Chapter 6
CHAPTER
SIX
Olive and Jason circled the larger shed, using their flashlights to guide their steps.
The wooden door still hung slightly open, the padlock dangling loose from its clasp. A small roof overhang had prevented snowdrifts from blocking the entrance.
Using her gloved hand, Olive pulled the door open. It creaked like bones grinding, the sound sending a shiver up her spine.
Inside, the smell of fuel oil mixed with cold metal. A dim lightbulb glowed over a jumble of snow shovels, propane tanks, and stacked firewood.
Olive stepped carefully, her boots crunching on the packed-dirt floor.
Her flashlight beam skimmed over the far side of the shed—and stopped.
Something glittered in the corner.
Olive crossed the space and knelt.
A cracked cell phone.
Jason frowned. “JJ’s?”
“Maybe.” She picked it up with her gloved hand and tried to turn it on—nothing. Dead battery. “If it sat out here long enough, it’ll need a full charge before we can pull data.”
Jason studied her face. “You think JJ was targeted?”
“I don’t know what to think at this point.”
She remembered the flash drive.
She hadn’t told Rex or anyone about it yet. Instinct told her to wait—to hold one card close until she knew for sure who at Aegis could be trusted.
Jason seemed to read her mind. “I noticed you didn’t mention the jump drive to anyone inside.”
“I didn’t. I want to look at it first—just until I know who I can trust.”
“Makes sense.”
She and Jason stepped outside again.
The snow had already softened their tracks from minutes earlier. The storm was trying—and succeeding—in erasing everything.
They paused beside each other at the edge of the back yard and stared at the vast wilderness beyond the inn and its outbuildings. Barren trees stood caked in snow. The mountain sloped downward from the back deck, so steep it would be hard to climb down without proper equipment.
If circumstances weren’t dire, the sight would be beautiful and serene.
Now it seemed isolated, like a trap.
“What are you thinking?” Jason asked.
“That we have a murder to solve.” Her jaw tightened as she said the words.
Jason gave a humorless laugh. “That’s comforting.”
She glanced at him, the faintest smirk tugging one corner of her mouth. “You wanted me to rest. This is my version of resting.”
“Remind me never to book a vacation with you.”
Olive and Jason trudged back toward the inn, wind pushing at their backs. The cold seeped through Olive’s coat and settled in her bones. But the chill inside her ran deeper than the mountain air.
Inside, the fire still burned, and the savory aroma of beef filled the air, making Olive’s stomach grumble.
Mitzi and Nova sat on a loveseat, murmuring in low tones. Tevin sat on the couch, working on a malfunctioning drone he’d brought with him. Someone rattled around in the kitchen—Mara and Warren probably.
Rex and Trick were somewhere out of sight.
Just as Olive stripped off her gloves and brushed snow from her sleeves, Rex appeared from the hallway, his expression still concerned. “Any progress?”
“We found JJ’s cell phone in the shed and confirmed footsteps leading back to the inn.”
A flicker of surprise crossed his gaze. “Any info on the cell?”
“It’s dead right now. I’ll give it to Tevin and let him work his magic.”
“Do that.” Rex’s gaze darkened. “We need to find answers.”
“I agree.” She paused, contemplating the wisdom of asking her next question. She asked anyway. “By the way, did you get everything you needed at the store?”
An unreadable emotion flashed through his gaze before disappearing. “As a matter of fact, no, I didn’t. I couldn’t find what I needed.”
He offered no more explanation.
Olive slipped her hand into her jeans pocket and felt the hard edge of the flash drive press against her palm.
Whatever secrets this device held might have already cost one life.
She intended to make sure it didn’t cost another.