Chapter 14
“No,” Dane said, holding up his hand in front of him. “Absolutely not.”
“Yes, absolutely so.” We stopped at a corner and waited to cross. “How else will we find out who killed William to take his job?”
I’d put an entire theory together while interviewing Mason and figured out what happened to William.
It was simple, really.
He’d gotten the job at the plantation, but someone else in the running wanted it more. They tracked William to the boat that night, drugged him, and pushed him overboard. Easy peasy. Once we learned who got that coveted position at Boone, we’d have our killer.
“You were going to look online and find out who they hired. There’s no need to risk a jail sentence,” he said as we passed the City Market.
At some point, I needed to stop there and pick up a few souvenirs. I tried to buy something special from each of the different cities I visited while doing research. It was better than the plastic junk I eventually threw away. I did a little window shopping at each booth visible as we walked past.
“I did,” I said once we were past, and I returned my attention to Dane. “But they never announced the new hire. They aren’t listed online under the employees’ section on the website.”
How were we going to figure out the killer without getting ahold of those records?
“Listen, Dane,” I said, using my best in-charge voice. “This is my investigation, and we do it as I think is best.”
He reared back an inch and blinked. “Is that so?”
“Yes,” I said and crossed my arms. He’d see the genius of my plan when it all came together.
“I have access to some useful resources.” Dane started across the street two steps before me.
“We’re hitting too many dead ends, Dane. Now is the time to move forward. This is the connection we need to break the case wide open.” And find the killer, solve the case, and go home winners. “This is it. I can feel it.”
“I can’t.” He slowed his steps enough to make eye contact with me and hold it.
Why did he have such pretty eyes? It made it more annoying when he looked at me like that.
“Fine,” I said and stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. People walked around us. “If not Boone Hall, where can I break into?”
“Nowhere, Delaney,” he said with an incredulous expression.
He was doubly annoying now. It’s like he didn’t even want to catch the killer.
“This is outrageous talk.” He started walking again. “I can’t believe we’re even having this discussion right now.”
“I agree.” We didn’t need to talk about it. “Trust my plan. They’ll never catch us.”
If things went well, no one would even know we were there. I wasn’t going to steal anything, just look at it.
Dane was worried about nothing. We’d go tonight, and I’d prove to him how this was the key to everything. He’d see.
“I’ll just go without my trusted bodyguard then.”
* * *
Walking beneath the Spanish moss-draped oaks with only moonlight to guide us felt like stepping into a dream where you didn’t want to wake up.
The branches arched overhead, heavy with moss.
My research said it took over two centuries for the trees to grow big enough to overlap the road as they did now.
“There’s still time to turn back,” Dane said as we crossed the street and entered the area of the Spanish-moss-filled oaks in front of Boone Hall.
Moonlight filtered through patches of the moss, casting shadows on the path we took. The air grew thick with humidity, damp earth, and flowers. It was beautiful, peaceful, and haunting.
I lifted my index finger to my lips and gave him a look.
We needed silence on this mission. I’d picked a direct approach, hoping the brazen part of it hid our intentions.
We’d sneak down the row of oaks and break into the administration building behind the main plantation home.
There we’d find the records room—it wasn’t on any map, but they had to have employee files somewhere—find the hiring records and see who was on the research team and their hire dates.
Perfect.
“Believe it or not, Delaney,” he said, not worried about the volume of his voice. “I’d rather be on one of your haunted walking tours right now.”
“Shhh.”
I knew he liked those tours way more than he admitted.
We walked in silence for a minute, using the large, overbearing oaks as cover. They were kind of creepy this late at night. The wind blew the Spanish moss gently, making the hanging pieces remind me of the legs of an octopus. A few more inches and they’d be able to reach down and grab us.
“Did your guy cut the cameras?” I asked Dane as we approached the end of the road. The crunch of gravel under our feet was the only sound between us as we walked side-by-side beneath the towering oaks.
He halted. “No. What?”
I turned around and walked back to him. “Your guy. The resources you have.”
“You told me there were no cameras.”
“Yeah.” I threw my hands up. “Because you said your guy could cut cameras.”
Dane’s eyes widened. “Delaney, you’d have to tell me there were cameras to cut first.”
“How would I know if and where they have cameras?” Oh, shit.
This was not good.
Adrenaline flooded my system, and my mind raced. This much anxiety couldn’t be good for me. How did criminals deal with it?
“I can’t believe you didn’t get the cameras cut,” I whisper-shouted at him. Did we turn around or keep going and risk an arrest? “What are the odds they have cameras?”
“I can’t believe you’re blaming this on me,” he said with his arms crossed and a pissed-off expression. “And they definitely have cameras. It’s a famous historical landmark.”
Whatever. I rolled my eyes. “Who wants to break into a museum?”
“Us, apparently!”
“Shhh,” I said, placing my finger against my lips again. What were we going to do?
The trunk of the tree next to Dane lit up with more than the moon’s light. That couldn’t be good. Two headlights crawled down the row of trees.
I shoved my hands in my pockets, happy to find them empty. “How long is the jail sentence for breaking and entering?”
“Why?” Dane asked and turned around. “Mother effer, Delaney. I cannot believe this.”
“What? This is not my fault.” Who would have thought there’d be a car on this road late at night?
The growl of tires as they crawled on the road silenced us both.
“Run!” I said, my eyes wide as the perfect plan came to me.
Dane grabbed my arm, not letting me get away. Behind him, red and blue lights flared to life. A quick squeal of a siren blasted just once in warning. A spotlight snapped on, flooding our path and burning my eyes.
I used my free hand to cover the glare. “There’s still time. We can make it,” I tried to argue.
“Let me handle this,” Dane growled in my ear.
The black and white cruiser pulled closer and stopped. A car door slammed. I squinted to see better, but it barely worked.
“Evenin’,” a male voice called out. “Mind telling me what you two are doing out there?”
I turned slowly, putting Dane at my side as the officer stepped away from the spotlight, making it easier to see him. He looked cranky. We were so screwed.
“Just took my little lady on a walk tonight and she wanted to see the oaks,” Dane answered, calling back to the officer.
He walked closer, his hand on his gun. “At midnight?”
“Bad sleeper.” I gave a nervous chuckle.
The officer stopped a foot from us and stared into our faces. With one hand holding his gun, he used his other to shine a flashlight directly at us. “This part of the road is not open to tourists this time of day. You’ll have to come back tomorrow and buy a ticket. Did you two miss the gate?”
“There’s a gate?” Dane asked, looking around like he’d forgotten how we slipped through the side twenty minutes earlier. “I guess we got turned around.”
The officer studied us for a long moment. Too long. Sweat beaded at my hairline. Somewhere above us, a tree branch creaked under its own weight. “You got any ID on you?”
Dane tensed beside me.