Wade
…well, that took a turn. Have you listened to it?
I glanced around the office. Roger was laughing at something on his computer. Cinda was on the phone. No one was paying attention to me.
No.
Another pause.
Wade
Well, maybe you should. What is she here for? Or is she just on vacation or some shit?
There was no way she was just on vacation. In fact, I was 99% sure she was here investigating something. She’d been honest about it. My instincts had already clocked her as trouble.
Pretty sure she’s not.
Wade
Stop being an idiot and ask her out.
I didn’t bother replying; instead, I slid my phone back into my pocket. There was paperwork to finish, and this conversation wasn’t getting anywhere. Ignoring Hattie wasn’t really serving a purpose either, so maybe I should address that, but that was a problem for later.
The rest of the paperwork went quickly, mostly because I kept detailed notes in my wildlife journal, making reporting always pretty straightforward, even if it wastedious. When I finished the last form, I stacked everything, clipped it together, and placed it in an appropriate mailer before dropping it in the outbox by Cinda’s desk.
“Have a good one, Kipp,” Cinda gave me an easy wave before bending back to her work. “Stay safe.”
Roger lifted his doughnut in a lazy salute. “Try not to get bored out there.”
Outside, the heat hit me full in the chest, thick and unmoving. Taking a deep breath, I let the sun and open space reset me. Fish clamored into the truck, gave my cheek a lick, and cocked his head at me. It was time for his daily run, well, our daily run. He had a lot of energy most of the time—if he didn’t get a run in, he could be a destructive little shit.
I pulled out of the lot, the station shrinking in the rearview mirror, and headed back toward the trees where things made sense.
CHAPTER 12
Group Chat
Dysfunction Junction
Lo Lo
I looked up your new renter. Her podcast has millions of subscribers.
Sage
What's she investigating?
Wade
I got this one. Already doing my research, thank you very much. Allison Finch. Woman who disappeared from Briar Falls five months ago. Galloway wrote it off as a woman who left a shitty husband.
Galloway is a fucking tool.
East
Why's she staying HERE?Seems sus.
Lo Lo
