He was silent for a moment and then answered. “If it’s okay, Mia will just take a few minutes.”
“Okay,” Claire said doubtfully, backing up so they could all enter the main room of the house.
The smell of chocolate brownies hung in the air. The place was threadbare but very clean. The avocado shag carpet was freshly vacuumed, and homemade slipcovers adorned the two couches. An older television sat on the floor near the far wall.
Claire gestured to a hallway on the right. “Mandy’s room is at the end of the hall.” She took Juliet from Seth and wandered to the couch. “I can’t go in there yet.”
Mia paused. “Seth, why don’t you keep Claire company? I’ll be right back.”
Seth frowned, but before he could respond, Juliet piped up that he could sit by her. He gave Mia a look. “You have five minutes.”
She smiled sweetly and hurried down a hallway lined with school pictures. Three boys and it looked like three girls…all with dark hair and their mama’s blue eyes. Mandy appeared to be the oldest.
Mia passed a boy’s room holding bunk beds, a little girl’s room with twin beds, and then found Mandy’s room at the end. The master bedroom must’ve been on the other side of the house.
Mandy’s room held a queen bed decorated with peace signs that matched the deep purple walls. A desk sat to the right, covered with candid pictures of Mandy and her friends. Makeup was scattered across the desk in organized chaos. Mia quickly glanced through the drawers and found ordinary office supplies and more makeup. A quick look under the bed and between the mattresses uncovered nothing. She headed for the small closet to just find clothes and two pairs of shoes.
Maybe Mandy hadn’t kept a diary. But hadn’t she mentioned one that first night? Mia sat on the bed, sorrow compressing her lungs. The girl had been so young. She could’ve done anything with her life. Who would’ve killed her like that?
An odd-looking baseboard near the closet caught Mia’s eye. Her heart thrummed. She moved and dropped to her knees.
“Mia?” Seth called. “Time to go.”
She grabbed the board and tugged, the sound of Seth stalking down the hallway filling her head. Her fingers brushed a bound book. She tugged it out and shoved it into her bag, smacking the board back into place. A second later, she met Seth at the door.
He lifted an eyebrow. “Find anything?”
“No.” She shrugged. “But I do have a better understanding of Mandy and her friends…what was important to her.”
Seth scanned the room. “Okay. Let’s go.” He took her arm and led her down the hallway.
They said their goodbyes to Claire and Juliet, Seth keeping his hand on Mia until they’d exited the house, crossed the porch, and reached the truck. Once there, he opened her door. “What did you find?”
She looked him in the eye. “Nothing.”
“Humph.” He helped her into the truck and shut the door.
Mia held her purse closer. She’d wait until after the mine tour to go through Mandy’s diary. Hopefully, there’d be a clue in there somewhere.
Seth jumped into the truck and ignited the engine. “Someday, you’re going to trust me, Mia Stone.”
Chapter16
The road to the mine was barely a lane and a half with torn asphalt, lined by spruce, fir, and pine trees. Gentle twists and turns mellowed the steep incline as they traveled up the canyon. Nature thrived, raw and untamed, around them.
Mia straightened in her seat. Something about the wildness in the land seemed reflected in the people of Lost Lake. As if the terrain shaped the people instead of the other way around. “Sometimes, I think you live in a different world than the rest of us.”
Seth shrugged, his gaze on the road and hidden by dark sunglasses. “Maybe you live in a different world.”
“Maybe.” Darn it. She’d forgotten her sunglasses again. “What did Claire Fulsome mean when she said you were their choice?”
“Nothing—”
“Please, stop,” Mia said quietly. “Just level with me for once. Stop keeping so many weird secrets.”
Seth exhaled. “Fine. Ben is going to step down at the mine sometime in the near future, and by rights, Erik will take over. There’s a small contingent in town that wants me to take over.”
That was a bizarre situation. Shouldn’t the best, qualified person for the jobgetthe job? She’d never understood family dynamics since hers had been a little, well…odd. In Lost Lake’s case, it appeared as if running the mine meant running the town. The cop in her didn’t like that. “A lot of power comes with running the mine,” she said.
