Chapter 4 #2
“Forty minutes or so.” Cam handed her a cup of coffee from the small pot on the desktop. “I’ve been scouring social media for anything on Dan Johnson and Tyler Stromberg. Tyler has a page, and it appears he’s living in Grand Rapids now. Interestingly, I can’t find anything on Dan Johnson.”
She frowned, peering over his shoulder at the computer screen. “It’s a very common name, looks like there are hundreds of them.”
“Yeah. And so far, none are the Dan Johnson I remember.” He grimaced and clicked on another page. “I’ve narrowed my search to Grand Haven but didn’t get any hits. Then I broadened the search to Michigan but still haven’t found him.”
“Maybe he’s using a nickname? Some people prefer some anonymity when posting online.”
“I considered that possibility, but he didn’t have a nickname back in high school.” He clicked on another icon, then moved on to the next. “I’m starting to think he’s just not on social media.”
“A lot of people avoid it.” She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I need to take Bruno out.”
“I already did that.” He arched a brow, the corner of his mouth quirking in a lopsided grin. “Hate to tell you this, but you slept through it.”
She flushed, then shrugged. Obviously, her exhaustion had caught up with her. “I feel better, so thank you. Do you still want to head back to the nature preserve to see where Bruno found Skye’s remains?”
“Yes. And I’m working on a rental property too.” He tapped the screen. “I hope to hear back soon.”
“Great.” She was glad to have another option rather than this too-close-for-comfort motel room.
If not for her bone-deep exhaustion, she suspected she would have lain awake most of the night listening to Cam’s slow, deep breaths.
The sooner they found someplace else to stay, the better. “I wouldn’t mind breakfast.”
“That’s high on my list.” He continued working the screen. “Just give me a few minutes here. I’m almost finished.”
She finished her coffee, then pulled out Bruno’s doggy dishes. After filling them with food and water, she waited for Bruno to sit and stare up at her expectantly. She ran her hand over his silky fur, then pointed at the dishes. “Go ahead, boy.”
At her command, he quickly jumped up to eat his food.
She wondered if Bruno may have spent some time training as a police K9, but if that was true, why had he been abandoned at the side of the road?
Several scenarios came to mind, none of them good, so she decided to let it go.
Bruno hadn’t been chipped when she’d found him, so that led her to believe he hadn’t been a K9 in training.
Unless Bruno’s previous owner hadn’t taken the time to get the chip.
By the time Bruno finished eating and slurping his water, Cam had packed away his computer and was ready to go. As before, he carried their items.
“We’ll walk back to pick up your car,” Cam said as they left room eight. “I don’t know if a restaurant will allow Bruno inside. And we’re going to be staying at a rental property from this point forward. There’s no way the gunman can track us there. I used Grayson’s Guardians to secure the place.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.” With renewed energy, she fell into step beside him. As they walked the two miles back to the Haven Suites, she silently prayed they’d uncover something that would keep Cam from being arrested and tossed in jail.
Cam matched his pace to Evie’s, squelching the urge to rush.
He was eager to find something, anything he could use to clear his name.
He’d woken every couple of hours, much the way they’d slept when in Afghanistan, constantly on alert for the slightest noise.
He’d caught himself watching Evie sleep.
Bruno had lifted his head to look at him but then had gone back to sleep too.
He hoped the rental property owner responded quickly to his query. He couldn’t take spending another night in a small, cramped motel room with Evie. If the gunman hadn’t found them, the suite would have been perfect.
Best laid plans, he thought with a sigh.
He retraced their path from last night. There was more traffic on the roads now as locals headed to work.
Tourists were making their way to the lakefront to enjoy the last few weeks of summer.
It occurred to Cam that despite the way his mother had drank herself to death, his life in Grand Haven had been a good one.
At least until Skye had disappeared.
Upon reaching their vehicles, he was relieved to see they appeared unharmed. The gunfire had missed Evie’s SUV, and since it had the crate area for Bruno, he agreed to continue using her car. The bright-blue color was rather distinctive, but so was his rag-top Jeep.
On the way to back to Evie’s mother’s house, they went through a restaurant drive-through to grab a breakfast sandwich. Evie pulled over in the parking lot. Glancing at him, she clasped her hands together in her lap.
“I’d like to say grace.” Before he could say anything in response, she began. “Dear Lord Jesus, we thank You for this food we are about to eat. We also thank You for keeping us safe from harm and ask that You please continue to guide us to the truth. Amen.”
“Amen.” The response came without his thinking about it. He hadn’t prayed in the five years since the disastrous exfil from Afghanistan, but there was no denying they needed all the help they could get. Did God care that he was in trouble? He wasn’t convinced.
They ate and sipped their coffee. Then Evie put the SUV in gear and continued cruising through town. Grand Haven’s downtown was bustling with activity now, and he was grateful for the tourists who would help hide them.
As they turned onto the road that would take them to Evie’s mother’s home, he noticed the traffic thinned.
This wasn’t the usual route tourists would take to enter the nature preserve.
Which only reinforced, at least in his mind, that a local resident killed and buried Skye’s body all those years ago.
Evie pulled into the driveway but didn’t shut off the car engine. “Would you open the garage for me? The four-digit code is my birthday.” She provided the numbers. “I think it’s best to park inside.”
“Good thinking.” He slid out and opened the garage door. When Evie and Bruno emerged a moment later, he closed it again. “Ready?”
“Yes. Come, Bruno.” She rounded the garage to walk into the backyard. He followed her and Bruno.
The trek through the woods didn’t take long. He caught a glimpse of the yellow crime scene tape strung between the trees. Despite the warmth of the summer day, a cold chill snaked down his spine as he saw the overturned earth where the police had removed what was left of Skye Gray.
“I can’t stop thinking about how Skye was buried here for all these years,” Evie’s low voice broke the silence.
“Yeah.” The breakfast sandwich sat like a rock in his gut.
He could all too easily imagine Evie following Bruno here to find the human skull along with the scrap of Skye’s clothing.
He wondered if the autopsy would reveal any new information.
Not that he expected Detective Rueger to fill him in if they did.
Quite the opposite.
“How far off the main path is this?” He glanced at Evie. “Do you know?”
“No idea, but let’s find out.” She used her arm to move some low-hanging branches out of the way and continued walking through the woods in the opposite direction from where her mother’s house was located.
Bruno trotted ahead of them, his nose to the ground. Cam half expected Bruno to lead them to the path, but instead, the dog abruptly veered off to the left, which seemed to go deeper into the woods.
“Bruno, where are you going?” Evie sounded annoyed.