Anton shook his head. “The only person I can think of who’d want you dead is the person who’d benefit the most financially from your death. You’re a rich man. Which, in a way, makes you a target.”
Remy suspected that Camille had been a gymnast during her adolescent years. She had the body for it and the cheerful, energetic personality to match.
So far the two of them had been trading abbreviated life stories while following a trail through the forest.
Camille had been born and raised in Michigan. She’d then followed a job in hospitality to London for a two-year stint, which was when she’d met Anton at a pub. They’d been married nine years and their sons were seven and five. These days Camille was a busy, thriving, contented mom.
“Are you and Jeremiah in a relationship?” Camille asked Remy.
“Only if uneasy allies counts as a relationship. I intend to go back to Islehaven very soon. I’ve stayed on in Rockland mostly because my friend Wendell needed a hoarding intervention.” She was staying on for Jeremiah, too, but the Wendell angle was an easier motivation both to publicly verbalize and to privately accept.
“You’re not interested in dating Jeremiah?”
“No. If I had to summarize my feelings toward him, I’d use the word ambivalent,” she lied.
Camille laughed. Evidently the prospect that anyone could feel ambivalently toward him was hilarious. “Do you follow F1 at all?”
“Not at all.”
“I wish you could’ve known Jeremiah during his driving days. He was incredible. Charming with the media, always outwardly relaxed. Underneath, though, he was full of fierce concentration. Once he got out on the racetrack, he was ruthless. Competitive and fearless.”
Remy gave a sound to acknowledge Camille’s words but made sure that the sound wasn’t fawning.
“I sometimes joke that Jeremiah is the trifecta of desirability,” Camille continued. “Talented, wealthy, famous.”
The scent of pine hovered thick in the air. Beneath it lay the tang of salty sea and a whiff of distant wood fire. “Talent I appreciate, but I think it's debilitating to receive too much money and fame. It’s far better to pursue the thing you were meant to do strictly out of dedication and love for it.”
“In addition to the trifecta, Jeremiah is also, of course, better looking than any man has a right to be. The Camden eyes are legendary.” Camille stepped over a fallen log, clearly rejoicing in her role as informant about all things Jeremiah. “So is the Camden swagger and the Camden smile. They’re all lethal.”
On the surface, it certainly did seem that everything in life had been handed to Jeremiah on a silver platter. However, Alexis’s infidelity had cast new light on him.
He’d been handed some things, yes, thanks to the privilege of his birth. But he’d worked very hard to achieve other things. And many important things had been taken from him. His career was over. His wife was gone. And he’d been robbed of his memories, which left him isolated.
He wasn’t the happily married man Remy had assumed when she’d first spotted his wedding ring. And he might not be the brokenhearted husband in love with his dead wife that she’d supposed him to be after learning that Alexis had died.
Remy would have found Jeremiah much easier to resist if she didn’t feel sympathy toward him. But she did sympathize.
“Jeremiah was already a shooting star when he met Alexis,” Camille was saying. “Did you know that she was a famous Instagram influencer?”
“I did.”
“F1 collaborated with Alexis on a promotional campaign several years back. They gave her access to interview some of the top drivers. When she interviewed Jeremiah, sparks flew.”
This topic was disturbing enough to counteract the calming effect nature typically had on Remy. She jerked her hair into a braid as they crunched onward.
“Alexis’s family is from Belgium,” Camille continued. “Her mother was a diplomat, so Alexis and her siblings were raised in several countries around the world. Alexis spoke flawless English. You could barely hear an accent.” Camille fell into a few moments of reverie. “She was wonderful. Anton and I spent a lot of time with them. We even went on vacations together. I . . . still can’t believe she’s gone. It’s heartbreaking.”
“Yes.” No matter what, Alexis’s death at the age of thirty-onewasheartbreaking.
“Their wedding was lavish but relatively small.” Camille plucked a dangling orange leaf from its branch and twirled it as she walked. “It was kept secret. No press at all. Afterward, Jeremiah and Alexis sold exclusive photos of the ceremony and reception for a small fortune. F1 is such an international sport. And Alexis was an international influencer. As well-known as they are here in the States, they’re even better known around the world. At times, being around them felt like being around movie stars.”
The more she learned about Alexis, the more certain Remy became that she was not Jeremiah’s type.
The pathway looped around and brought them back to Appleton.
By the time she spotted Jeremiah on the front lawn, he was already motioning for her to come nearer.
The four of them went inside and it felt awkwardly like she and Jeremiah needed to play host to Anton and Camille even though they didn’t know them and hadn’t invited them.
