Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Dark clouds hid the sun, heavy with the promise of rain.
Laney kept pace with Jonah as he headed for the boathouse.
She was reeling from the news that Eddie’s ex-wife had taken out a restraining order against him.
It seemed hard to believe, so when she spotted her deputy ranger, Andy, speaking with Zoe near a park bench, she touched Jonah’s arm.
“Wait, before we talk to Eddie, I want to speak to Zoe again about Ava’s volunteer work this spring. And I’d like to know if Andy had any knowledge of the restraining order.”
Every piece of information they gathered would help suss out whether Eddie was telling the truth. She preferred to have as many answers to her questions as possible before interviewing a person of interest.
Jonah nodded, and then he fell into step beside her as she moved to join them.
Zoe spotted them first, her lips curving up into a welcoming smile.
Her ranger uniform was dusty, as if she’d been hiking the trails, and in one hand, she held a canteen of water.
“Hey, boss, good timing. We were just talking about you.”
“How come?” Laney asked, coming to a stop in the grass. She expected to feel Scout beside her, but then remembered she’d left the dog in the conference room with Ryker and Tate. Scout was getting up there in years, and needed more rest.
“We need to complete the agenda for the TDPW site inspection on Tuesday morning,” Zoe said.
Laney's stomach dropped. She'd completely forgotten. The TDPW had scheduled this months ago, and as acting superintendent, it was imperative that she be in attendance. She’d been planning for weeks to ask them to increase the budget for projects and repairs that needed to be made. “Tuesday morning.”
“Ten o'clock,” Andy supplied, adjusting his ranger hat against the threatening weather.
The lines in his weathered face were deeper, and he looked as exhausted as Laney felt.
“They want a full tour of the facilities, then a working lunch meeting to discuss budget priorities and operational challenges.”
He gave her a pointed look. One that needed no interpretation. Screwing up this meeting would sink any chance she would have of being superintendent. If she wanted the job.
With everything going on, Laney hadn’t even had time to think about it.
Regardless, she couldn’t blow this meeting off.
For the park’s sake, if not her own. Convincing TDPW to increase their annual budget would go a long way toward funding necessary upgrades.
“Let’s set a time to go over the final details.
” She checked her schedule on her phone.
“Two o’clock tomorrow work for everyone? ”
Both Andy and Zoe agreed. Laney made a note in her calendar. With that matter handled, she moved on. “Zoe, it’s come to my attention that Ava Morrison volunteered here. In fact, she worked our Spring Jamboree last year, in the wildlife center.”
Zoe gasped, bringing a hand to her mouth. “That’s why she looked so familiar to me. I kept staring at her picture, thinking I recognized her from somewhere, but dismissed the notion as a figment of my imagination.” She lowered her hand, her expression troubled.
“Do you remember working with her?” Jonah asked.
“No. We had so many volunteers that week…” Zoe pulled out her phone.
“Wait, let me check something. I email out the volunteer schedule at the beginning of each event.” She tapped on her screen, scrolling through old messages.
“Here—Spring Jamboree, March 18th. I sent the assignments to all the volunteers and staff supervisors.”
She squinted at her phone, reading. “Ava Morrison... yes, she's on here. Assigned to the wildlife center for three days, Wednesday through Friday of that week. Eddie Sorensen was her direct supervisor.” Zoe looked up. “She was one of his volunteers. He would’ve worked with her directly. Maybe he remembers more about her.”
“We’ll check with him,” Laney said. “Speaking of Eddie, I know there were some challenges with him during the Spring Jamboree. Do you recall if he had any troublesome interactions with volunteers or issues with anyone on staff?”
“No, Eddie gets along great with everyone. My biggest issues with him were work related. Showing up late, slacking on projects, sloppiness. Every time I called him out on it, he always apologized. I think he was just going through a rough time back then. His dad had just died, and Eddie took it hard. Plus, he was in the midst of a troublesome divorce. His wife had never gotten along with his family, and Eddie knew they had real problems in the marriage, but he was brokenhearted about the separation.” A blush crept across her cheeks.
“I covered for him more than I should have, but I felt bad about what he was going through.”
“I understand.” Laney would never fault one of her subordinates for having a kind heart. And Zoe’s description of Eddie was similar to her own. A small measure of comfort. “Thanks for your help. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Zoe gave a small wave and then strolled away.
Laney waited until she was out of earshot before turning to face her chief ranger. “Were you aware that Eddie’s wife took out a restraining order against him?”
Andy blinked in shock, his mouth falling open. It was rare to catch the older man by surprise. “Absolutely not.” His gaze skipped to Jonah before landing back on Laney. “You…you think Eddie committed these murders?”
No, she didn’t, but that wasn’t the point. “He’s keeping secrets. Eddie didn’t mention working with Ava during the Spring Jamboree, nor did he tell us about the restraining order. How I feel about Eddie is irrelevant. We have to follow the evidence where it leads us.”
Andy mulled that over for a minute and dipped his chin. “You’re right. I just…I find it hard to believe he had anything to do with this.”
“Do me a favor. Reach out to the people on Zoe's schedule who were in the wildlife center at the same time as Ava. See if any of them remember her or Eddie. Frame it as routine follow-up for the investigation. Don't mention that Eddie's a person of interest.”
He nodded sharply. “You got it.”
Laney started to turn away and then stopped. “Oh, and Andy, please be discreet. We don’t know with any certainty that Eddie is involved. I don't want to damage his reputation, especially if there's an innocent explanation.”
“Understood.”
His expression was troubled. Laney could tell Andy didn’t like the idea of one of their own being responsible for these heinous crimes any more than she did. She couldn’t walk away without giving him some measure of comfort. “Try not to worry. We’ll figure this out.”
He nodded and then ambled toward the visitor center, his gait slower than she remembered.
He suddenly looked…old. Andy had worked for the park service for nearly thirty years.
He’d made it clear he didn’t want the superintendent job.
None of the other rangers on staff had enough experience to take on the challenge.
Which meant that if Laney didn’t take the job, they would have to bring in someone from outside Piney Woods.
Someone who may not agree with the programs they created or their renovation plans.
Someone who might not care about the employees the way she did…
Guilt swamped her. How could she walk away from this promotion? The thought was followed immediately by a sense of panic and dread. Taking the job would mean staying here permanently…something she’d never planned on or wanted.
“You okay?” Jonah’s question jolted Laney out of her thoughts. “You went a million miles away.”
She shook her head. “Sorry. Just thinking. Let’s get this over with.” Laney crossed the grass toward the boathouse. Movement near the dock caught her eye. A man was fishing in the restricted section near the rental area. She altered course, Jonah following.
The fisherman wore scuffed tennis shoes, a sweat-stained gray T-shirt, and a faded red ball cap pulled low over his eyes.
His fishing pole looked worse for wear, with duct tape holding the reel assembly together.
A scraggly beard covered the lower half of his face, and he had the weathered, sun-damaged skin of someone who spent most of their time outdoors.
He didn't notice their approach, focused on his line.
“Excuse me, sir,” Laney called out.
The man’s head jerked up, his muddy brown eyes widening beneath the brim of his cap. Up close, she could see the nervous tension in his posture. His gaze shot from her to Jonah. His fishing pole trembled.
“You can't fish here. This area is reserved for boat rentals and swimming. There's designated fishing spots marked on the map at the visitor center, or you can fish from the north shore.”
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” His words were hurried, and he immediately started reeling in his line, the movements jerky. “Didn't know. I'll move.”
“No problem. Just check the park map next time. And make sure you have a valid fishing license. It's required.”
He bobbed his head without making eye contact, already gathering his tackle box. Within seconds, he'd packed up and was heading toward the tree line at a brisk walk.
Laney watched him go for a moment before turning back toward the boathouse.
“He was nervous,” Jonah observed.
“Probably afraid I was going to cite him. Sometimes, people who are food insecure or homeless come here to fish, and don’t have a permit. I don’t like to write them up unless they continually violate the rules.”
They reached the boathouse. Through the open bay doors, Laney could see the Sunday afternoon rush in full swing.
A family of four clustered around the rental counter, the parents debating between kayaks and canoes while their kids bounced with impatience.
Two college-aged guys were hauling life jackets from the storage racks, and a young couple stood near the dock studying a laminated map of the lake's best fishing spots.