What Lies Below, page 3
Ever since that day, she’d watched him, taken notice. Not that the very handsome, very popular Heath Bradford would ever give the Tree Girl two minutes of his time back then.
“Well?” He tugged on Luna’s collar. “You might also have a hard time getting Luna away from here.”
“You’re right. I’ll take the ride, but only if you fess up and tell me how you knew the name of Toby’s nephew.” She waved her hand in the air. “We’re leaving, Sheriff Chandler. I’ll be in touch tomorrow.”
Heath called to the sheriff, “Me, too.”
Chandler gave them a thumbs-up and returned to examining the area around Toby’s body. Willow gave a little shiver. “I can’t believe Toby was murdered. It’s not like he has anything worth stealing.”
“Maybe Chandler’s wrong. He’s gotta err on the side of caution and secure the scene just in case.” Heath hung back at the trailhead and pointed his flashlight at the ground. “Lead the way.”
They said little on their way back to the road and Heath’s truck. He had a struggle on his hands with Luna, leading her down the trail. She seemed reluctant to leave Toby, and Willow’s heart hurt for the dog.
When they got to the truck, Heath lowered the tailgate and Luna jumped inside. “Will Apollo let me pick him up and will he stay in the truck bed once I get him there?”
“I’m sure he will, but he’s a solid dog. Don’t let his age fool you.”
Heath crouched down and gathered Apollo around the middle. With the dog’s legs dangling, Heath hoisted him into the truck bed. When both dogs were settled, he stroked them both, murmuring in a low voice, before closing the tailgate.
He opened the door for her and went around to the other side. Punching on the engine, he said, “Tell me where to go.”
As her mouth quirked into a smile, he jerked his head toward her. “I saw that. I meant literally give me directions.”
She slid a sideways glance at him. “You know, you’re not going to be very popular here, trying to develop this side of the island.”
“You’d be surprised. We have a lot of support. The Samish are looking to cash in with a casino on the island.”
She pulled her mouth down in a sad face. “Nobody I know is in favor of that. Besides, the Samish Reservation is on the other side of the island.”
“They hold a plot on this side, too. The properties could dovetail—casino on Samish land and hotels and restaurants on Bradford land.” He shrugged. “That kind of development would benefit their casino.”
“Oh, I get it now.” She tapped the window with her fingernails. “Toby’s property and mine sit between the Bradford holding and the Samish land. Am I right?”
“Yours, Toby’s, a couple of others.”
She squinted at him in the darkness of the cab. “Is that how you know Garrett Keel? Have you already spoken to him?”
“I haven’t spoken to Garrett. I just know he’s on the title of the property with his uncle. We make it our business to know who we have to deal with. With Toby the one living here, we figured it was best to talk to him first.”
“Might as well start with the hardest nut to crack, right?”
Heath’s teeth flashed white in the low light, and she poked him in the thigh. “What’s so funny?”
“We never figured Toby would be the most stubborn.” He flicked a finger at her. “That would be you.”
She snorted. “I’ll save you the trouble, Bradford and Son. I have no intention of selling my property to you or anyone else—especially not to someone ready to destroy the ecosystem of the forest and put up a bunch of horrid hotels and cheap restaurants.”
“We’ve developed other areas with the environment in mind, actually enhancing the habitat for the plants and animals and protecting them from wildfires and other natural disasters. Some of our resort areas have actually seen an increase in the population of some species.” He stopped to take a breath and glanced at her face. “Not buying it, huh?”
“Is that the pitch you were planning for me?” Tilting her head, she wrapped her ponytail around her hand. “What pitch did you have in store for Toby? Were you going to tell him all his Samish brethren were on board for the casino? That he’d be impeding progress for the Samish Nation?”
“Close.” He adjusted his mirror to check on the dogs when she told him to take the next turn. “You don’t even live here, right? Aren’t you a professor at the University of Washington?”
Her heart did a little skip that he’d kept tabs on her, but the euphoria fell flat when she reminded herself that he would know all about her just like he knew all about Toby Keel. “I am, but I’m writing my second book on this area and return often for research. I’ve been coming back to Dead Falls Island every summer since my dad passed away.”
“I was sorry to hear about your father.”
His softened tone made her nose tingle, and she drew the back of her hand across the tip. “Ah, you mean you weren’t one of the ones to nod sagely and opine that Paul Sands, the resident eccentric of Dead Falls Island, had cirrhosis of the liver coming to him.”
“Not at all.” The truck bounced as Heath took it down the final unpaved stretch to her cabin. “And your dad wasn’t eccentric. He was a fascinating man with a vast scope of knowledge behind an eccentric manner.”
He threw the truck into Park, and Willow sat still in the idling vehicle, staring at Heath’s chiseled profile. “You knew my father?”
“I wouldn’t say I knew him. I’m not sure anyone really knew your father, but I talked to him many times while I lived on the island. He was generous with his time.” He cut the engine. “I’ll help you with the dogs.”
Willow opened and closed her mouth. She wanted to ask Heath under what circumstances he had talked to her father, but he didn’t seem inclined to share. Her father certainly never told her he’d had conversations with her secret high school crush.
When Heath cranked open his door, the noise startled her into action, and she grabbed the handle of the passenger door and shoved it open. By the time she circled to the back of the truck, Heath already had the tailgate down and Luna had jumped out of the truck and was sniffing the ground.
Leaning into the truck bed, Heath coaxed Apollo, “C’mon, old boy. You don’t have to jump.”
Willow blurted out, “Where are your dogs now? Home with the wife and kids?”
Heath clicked his tongue softly, luring Apollo to the edge of the truck bed and then scooping him up and lowering him to the ground. “They’re at my house in Seattle with my buddy’s college-age daughter, who’s dog-and house-sitting for me. I’m sure she’s spoiling them.”
No wife and kids. She closed her eyes and eked out a small breath. That wasn’t too obvious at all. “Thanks for the ride and the help with Apollo. I’ll be going to the station tomorrow to give my statement.”
“Whoa. Wait a minute.” Heath stood in front of her cabin, turning in a circle, his arms outstretched. “You’re out here on your own?”
“I have Apollo.” She rubbed her knuckles on the top of her dog’s head. “And now Luna.”
“Luna couldn’t help Toby, and no offense to Apollo, but it looks like his personal protection days might be behind him.” To lessen the blow, Heath cuffed Apollo’s ears, his fingers running over Willow’s.
She snatched her hand away from Apollo’s head and Heath’s electric touch. Must be all those unresolved adolescent issues. She cleared her throat. “I also have a few weapons, and they’re loaded and ready to go.”
“The Tree Girl is locked and loaded?” Heath widened his eyes in mock surprise.
“Tree Girl? Wow. I haven’t heard that name in quite a while.”
Heath covered his mouth with one hand. “Sorry. I didn’t mean that as an insult. I’ve always thought of you that way.”
Always? He always thought of her?
She waved a hand in the air. “I don’t care. Didn’t care back then, either.”
Heath ran a hand through his hair. “I—I’m sorry. I mean it as a compliment, not an insult.”
Laughing, she said, “Forget it. Just haven’t heard anyone call me that in years.”
“Understandable. Just know I didn’t use it to insult you, and I’m relieved that you have firearms. Keep them handy tonight. It’ll make me feel better about leaving you out here on your own.”
“I’ll be fine. Apollo may not look like much these days, but he’s still a good watchdog.” She nodded toward her dog, now collapsed at Heath’s feet, his head resting on his hiking boot.
“So, he’ll at least alert you if someone’s in your area.” Heath wiggled his foot. “When he wakes up.”
“Yeah...” She stopped and caught her lower lip between her teeth. Had there been someone near her cabin earlier, before Luna showed up? About the time Toby died?
Cocking his head, Heath said, “What’s wrong? Can we count on Apollo to keep watch?”
“Yeah.” She shook her head. “Yeah, he can handle it. You’d better head back to your hotel and let the rest of the suits at Bradford and Son know that your meeting with Toby didn’t work out the way you wanted it to...or maybe it did.”
“Hey, that’s a low blow. We wanted the guy’s property for a fair price, not his death.”
“But his death makes it more likely you’ll get that property.”
“Not necessarily. I don’t know a thing about Ellie or Garrett Keel.”
“Except their names.”
“Yeah, well, names alone don’t tell if they’re going to be any more willing to sell the property than their uncle.” Heath brushed his hands together. “You know what? I gotta go. You be careful out here.”
He turned on his heel before she had a chance to respond. She guessed she deserved that. She’d practically just accused him of murdering Toby to get his land.
When Heath cranked on his engine, she shaded her eyes against the headlights flooding her yard and waved. She couldn’t see if he responded or even saw her.
She sighed and scratched Luna behind the ear. “C’mon, you two. It’s probably better to have an adversarial relationship with Heath Bradford if he’s trying to develop this side of the island. No fraternizing with the enemy.”
Apollo whined as he sat at her feet while she unlocked the door to her cabin. “And that means you, Apollo. I saw how you were looking at him.”
After she settled Apollo and Luna in side-by-side beds in the living room, she yanked open the door to the closet by the front door and grabbed her father’s pump-action Remington. He’d taught her how to use it, and she cleaned and loaded it at the beginning of each summer visit.
She’d never slept with it beside her bed—until now. Placing the rifle on the floor next to her, she slid between the sheets. If Toby was murdered and his killer got any bright ideas about her, she’d be ready for him. She wasn’t ready for Heath Bradford.
* * *
THE FOLLOWING MORNING, not one dog but two woke her up. Willow scrambled out of bed and opened the front door for them. She didn’t know Luna’s routine, and until she had time to learn it, Toby’s dog would have to follow Apollo’s schedule.
As the dogs sniffed around outside, Willow put away the shotgun. It had made her feel safer after last night’s events. When she went to the DFSD today, she’d nose around a little to find out if Sheriff Chandler had decided Toby’s death was a homicide.
Hard to believe anyone would want to kill Toby, but then, she didn’t know much about the man’s past before he bought that property from her father and took up residence there. The guy preferred to be alone, so something or someone must’ve driven him to that solitude.
She shook out enough dog food to fill two bowls and set them outside on the porch. As she gazed out at the tree line ringing her house, an eerie feeling settled on her skin. Who or what had been out there last night before Luna showed up? Could it have been Luna sniffing around before she made her presence known?
Willow dipped back into the house to grab her long-sleeved flannel from last night and stuff her feet into her hiking boots. The dogs didn’t even look up from their breakfast as she ducked through the opening that led to the path to Toby’s cabin.
The tree canopy shadowed the ground, but enough light seeped between the branches that she didn’t need a flashlight to see. She took the same path she’d hiked last night after Luna showed up, taking her time and looking for snapped twigs and trampled undergrowth. She discovered a little of both.
Had something or someone come this way last night, or were these the signs of her own trek through the forest? She glanced up after stepping over a complex root system blocking her path, and something red flapping from a tree branch caught her attention.
She made a beeline for the Pacific madrone and reached out for the piece of cloth hooked on a small branch jutting from the reddish trunk. She rubbed the flannel material between her fingers. It had come from a shirt, most likely.
She held the bit of cloth to her nose and sniffed, and then smoothed it against her palm. This clean, fresh-smelling piece of fabric hadn’t been out here long.
The hair on the back of her neck quivered. The material had probably been here since last night—when someone had been watching her cabin.
Chapter Four
Heath grabbed his red flannel shirt from the hanger in the closet and tossed it over the back of a chair. The meteorologists on TV had been predicting a warm start of the summer months on Dead Falls Island, but when it came to the islands of Discovery Bay, warm was relative.
His father, vacationing with his new wife, hadn’t been happy when Heath told him about the complications with Toby. His old man would be even less happy to discover Heath’s other business with Toby.
Even though Dad had also ordered him to track down the niece and nephew and start working on them, Heath decided he’d wait a few days before approaching the relatives. If Sheriff Chandler did rule Toby’s death a homicide, Toby’s family would be in shock and grieving. Not the best time to bring up a land deal. But minutiae like murder never stopped his father.
He checked his phone for messages, thought about texting Willow to find out if she’d made it through the night okay and then just as quickly discarded that idea. Not only did his company and business disgust her, she also had him pegged as a killer.
Had he really called her Tree Girl to her face? He didn’t need to give her more reasons to dislike him, but he was batting a thousand.
His stomach grumbled when he left his hotel room, but he wanted to get to the sheriff’s station to give his statement before he did anything else. He didn’t exactly have an alibi for the time of Toby’s...death, but the GPS on his truck should show the time he arrived at Toby’s place. He wanted to get in the clear with Chandler in case the sheriff had the same line of thought as Willow.
He tucked the phone into his pocket and grabbed the flannel on his way out of the hotel room. He drove through the town of Dead Falls and along the winding coastal road to the sheriff’s station.
When he got out of his truck, he gazed at the harbor and bay below the cliff. The station had one of the best views in town. The land would be worth a lot of money today—almost as much as Toby’s.
As he pushed through the door of the station, he almost ran straight into Willow, dressed in jeans and boots again—not that the casual look didn’t suit her. He had a hard time dragging his gaze from her fit body to meet her eyes.
“Sorry.” He held out a hand as if to steady her, but the cold look in her green eyes ended that courtesy. “Everything okay last night? Luna good?”
She tugged on the flannel he grasped in one hand. “I don’t think you’ll need this today.”
He flattened the crumpled shirt against his chest with his arm. “I remember island weather as unpredictable. Are you all right?”
“I’m good, yeah.” She rubbed her palms on the thighs of her jeans. “Luna seems to want to go back to the scene of the...Toby’s death, but I’ve been distracting her. You here for your statement?”
“I am. Happy to hear Luna’s doing okay. Let me know if you need any help with her.” He took a step away from her and the weird vibe emanating from her stiff frame.
Reaching out, she grabbed his sleeve. “Do you mind if I wait for you while you give your statement? Th-there’s something I want to ask you. It shouldn’t take you too long. I’ll buy you breakfast or a coffee when you’re done.”
He schooled the surprise out of his face. She wanted to buy him a meal? She looked like she wanted to stab him with a small, sharp object. “Sure, you can wait. I could use something to eat. How long were you in there?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
“Did the sheriff give away anything about Toby’s death?”
“Nope.” She tilted her head and a cascade of auburn-tinted brown hair fell over her shoulder. “He’s going to check out your alibi.”
“He probably will. He can look at the GPS on my truck, so he can try to pin down the time of death or at least some kind of timeline.” He leveled a finger at her. “Did he check yours, too?”
“Moi?” She slapped a hand against her chest. “I didn’t have any reason to kill Toby.”
“Yeah, well, neither did I.” He cocked his head toward the front counter. “I think they’re ready for me.”
“See you when you get out.”
As Heath walked through the swinging doors to the offices in the back, he glanced over his shoulder. Willow sank onto a chair in the lobby, the calculating look still playing across her face. He didn’t know why he should have breakfast with a woman who suspected him of murder. Maybe he just wanted to prove her wrong. Maybe he just wanted to prove something to Willow so she’d stop eyeing him like a bug. Wait, no. She liked bugs a helluva lot more than she liked him.
