Iona hid her smile with her hand. Heinous? Although the topic was serious, Blue’s word choice amused her. A glance at her teammates almost sent her into fits of laughter. Their eyes twinkled and their lips twitched.
She picked up her coffee mug and sipped her drink to keep from giving in to the laughter. Wouldn’t do for the locals to realize they were eavesdropping on the conversation.
Tall sipped her tea. “You might as well tell her. She’ll keep after you until you do.”
“Why, it’s one of those troublemakers. That motorcycle gang. I don’t remember what they call themselves. But anybody with common sense knows it’s them. Rumors fly all the time about them instigating criminal activities. They’re a bunch of reprobates.”
Yellow gasped. “Are you sure?”
“Of course I am. They’re as dirty as my old scarecrow in the garden. I wouldn’t put it past them to murder us in our sleep if we gave them a reason to do it.”
“But what would they want with Merriweather? He’s practically a hermit up there. Why, I don’t think I’ve seen him in months. What could he possibly have done to make the motorcycle people angry with him?”
“Well, you know what they say about the head of the gang, right?”
“No, what?”
“Why, that you don’t tell him no. If you do, you might not live to see tomorrow. If you ask me, I think Merriweather is lucky. Instead of recovering from a beating, he could be six feet in the ground!”
After that statement, the ladies shifted topics to the craft guild’s sale set to take place in another week.
Elias picked up Iona’s trash and added it to his, then stood. “I think we got what we came for,” he whispered. “We should go before we attract unwanted attention.”
The other operatives policed their trash and followed Elias from the coffee shop.
Grant nudged Elias. “Did you feel eyes on you leaving the shop?”
“The cops. Can’t blame them. You know they were listening to the ladies’ gossip. We’re the unknowns in the area, and they’d love to place the blame on someone other than the people who live around here.”
“They’re watching us,” Rayne said as she climbed into the truck. “We should be careful about the traffic laws on the way back to the cabin. I wouldn’t be surprised if they had their buddies waiting for us, looking for an excuse to pull us over.”
“She’s right.” Grant shut the door behind her. “The locals want an excuse to look us over.”
“Let’s get out of here before they come up with something.” Iona climbed into the truck and reached over to help Elias with his seatbelt before buckling her own.
Grant climbed behind the wheel and cranked the truck. He turned to look at Elias. “One more check?”
He nodded. “Although I didn’t hear a motorcycle nearby when we were in the coffee shop, one of the MC members could have parked a distance away and walked to the lot.”
Grant pulled out his electronic signal detector and opened his door. “I’ll check outside. You check in here.”
Grant hopped out and circled the truck with his gaze locked on the black gadget on his palm, while Elias checked the interior of the truck for a listening device or a GPS tracker.
“Anything?” Iona asked Elias when he finished.
“Nope. We’re clear.”
Grant returned seconds later and returned to the driver’s seat. “No tracker.”
“They’re determined to know where we’re going,” Rayne said.
“They want to know what we’re up to. Can’t blame them.” He put the truck in gear and backed out of the slot. “We would have been more curious about strangers in our town than these guys have been.”
Throughout the journey back to the compound, the operatives remained alert. Iona felt like her head was on a swivel. She constantly shifted from one view to another, expecting an ambush that never came.
When they parked in front of the cabin, Grant turned off the engine. “What do you think, Elias?”
“Something is brewing in the background. I’m just waiting for it to ignite.”
