“It could be the break we’ve been looking for in the case,” I told them, hopefully sounding believable. “We got a credible tip, and as long as it’s still intact, it’s a piece of evidence that should pinpoint who the killer is.”
“What is it?” Stanton asked, trying to sound casual about it, but the gleam in his eye told otherwise.
“Nice try,” I said. “I don’t mind letting you stand here and watch the crew work, but I’m not telling you details that you could blast to your podcast and potentially let the killer know we’re onto him. Just know that your connection may have been right—and this might be the key to connecting this woman to the others.”
His eyes bugged out, but only temporarily. If I hadn’t already been staring at him while he did it, I may have missed it.
“Understood,” he said, but he was clearly disgruntled about it.
We watched the divers reboard the boat and prepare to end their search.
“So how long will you leave this area blocked off?” Stanton asked, aiming for offhand, but there was no mistaking the curiosityin his tone.
“Likely the next day or so, but then it should be open again to the public,” I announced, hoping he took the bait.
“Well, um, thank you for letting me watch. I need to get home now,” Stanton said to us and then turned to look right at Diden. “If you really do like the podcast, don’t forget to leave me a review, please. It helps with the ratings.”
“Sure, no problem,” Diden responded excitedly.
About thirty minutes later, Diden and I got back in the vehicle to head back to the office, and I hadn’t even closed my door before she huffed in frustration.
“You didn’t tell me they were looking for something specific,” Diden said, and I could tell she was a bit offended I hadn’t told her.
“Our office is like a gossip column,” I started to explain, giving half-truths the entire time. “I didn’t want to have anyone spreading rumors about stuff in case they didn’t find anything.”
“Fair, but it still would have been nice to know what was at play here.”
I knew what she meant, but since technically there wasn’t any real item for them to find, the less she knew the better.
The rest of the ride was silent, and I headed straight for my office once we got back so I could call Agent Andrews and fill her in.
“Well, how did it go?” Andrews asked.
“I couldn’t get a full read on him, but he’s definitely going to do something withthat information.”
I told her everything that had gone down, including how he asked me what the evidence was and his reactions throughout all of it.
“Alright, well, this sounds like the plan is in motion. We just need to see if he takes the bait, and what he decides to do with that information,” she added.
And she was right. He could choose to pounce on the information right away, or he may decide to sit on it for a while.
Now began the waiting game.
21
“You cannot make everyone happy. You are not a taco.”
—It’s science
Hector
It had been two weeks since I’d stayed the night at Iris’s place, and we hadn’t slept alone since. We mostly stayed at my place because of Sarge, but also because Iris said she liked my place better.
“I love the Thunder Cove area,” she had said multiple times. “It’s close enough to the city that you get all your amenities and fun things to do, but you’re also far enough away that you have some peace and quiet. I love that.”
Seeing her happy in my cabin was everything because I enjoyed it too and for the same reasons she did.
Many nights, we found ourselves sitting on my porch just staring off at the lake in the distance, which was what we were doing now. We were both sitting in Adirondack chairs—Iris doing her needlepoint whileI was casually throwing a ball to Sarge, which he would fetch and bring back…most of the time.
