A while later, I sat in the parking lot of an exclusive hotel. I watched as the agents I’d spoken with entered the hotel, flashing their badges at the staff behind the front desk. Watching the scene, I reminisced on my old job. A piece of me missed my days as a Ranger, but I more than enjoyed the freedom I had now, working for myself.
As I waited in the parking lot, wanting to see the two douchebags that ripped my client off, hauled out in handcuffs, I reached for my phone in the passenger seat. I pulled up the text messages I received from Jodi and pressed the button to call her.
She answered on the third ring. “Hello?”
Her voice was slightly high-pitched but not irritatingly so. It was smooth as silk. I never understood it when people talked about sounds being smooth or intriguing or whatever. Especially if they weren’t singers. Jodi wasn’t a singer, but I’d be damned if I didn’t feel a sensation of calm intrigue wash over me every time I heard her speak.
“Jodi, this is Micah.”
There was a brief pause on the other end. I could picture her ingesting my voice, on the other end of the phone, in the same way I’d done hers.
“Hi. Are you calling to tell me about what you found from the pictures I sent you?”
“No. I’m calling to schedule dinner with you Thursday night.” I couldn’t believe the words even as they trickled out of my mouth. That had been far from my intention when I picked up the phone. In fact, I hadn’t had any purpose when I first called her. That was the first free moment I had in days, and the urge to call her came over me, so I acted on it.
“Dinner,” she said, her voice trailing off as if trying to figure something out.
“I’m digging into the connection between the doctor and your grandfather. I’m going to find out if it has anything to do with the way he died or the articles and ring you found in the tin. I’ll have more information on Thursday when I get back into town. That night will be the first time I’m available to meet.”
I heard her push out a breath on the other end.
“That makes sense. Sure, in that case. Where?”
“Smokey Jo’s BBQ. Are you familiar with it?”
“I’ve passed it a couple of times.”
I curled my lips in a satisfied grin, happy I’d be the first to introduce her to the restaurant. “Meet me at six on Thursday. I’ll have a table for us.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
I hated to end the call, but I stared ahead and saw the FBI agents walking out of the lobby with the con artists, cuffed and ready to transport.
“I’ve gotta go. See you on Thursday.”
“Okay.”
Even once the call ended, I held the phone to my ear. I wanted more conversation with Jodi. I was treading on dangerous territory, and the case of a potential murder was the least of my concerns.
Chapter Nine
I woke up Thursday with excess energy. I felt like I was bursting through the seams with anticipation. Of what, I didn’t know. I wasn’t ready to speculate. I convinced myself that it was because I’d be meeting Micah that night to get an update on my grandfather’s case. I was pretty confident the prescription I’d found in my grandfather’s medicine cabinet was significant in some way.
To keep my mind and body occupied, I chose to skip my typical workout and go for a hike on one of the trails I used to go on as a kid. I looked up the local trailhead, and sure enough, I was able to find the six mile loop. It was only about fifteen minutes from my grandfather’s house.
It took me a short amount of time to finish my coffee, prepare a lunch to take with me, and to find one of my grandfather’s old daypacks to put everything inside. I chose to wear my favorite pair of workout sneakers, and in less than thirty minutes of making my decision, I was on my way.
I wasn’t surprised to see that there were only two other vehicles in the parking lot, once I reached the trailhead. It was a weekday, and though it’d been a long time since I’d been on this particular trail, I wasn’t too concerned about hiking alone or getting lost.
I started the trail, double checking the map at the beginning to ensure I was heading in the right direction. From what I remembered, this trail contained a beautiful overlook of the river down below. These trails, the rivers, swimming holes, and hills were always why my grandfather said he’d never move away from the state.
You can keep your skyscrapers and fancy buildings, Jo-Jo. The woods are where I belong. He’d said it repeatedly to me throughout the years. As I gazed up at the cedar trees that surrounded me on either side of the trail, I couldn’t find any room to argue with him. The sunlight that peeked through the trees’ openings, above, felt like rays of heaven shooting down onto the earth, warming it and me.
It took me about an hour to get through the first three miles of the loop because I kept stopping and admiring the beauty around me. I snapped a few pictures along the way. I spotted an armadillo that had snuck out of the woods and onto the trail. As soon as I took my next footstep, a snapping twig underneath my foot caused him to scurry off to the other side of the path into the forest.
By the time I reached the overlook, my stomach was growling, reminding me that I hadn’t eaten at all. I opted to pull out the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I brought for lunch along with an apple and perch myself on a large boulder to eat.
I got lost in my thoughts as I stared at the blue, rushing water below. With my free hand, I reached in my bag and pulled out the rope I always carried with me. I’d had it for years. Since I was a child, whenever I got anxious or found myself lost in thought, I would pull it out and tie and untie a series of knots in it. It was like my own personal stress ball.
