“I’m not talking about Aspen. Are you back to dating Margot?” The two had been hanging out a lot together around the station.
He lifted a shoulder. “On and off.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means we’re not exclusive. We see each other when we want to see each other.”
“So you’re sleeping with other people too?”
“When we feel like it.”
Jesus. They worked together. It was never going to end well.
“Hey. She’s just as against the idea of an exclusive relationship as I am.” He looked at the GPS. “So this is an Airbnb?”
“Yeah, the owner of the house is away right now, but he has external cameras. They’re on his listing, so anyone who stays there already knows about them. But apparently the person there right now covered the cameras. When he contacted them, asking for the cameras to be uncovered, they did, but then the Wi-Fi went out and the cameras went offline.”
“Could be the storm?”
Jesse shook his head. “Happened before the storm.”
“What are they trying to hide?”
“My thoughts exactly.”
He pulled up in front of the log cabin. The curtains were drawn, but faint light came from the windows. Someone was home.
Jesse climbed out and jogged through the rain toward the door, Luke close behind him. He lifted his fist and knocked. Immediately, a noise sounded from inside. Footsteps against wooden floorboards…but nottowardthe door.
A few seconds passed. When no one answered, Jesse knocked again before calling, “This is Sheriff Hayes and Deputy Pine. We know someone’s inside. We need you to answer the door. If you don’t,we willbe entering the premises. We have permission from the owner.”
It was only technically true. George, the owner, hadn’t told them to enter, but he’d wanted Jesse to do everything he could to get the cameras back up and running.
Another few seconds passed. Jesse almost lost hope of the person inside coming out, but then footsteps sounded again and the door swung open.
Jesse frowned. “Karen?”
Aspen’s mother put a fist on her hip. “What do you want?”
“What are you still doing here in Amber Ridge?”
“Unless there’s a law that says I have to get out of town, I’d say that’s none of your business.”
Luke’s gaze shifted between them. “You two know each other?”
“This is Aspen’s mother,” Jesse said between gritted teeth.
Karen lifted a brow. “You never answered my question. What do you want? This Airbnb is paid for. I’ve done nothing wrong.”
“You covered the cameras—”
“Thenuncovered them,” Karen cut in.
“Did you then tamper with the Wi-Fi?”
The flare of her eyes gave Jesse his answer, contradicting the shake of her head. “No. I didn’t.”
“We need to take a look at the Wi-Fi router inside the house.”
