30. Lana
Lana
Ibatted the gauzy cream curtains away from my face as my phone trilled from my back pocket.
I’d been at the inn since seven this morning, fighting with the window dressings.
The Overlook opened in five weeks, and Luke and Mina’s wedding would christen the place barely a month after that.
I had a hundred things half-finished but was accomplishing nothing else today except the windows.
Getting the mountains of sheers up on the tall windows was a chore.
I should have asked someone to help, but it was too late now.
I was already half done with the project.
By the time someone could get here, I’d probably only have a window or two left.
Holding the curtain rod in one hand, I pulled my phone free and glanced at the screen.
It was Luke.
I tapped the button to answer and put him on speaker. “Hey. If you’re calling to tell me the landscaper delayed things again, I swear?—”
“Lana.” Something in his voice stopped me cold. His normal, easygoing tone was gone, replaced by that flat, careful voice he used when he had something to tell me I wouldn’t like.
“Where are you right now?” he asked.
I frowned. “At the inn, hanging curtains. Why?”
A short pause came over the line, but it was long enough to send a chill down my spine. “Is it Dad? Is he okay?” Several months back our dad had a heart attack. Every time Luke or Mom called, I had a split-second of sheer panic that he’d had another.
“No, he’s fine.” I heard him inhale. “I talked to Ozzie just a little while ago. A couple of hikers found a body this morning. Up off Forest Service Road 12, past the old quarry.”
The curtain slid from fingers and the rod hung, lopsided, from the stanchion on one side of the window. “Why are you telling me this? Who is it?”
“Ozzie thinks, based on your description, that it’s one of the poachers. Vic. He also had an ID in his pocket that said his name is Victor Campbell.”
I stepped down off the ladder and leaned against the wall. “Well, hell.”
“Yeah. He called me and asked me to tell you before you heard it somewhere in town. I’d have done it in person, but I’m stuck in meetings for the new hospital wing build in Juneau and can’t drive up there until later.”
I pressed my free hand flat against my cheek. I didn’t care that he told me over the phone. I was just happy to be alone when I heard the news. “How did he die?” It would be poetic justice if a bear took him out, but I didn’t think we could be that lucky.
“He was shot. Ozzie wouldn’t give me too many details, but he said it wasn’t self-inflicted. He also doubts it was an accident. Somebody likely did it on purpose.”
“Deke,” I breathed. My gaze darted around the inn’s lobby, not really seeing it. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Deke caught up to his former partner and silenced him.
“Probably, yeah. I mean, who else would it be?”
“I don’t know. But having spent some time around him, he wasn’t much better than Deke in terms of his conscience, so who knows who else he’s pissed off?”
I actually hoped that was the case. That Vic had done something to anger someone enough they killed him and left him for the scavengers to dispose of.
Because the alternative meant Deke hadn’t cut his losses and disappeared to start over under a new name like everyone kept insisting. He was here. Tying off loose ends.
Like Vic.
Toby, if he could get to him.
Me.
And Toren. Who at this very moment was alone at his isolated cabin, hobbling around on his booted foot, one hand in a cast, with only his rifle and his mean old chicken, Eloise, as defense.
I pushed away from the wall, bumping into the stepladder.
“Lana?” Luke’s voice sharpened. “What was that?”
“I bumped into the ladder. Look, I need to go. I need to get a hold of Toren, warn him?—”
“Ozzie was going to try to call?—”
“He won’t answer. Not if he’s busy or he doesn’t immediately recognize the number. He’ll answer for me, though.” At least, he’d better. Because if he didn’t, I’d never let him hear the end of it. I didn’t call for idle chit-chat. “I’ll call you back.”
“Wait!”
I huffed. “What?”
“If he doesn’t answer, you promise me you won’t drive up there. Call Ozzie and let him go.”
I would promise no such thing. Ozzie could meet me there, so I just repeated myself. “I’ll call you back.”
“Lana—”
I hung up on him. He’d be pissed, but he’d get over it.
Switching to my contacts, I tapped Toren’s name and waited for it to connect.
The soft, low hum of the ring filled the space around me.
Pick up, Toren.
It rang again.
Pick up…
Another ring.
Pick up, you stubborn, infuriating man, pick up the damn?—
“Lana, hey.” His voice, low and even, came over the line.
I sagged into the wall. “Where are you?” I didn’t bother with hello. “Are you at home? Is everything okay there?”
A beat of silence passed. “Yes, I’m at home. Everything is fine. What’s wrong?” An edge had crept into his voice.
“They found Vic. Earlier today. Off Forest Service Road 12. Toren, he was shot. Murdered. Somebody killed him.”
The silence on the line was absolute enough I checked to see if the call disconnected.
He muttered a curse. “They’re sure it’s him?”
“Pretty sure. Luke said Ozzie told him he had an ID on him with the name Victor Campbell, and his description matches the one we gave.”
“Do they have any clues as to who did it?”
“Not that I know of, but we know who it was. I mean, how much of a coincidence would it be for Vic to turn up dead down here, miles and miles from where he walked into the bush?”
“Too much.”
“Exactly.” I crossed my arm over my middle and rested my elbow on top.
“You need to come into town and hang out at the inn with me, then go home with me. If it really was Deke who did this, he came to Parker’s Landing to get to you first.” My life was in Juneau, and I made no secret of that fact.
Even a few cursory questions for the locals or a quick internet search would tell him that. I wasn’t his next target.
“I’ll be fine. I’m armed. You said you’re at the inn?”
“Yes. I’m hanging curtains.”
“Are you alone?”
A shiver skated down my spine. My gaze traveled around the empty lobby. I was, indeed, by myself. “Yes.”
“Is the door locked?”
A little laugh, one just shy of hysteria, slipped free.
“There are a million doors to this place and workers have been in and out most of the day. I doubt it.” Luke’s crew had been in earlier to install shelving in some of the rooms, but most of the construction work was done.
It was all finishing touches now, which fell to me and anyone I hired. His crew had left after lunch.
“Stop whatever you’re doing and march out of there right now. Get in your car, lock the doors and drive straight to The Cozy Cup or some other public place.” Urgency made his tone sharp.
I eyed the cockeyed curtain rod and huffed a sigh. It didn’t look like I was finishing that task today. “Fine. But are you meeting me there?”
“Do you want me to?”
That simple question was loaded with so much more than the words themselves. There were layers to it I didn’t have the time or the brainpower to dissect right now.
So, I went with honesty. “Yes. I do.”
“Then I’ll come,” he answered without hesitation.
The tension holding my shoulders tight loosened. “Okay. Good.” Having him go to town meant he was safe and not alone. I knew he could defend himself, but I still didn’t like the thought of him alone. His injuries made him vulnerable. “I’ll close up here and meet you at The Cozy Cup.”
“Give me a bit. I’ve got to shut the chickens in and throw some things in a bag in case I’m staying in town a few days.” He paused “Lana. Don’t dawdle. Put your head on a swivel as you head out to your car and lock your doors the moment you get in.”
“I will. I’ll see you in about twenty minutes.”
He hummed. “Make it thirty. Eloise will give me grief.”
I could hear the smile in his voice and chuckled. “Sounds good.” I eyed the curtain rod again. I could get this one finished, at least. “See you there.”
“Yep.” He hung up.
I stood for a moment in the big empty lobby and took a breath. The world wasn’t crashing down around us. Everyone was safe. Toren and I would meet at The Cozy Cup, and we’d hash out a plan to stay that way.
Feeling more in control and slightly better about the thought of Deke lurking nearby, I finished hanging the curtain rod and put my supplies away.
Cruising through the house, I locked all the doors—the one off the kitchen was not only unlocked, it was unlatched—then exited through the front, locking up. As I walked to my car, I swept my gaze across the grounds, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully, it was blissfully boring.
Once in my car, I punched the lock button with force, securing myself inside, then started the engine and buckled up.
The drive to the coffee shop took nine minutes.
It took me another three to find a parking space.
Tourist season had kicked off, so the streets were full of rental cars come down from Juneau for the day.
There were even a couple of tour buses parked in the big town lot, likely passengers from one of the cruise ships that docked in Juneau.
Still watching my surroundings, I let myself into The Cozy Cup. Immediately, the hiss of the espresso machine and the rich, earthy scent of fresh coffee eased my nerves a touch.
Behind the counter, Mina held a small, stainless-steel pitcher, steam wafting from it. She glanced up and spotted me, a smile forming on her pretty face. It died as she caught sight of my expression.
The pitcher hit the counter with a clunk. “What happened?”
“Did Luke call you?”
Her eyes rounded. “No. Why? Is it Les?” she asked, referring to our dad.
I shook my head. “Dad’s fine. One of the poachers showed up dead just outside of town. Shot.”
Her eyes closed briefly. “Geez. It wasn’t the truly dangerous one, either, was it?”
“No.”