Tripp took the phone and pushed up his sunglasses to study the image, his dad leaning in beside him.He frowned.“Where was this?”
“About three-quarters of a mile behind my house.Don’t ask me in which direction, there were no trails back there.I sent them to Rafe but haven’t heard back yet.”
“That’s a whole lotta ammo,” Mr.Rawlings said, also frowning.“Did you see anything else?”
“No, just this.It was buried in the ground, covered up by branches.Must have been pretty recently though, because the soil was loose.The whole thing felt really creepy, so I closed it and left right away.”
“Good decision.We do have some known, dedicated preppers here on the island, but this is a big cache and pretty far back into the woods from the sounds of it,” he said.
Tripp handed her phone back.“Rafe’ll take a look when he gets a chance.Rufus sure has a nose for finding buried things.”
“Tell me about it.Here I was worried he’d found another bone, but I’m not sure this is much better.”
“He found a bone?”Mr.Rawlings asked.
“Yes, a human shinbone down at Shipwreck Cove.Two pieces, in fact.Rafe’s got them as evidence.”
He shared a brief look with his son.“Ah.Probably from one of the wrecks offshore.”
“Yeah, so everyone keeps saying.”
“Well.”He patted her shoulder gently.“I’ll leave you two to your seagoing adventure.Fabulous day for it.Hope I see you again sooner rather than later, young lady.Come on up to the house with Tripp sometime.You’re always welcome.”
Warmth spread through her at his kindness.After Tripp’s mom had died, it had just been the two of them, and they had a strong relationship.Without a doubt he would have been there for Tripp during his rehab.“Thank you, I’d love that.”
He clapped Tripp on the side of the shoulder.“See you later, son.”
“Bye.”
Willow watched him go, smiling fondly.“He’s as wonderful as ever.”
“Yeah, he is.”He glanced past her toward the boat.“Looks like we’re boarding.You ready?”
After the whirlwind of activity and stress of moving across country, this break was exactly what she needed.And being with Tripp made it even better.“I was born ready.”
Darren watched thevideo play back on his wide desktop screen with growing unease.One of the cameras had caught a young woman and her dog close to the cache site.The damned animal was digging where the trunk was buried.
The woman knelt down beside the log.She pulled the branches aside, revealing the top of the trunk.
Dammit.“Walk away.Just walk away.”
She didn’t.Instead, she cleared away the top of the trunk, then gripped the release on the front and turned it.
To his utter shock, the lid popped open.
“For Chrissake,” he muttered, anger surging through him, quick and hot.Who the fuck had left the thing unlocked?
It was clear the contents shocked her.She looked around before leaning in to inspect the contents more closely.
Then she proceeded to take pictures with her phone.
He ran a hand over his mouth, his jaw clenched so hard his molars ached.This was not good.Not good at all.It was sheer dumb luck that the fucking dog had sniffed it out in the middle of nowhere.But this...
The woman reached out and picked up the laminated sheet, checking it front and back.There was no way she could understand any of it, but she put it in a small black backpack before shutting the trunk lid and leaving.
He sat back, mind racing.Who was she?How much danger did she and what she’d just done pose to the operation and organization as a whole?
It was unlikely she or anyone else on the island would be able to break the code.But that wasn’t the only risk.The symbol on the sheet was distinct, and if she or anyone else ever figured out what it meant...
