deke has revenge on his mind.”
“Lana, I agree Vic’s death is disturbing and suspicious, but there’s no guarantee it was Deke. There’s also nothing that says he’s out to kill you or Toren.”
“I know. But you didn’t look into that man’s eyes and see his lack of a soul.” I shuddered. “He’s creepy and just… dead inside. I don’t know how else to explain it.”
Ozzie blew out a long breath. “Um…”
“Please, Ozzie? Half an hour. Then call. If I don’t answer, come check on us.”
“Okay, fine. I’ll call. But you better answer if you’re able. I don’t want to drive up there just to find out you left your phone out of earshot.”
“I will keep it on me. And we should have a code word.”
He chuckled. “You watch too many murder shows.”
“I don’t watch any, thank you very much. I read books.”
“That’s even worse.”
I smiled but continued like he hadn’t protested. “Toren has a chicken named Eloise. If I mention her by name, we’re in trouble.”
He huffed a laugh. “Okay.”
Saying goodbye, I hung up, then put my foot down, only slowing when necessary on the curves.
I still hadn’t passed him by the time I approached the twisted pines that marked the turn off for the long, winding, rutted road that led to his house.
My seatbelt held me tight as I braked hard and swung into the turn. Immediately, I hit a rut and bounced in my seat.
Maybe slow down a little, Lana.
I let off the gas just a tad, heeding to the state of the drive.
Moments later, I was glad I had.
Rounding a bend, I hit the brakes, skidding on the gravel as I steered around the mud-spattered, twenty-year-old gray SUV parked half off the road.
My heart climbed into my throat. Whose car was that?
I stopped behind it.
For a split second, I debated whether to park and get out or to drive around it, but rationality won out and I went with caution. I killed my car’s engine and got out.
Sticking to the dirt beside the driveway that was covered in pine needles, I walked toward Toren’s house.
As I neared the clearing, the sound of a male voice carried toward me.
That wasn’t Toren’s voice.
I hurried to the tree line, stopping behind a particularly thick trunk, and peered toward the cabin. Only the chickens in the yard—the ones that were supposed to be locked up—moved.
Taking my phone from my pocket, I glanced at the signal icon. I had a bar.
I didn’t dare call, though, just in case my voice carried. It might not go through, either, with such a low signal. So, I brought up my messages and typed out a single-word text to Ozzie:
Eloise.