Sam had lucked out that Bunny was pulling out of her street when he drove over with Dooley. He’d decided to follow her and was surprised to see her turn into the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge. Was she just going birdwatching? He felt like a creepy stalker but followed her in anyway and parked in an out-of-the-way spot down the road to watch.
When she got out of her car with binoculars swinging on her neck, he’d almost left, but Dooley looked excited about the prospect of a walk in the woods, and Sam didn’t see the harm in that. He grabbed his binoculars out of the back and got out of the car.
Sam took a different path from Bunny. He knew the wildlife refuge well and where each path intersected. Dooley was excited to sniff every leaf and blade of grass.
After walking a bit, Dooley pulled him over to a bench in the woods. The dog must have known Sam was getting a bit tired. He’d walked more in the past few days than he had in the past few years. From this vantage point, he could just see Bunny through his binoculars. She was sitting on a log, looking through her binoculars in the opposite direction.
Sam hadn’t been there long when two men came walking down one of the paths. That was nothing unusual since the refuge was visited by many and it was a nice crisp fall evening. But what was unusual was that Bunny immediately trained her binoculars on the men.
Sam raised his own binoculars to follow their path. The two men sat on a bench and appeared to be having a friendly conversation. What in the world was that about? Was one of them the person Bunny had been surveilling when he’d seen her downtown with the newspaper? Was she some sort of private detective?
Perhaps he shouldn’t be tailing her. He’d gotten a little overexcited, and the thought of having something to investigate had clouded his better judgment. The notion that Bunny Howard was some sort of suspect was preposterous. Maybe he just wanted something to do, and maybe he liked something about her, so finding out more about her couldn’t hurt. Luckily, he hadn’t done anything crazy, like bust out his old badge and accuse her of something.
But if she wasn’t a suspect, why was she watching those men? She looked to be about his age. Maybe too old to be a private detective? Then again maybe not. Maybe he should consider becoming a private detective. He certainly did miss the thrill of the chase and had more than enough experience.
Dooley had been busying himself sniffing under a log. Sam reached down to pet him. “I should bring you here more often, huh?”
Dooley wagged his tail.
“Used to come here all the time with Jean,” he said, as if to explain why he’d never brought the dog before. He glanced around, picturing all the trails he and Jean had walked. They used to stand under the oak tree over there and look at the marsh, trying to see who would be the first to spot a great blue heron. He could almost see the two of them now.
Those memories used to be clearer. Now they were fading. He closed his eyes as if to conjure up the memory again, to embed it clearly in his mind, so it wouldn’t disappear for good.
He could almost hear Jean’s voice inside his head. “Keeping memories is good, but don’t let them overshadow everything you’re doing now. Don’t let old memories prevent you from moving on to make new ones.”
Sam nodded. That advice sounded smart. It sounded just like something Jean would say. Maybe heshouldlook into being a private detective and—
“Just what do you think you are doing?”
Sam’s eyes snapped open, and he spun around to see Bunny Howard standing behind him. Her hands were fisted on her hips, her eyes were narrowed, and she was looking at him as if he were some sort of suspicious character.
Dooley wasn’t much of a protector. He ran to the woman and nudged her hand as if wanting to be petted.
Much to Sam’s surprise, Bunny complied, even smiling down at the dog.
“Dooley and I love coming to see the deer.” He hadn’t even thought to mention he used to come with Jean. Last week, that would have been the first thing that popped to mind. Maybe he was making progress. And oddly, he didn’t feel guilty about not including his memories of Jean in his explanation. It was as if her words about moving forward without guilt were finally sinking in.
Bunny looked skeptical. “Usually, they’re in the fields. You’re in the middle of the woods.”
That was true, but Sam chose to ignore her and ask his own question. “And what are you doing spying on those two men?” He pointed in the direction of the two men. They were barely visible through the cover of trees.
“You mean your cohorts?”
“What? I don’t even know them.”Who sayscohortsthese days, anyway?
“Of course you’d say that if you were up to something with them. I happen to know that the dark-haired one is very suspicious.”
Sam smiled. She’d just admitted she was spying. “I’m not the one spying on them. Apparently you are. Why?”
Bunny hesitated. Dooley, whose gaze had been flicking back and forth between Sam and Bunny as if he were following the conversation, directed his attention to Bunny.
“Who are you anyway? Didn’t I see you downtown the other day? Were you following Mr. Smith too?” she asked.
Ah, so the man’s name is Mr. Smith.That answered one question, but there were still many to be answered. Sam’s detective instincts told him that Bunny didn’t mean any harm, so he figured making friends was the best approach. Besides, he had to admit he was intrigued by this situation and, perhaps, a bit by her as well.
“I’m Sam Campbell. Just taking my dog for a walk here.” Sam stuck out a tentative hand.
Bunny stared at it while making her decision then put her hand in his. Her hand was warm and soft, and she had a strong grip. “Bunny Howard.”
