“That would’ve ruined the experiment,” Steve replied. “I wanted to see what you thought of her. I knew I was right about you being real witches when he backed off after meeting you.”
“Ah, yes, the dark days,” Landon lamented, giving me a fond wink.
“When you went back, I knew that you’d accepted what you found here,” Steve said. “Soon after, you started coming up with fanciful ways to cover Bay’s involvement in some of your cases. You made up stories about going out to dinner with Bay even though I knew you constantly ate at the inn. Her car also broke down a lot so you had to give her rides, and she was conveniently with you during certain interrogations.”
Landon was sheepish. “I didn’t have a lot of options.”
“I knew.” Steve smiled at me. “I’m not here to make your life difficult, Bay. I want you to know that I’ve had my suspicions about your family for a long time. You can’t shock me.”
“A very long time,” Spencer echoed.
“What about the other members of your team?” I argued. “Cam and Hodgins were suspicious a few weeks ago. Then there’s Patrice, who was taken over by a changeling and still doesn’t know what happened. How are we going to navigate around them?”
“They don’t have any say in how I conduct an investigation,” Steve replied evenly. “They don’t have to know anything about what we’re doing. Spencer and Landon will be in contact with one another, but they will be able to operate with more freedom than members of the previous team … or will going forward.”
“Because you trust them,” I surmised.
“I do,” Steve replied. “I know you won’t trust me because I ask you to. It’s going to take time. I’m willing to give you that time … and as much room to maneuver as you need. I won’t crowd you, Bay.”
I glanced at Landon, who didn’t say anything, and then at Chief Terry. Concern lined his forehead. He looked more perplexed than anything else.
“I’m going to work on this,” I replied. “We’ll compare information and go from there.”
“Meaning you need time to trust me,” Steve guessed.
“I want to trust you.” That was the truth. “Landon has been so terrified of the wrong person finding out what we can do that I’m naturally suspicious,” I replied. “We’ll take it slow. We’ll exchange information. I’m not following orders, though.”
“I’ve already figured that out.” Steve grinned. “No one in your family does well with orders.”
I let my gaze drift to the nearest body. “I need to see behind his boots,” It was a test of sorts, and how he reacted would inform my decisions going forward.
“Sure.” Steve nodded at Spencer, who donned a pair of gloves and carefully moved the man’s feet to the side.
Landon turned his flashlight on the tree. “What is that?” he asked after a moment when he realized that something had been drawn on the tree in blood.
“It’s a rune of some sort,” I replied. “I think all three of them have them … and I think they’re all different. I’m going to need photos,” I said to Steve. “We need to research them.”
“That can be arranged.” Steve beamed at me. “Welcome to the team.”
“Not yet,” I cautioned. “We’ll see.” I glanced back at the bodies. “I need to know what killed them. There’s blood, but no knife wounds that I can see.”
“We’ll get all that information to you,” Steve promised. “I wasn’t joking when I said I wanted this to work, Bay.”
“I know.” I managed a flat smile. “Let’s take it one step at a time. Let’s find out who they are, why they were out here, and who they might have crossed paths with.”
Steve bobbed his head eagerly. “Sounds like a plan.”
4
FOUR
Once the evidence collection team arrived, we had to leave the area so they could work. By the time we got back to the road, the truck was being impounded so it could be transported to Traverse City and searched there. Evan had disappeared seconds before Steve and Spencer arrived.
“What’s the plan going forward?” Landon asked his boss as we stood next to Chief Terry’s vehicle.
“Do what you normally do,” Steve replied. “I’ll be a little more hands-on this time. I would like to be close to see how you operate.” His eyes moved to me. “I don’t want to take control, though.
“This will be a learning experience for all of us,” he continued. “We should step lightly and feel things out.”
