21. Twenty-One
TWENTY-ONE
T he house was empty, which was a relief. I texted Landon to be on the lookout for Dustin Carrington. He had questions. I gave him a very brief rundown, which didn’t appease him. There wasn’t much I could do about that. He wouldn’t rest until he saw me with his own eyes.
To buy ourselves time, we headed back to the inn to regroup.
“We didn’t find any bodies, or any reason to suggest there would be bodies,” Scout said as she munched on a cookie in the dining room.
Mom and the aunts had put together a big spread for lunch—something that had Gunner giddy with joy—and they were just putting the finishing touches on it.
“It’s possible the naiad is having to track these men individually by scent or something. ”
I leaned back in my chair, stretching my legs out in front of me. “Why would you think that?” It wasn’t that I doubted her, I just wanted to understand.
“I doubt very much that naiads are running around with cell phones and arguing about old episodes of America’s Next Top Model on Reddit. How is she getting the addresses?”
“Maybe she got to one of the leaders on the construction crew and they provided the information.”
“Maybe, but naiads have always seemed old school.” Scout shrugged as Landon and Chief Terry joined us.
“She has a point,” Stormy said. “If they’re living in the woods, where would they charge their phones?”
“Hey.” Landon moved closer to me, his gaze brimming with intensity. “Are you okay?”
“I told you I was okay when I texted,” I reminded him.
“I’m going to check for myself.” He grabbed my left arm as he sat next to me and immediately zeroed in on the new bruise there. “This is not what I was hoping to see.”
I shrugged. “It happened fast. It could’ve gone way worse.”
He grunted in response.
“She’s not kidding,” Stormy agreed. “That hole opened up out of nowhere. How did she even manage to do that?”
“It was a well,” I replied. “I think she tapped into the water in the well.”
Stormy placed her fingers on the table. “I guess that’s something to consider. If we want to lay a trap for her, we should avoid water.”
“She’ll want to be near water,” I mused. “In fact, she’ll want a big body of water so she can drown us if need be.”
Landon straightened. “Well, I don’t like that.” He shot a narrow-eyed glare at Gunner when the shifter offered him a cookie. “No thank you.”
“They’re good,” Gunner replied, missing the darkness that had taken over Landon’s handsome features. “They’re so good I wish I could get naked and roll around in them.”
“Landon is watching what he eats,” I volunteered, hoping that would be enough for Gunner to ease up. The glare Landon shot me suggested it was the wrong thing to say. “What? You’re on a diet. It’s not a big deal,” I whined.
“You’re on a diet?” Gunner’s haughty tone was enough to have me realizing why Landon didn’t want the information slipping.
“I didn’t say I was on a diet,” Landon huffed. “I am cutting back on a few things.”
“Like cookies?” Gunner was blasé when he shoved another cookie in his mouth.
“I’m sorry,” I said when Landon’s glare continued. “I wasn’t thinking.”
“Obviously not.” Landon poured himself a glass of water, sent the cookies a longing look, then leaned back in his chair. “I’ve decided to be more health conscious.”
“He’s upset he has a four-and-a-half-pack instead of a six-pack,” Chief Terry said, enjoying Landon’s discomfort.
“I don’t like any of you,” Landon growled as Mom swept into the room with a platter of sandwiches.
“Lunch,” she trilled. “Marnie and Twila are bringing the soup.”
“Awesome.” Gunner winked at her. “Have I mentioned that you’re one of my favorite people in the world?”
Mom beamed at him. “I’m fond of you too.”
“Especially since he’s your best customer now that Landon is in retirement,” Chief Terry noted.
Landon’s scowl grew deeper. “Laugh it up, jerks,” he growled. “When my eight-pack is back and every woman in town is throwing herself at me, we’ll see who’s laughing then.”
It was my turn to give him a dirty look. “Is that the ultimate goal?”
He hesitated, then his jaw hardened. “Bay, this is as much your fault as it is your mother’s. You should’ve said something.”
“I did. I said I didn’t want you dying young.”
“Nobody cares about that.” Landon was affronted. “You should’ve said I didn’t look as good as I used to.”
“I happen to think you look good no matter what.”
I expected him to go mushy and apologize. Instead, he exhaled a dubious snort. “It’s as if you don’t know me at all.”
I rolled my eyes until they landed on Gunner. “Go ahead and eat twenty cookies. Make sure he sees each and every one of them.”
Gunner smirked before sitting in one of the chairs. “Thanks, but that was always the plan.”
“You won’t be laughing when you lose your abs,” Landon muttered.
“That will never happen.” Gunner was matter of fact. “It’s impossible because I am a prime piece of man. I work out four times a week.” He sent a lascivious wink to Scout. “Sometimes I work out twice a day. I also spend a lot of time hiking through the woods because I’m not lazy.”
“I’m not lazy,” Landon fired back. “These people continue to feed me food I can’t say no to.”
“Yes, it’s all our fault,” I agreed. “Can we talk about the naiad? Steve and Spencer aren’t here, so I would like to take advantage of that and make a plan.”
Landon opened his mouth—I’m sure to argue—but then stopped himself. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you.”
“Once this is over, we’ll have a serious talk about our new eating habits.”
“Our?” I raised an eyebrow. “Why am I being forced onto a diet?”
“It’s not a diet.” The word clearly rankled Landon. “It’s a lifestyle choice.”
“I’m happy with my lifestyle choices. I don’t overdo it.”
“Tell me that again with a straight face the next time there’s wine on the bluff.”
“Stop poking me,” I warned. My gaze went to the swinging door as Marnie and Twila emerged with the bread and soup. My mouth watered when I realized they cooked corn chowder, my favorite. “It smells amazing.”
“How many calories?” Landon asked.
Marnie’s eyebrows hopped, as if he’d grown a second head. “What?”
“Ignore him,” I replied, waving a hand. “He’ll eat it, and he’ll like it.” I added the next part under my breath. “And he’ll shut up about it.”
Landon shifted on his chair. “I heard that.”
The swinging door opened to allow Aunt Tillie entrance. She was dressed in camouflage pants, a black T-shirt, and wearing a pink combat helmet.
“I didn’t know you were joining us,” I blurted.
She gave me a dirty look. “Since when don’t I have lunch at the inn?”
“She was trying to escape when I caught her,” Mom offered as she sat across from me. “I told her there would be grave consequences if she didn’t take a break and join the family for a meal.”
“And that worked?” Chief Terry’s tone was dry. “I guess I know what to say to her next time she drives that four-wheeler on the sidewalk downtown.”
“And you know exactly how I’ll respond.” Aunt Tillie shot him a menacing smile before sitting in Marnie’s usual chair.
Marnie was flummoxed when she realized she couldn’t sit next to Mom. “What are you doing?” she demanded.
“You insisted I be here for lunch,” Aunt Tillie replied. “There are other things I prefer to do. Yet here I am.”
“But … that’s my chair?”
Aunt Tillie shrugged. “I see other chairs at the table.”
“But…” Marnie blinked. We were creatures of habit. When something threw us off course, it took a lot of effort to compensate.
“Just sit in her chair,” Mom ordered. “She’s obviously decided to be difficult today.”
Aunt Tillie shot Mom a dark sidelong look. “I can be a lot more difficult,” she warned.
Mom ignored her and started ladling soup. “What did you learn?”
I caught her up. “So that’s where we’re at,” I said. “She’s out there and she’s angry.”
“You think the construction crew killed her sister?” Mom looked puzzled. “Why would they do that?”
“I’m guessing the naiads decided to investigate the crew and things got heated when they realized their personal utopia was about to be torn up to create a resort,” I replied.
“A fight broke out, the construction crew realized they weren’t dealing with normal human women, and they killed the naiad.
Then they covered it up because they either didn’t think anyone would believe them or they simply panicked in the face of what they did. ”
“I’m confused. Are we treating them as victims or murderers?” Stormy asked.
I held out my hands. “From everything we’ve learned, naiads are aggressive when it comes to protecting their homes.”
“As well they should be,” Aunt Tillie volunteered. She had soup on both cheeks and was going to town on a turkey sandwich. “This is good,” she said to Mom.
“Why are you acting so surprised?” Mom challenged. “Of course it’s good. I made it.”
“Hey!” Marnie’s nostrils flared. “I made the soup. You just slapped some meat on bread.”
“It’s my recipe,” Mom shot back.
“It’s good regardless.” Aunt Tillie rolled her eyes. “Take a chill pill. You two are acting like twelve-year-olds. I thought you outgrew that phase.”
She almost seemed amused. Given her mood this morning, I didn’t think there was much to be happy about.
“Why are you on the side of the naiads?” I asked.
“They’re just trying to protect their homes,” Aunt Tillie replied. “They deserve a place to live.”
“They do,” I readily agreed. “My problem is that the people issuing permits for resorts and other developments have no idea that they’re infringing on the naiads when they go in and start a new project.”
“Then maybe you should start a new job as a land deed negotiator,” Aunt Tillie suggested. “They were there first.”
“Three people are dead. More are on the way.”
“Don’t forget the dead naiad,” Scout interjected. “She died first.”
I deflated a bit. “I wish we knew how it went down.”