What Lies Below, page 7
Must be missing his own pooches.
Once inside, Heath sank into a chair at the kitchen table. “No leftover pizza for breakfast?”
“Leftover veggie pizza is kind of gross. You should’ve taken the pepperoni that was left over. I’ll never eat it.”
“I’ll take it now.” He brushed past her in the small kitchen and opened her fridge. He snatched up the plastic bag that contained the leftovers from their meal last night.
She punched the button to start the coffee brewing. “Do you want to heat that up in the microwave?”
“Negative. Better cold.” To prove his point, he bit off the tip of a piece of pepperoni pizza straight from the fridge.
While Heath ate his breakfast, Willow watched the coffee drip into the pot. She poured two cups and carried them to the table. “Cream or sugar?”
“Black.” He curled two fingers around the handle of the mug and lifted it. “Breakfast of champions.”
Tapping next to a blister on his finger, she said, “That looks nasty.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not above manual labor, as I proved yesterday. Must’ve gotten that while I was hanging the door.” He blew on the steam wafting from his cup and took a sip. “So much better than what the hotel has to offer. Anything more from the Keels after yesterday’s ambush?”
“No, but Toby’s attorney, Jason Hart, called me and wants to meet this afternoon. I’m hoping he can explain what’s going on.” She clicked her fingernail against her mug, watching the cream swirl in the mocha-colored liquid.
“What’s wrong? Feeling guilty about inheriting that property? I can assuage you of that guilt.” Heath quirked his eyebrows up and down.
“N-no. I’m just coming to the realization that I didn’t know much about my father’s affairs.”
“Why would you? You were just a teenager when he passed. You didn’t get any help from the adults in your life at the time, did you?”
“My mother was in Bali at the time.” She twisted her lips into a semblance of a smile.
“You’re lucky, though. Other than this house and the strings attached to the property he sold Toby, sounds like your father’s assets were simple and straightforward.” He plopped another slice of pizza onto his plate.
“I thought so, but...”
Apollo cut off her confession with a high-pitched whine, and she scrambled from her chair. Standing at the front door, she called to Apollo, pacing in front of the tree line. “What’s wrong, boy? Where’s Luna?”
Heath came up behind her, cradling his coffee mug. “What’s he crying for?”
“Not sure, but I don’t see Luna anywhere.”
“The way Apollo’s stalking the edge of the forest there, I’d bet a few bucks Luna headed into the woods, probably back to Toby’s.”
“That’s what I’ve been afraid of. That’s why I kept her on a lead yesterday, which probably made it easier for the intruders to drug them.”
“The DFSD must be done processing that scene by now. Hell, it may even just be the scene of an accident. I don’t think there’s any harm in Luna going there.”
“Probably not, but I don’t want her going through the forest. She’s completely domesticated.” She whistled for Apollo, and he loped to her side, head hanging. “Don’t worry, Apollo. We’ll bring her back.”
“I’ll drive you over in my truck.” Heath popped the last bit of crust into his mouth and brushed his hands together. “Get dressed. I’ll take care of the dishes. You see? Luna’s not the only one who’s domesticated.”
“I thought you were a bachelor.”
“Bachelors have to be even more domesticated, or we’ll end up living in squalor.” He nudged the small of her back. “If you want to take a shower before you get dressed, I think Luna will be fine.”
“That sounds like a broad hint. I must smell like dog, wine and sweat.”
“Whatever it is, I like it.” He took her coffee cup from her as they entered the house and made a beeline for the kitchen.
“You are really working it, Bradford. I might just make you believe there’s hope to keep the groveling coming.”
He parked himself in front of the sink. “I obviously have to work on my sincerity.”
She couldn’t wipe the smile from her face as she traipsed into her room to gather some clothes and cranked on the shower for a quick wash. The man had charm to spare, and its effect was dizzying.
She still had no plans to sell either property to Bradford and Son, but how far would Son go to change her mind?
* * *
AS HEATH RINSED the dishes, he ran a thumb over the blister on the side of his finger. His digging last night had yielded nothing...except this blister. He’d looked over the land but didn’t see any other pair of maple trees together. Had Toby been messing with his mind?
Toby had been the one to contact Heath with his cryptic, unsigned notes. Heath had only figured out that Toby Keel was his anonymous pen pal by luck. When his father had told him to start securing the properties on the west side of Dead Falls Island to dovetail with the Samish casino plans, Heath had recognized Toby’s handwriting from several documents.
Toby had admitted to being the author, and the two had planned to meet so that Toby could come clean about what he knew regarding the disappearance of Heath’s mother. Toby’s death had put an end to that. Had someone made sure that Toby would die with his secrets?
Luna’s escape gave Heath an excuse to check out Toby’s house. Willow owned the property now. Why shouldn’t she be there, and why shouldn’t he be there with her to collect Luna?
He poured himself another cup of coffee and scrolled through his phone as he waited for Willow. Now he just needed an excuse to get into Toby’s house. He wanted to search through the man’s things to see if he’d intended to send Heath any more clues about his mother.
Why hadn’t Toby just come out and told Heath what happened and where his mother was buried? He must’ve had something to do with his mother’s death. Maybe he knew he was dying, and his conscience forced him to come clean before his death. Only he hadn’t had time.
“You seem engrossed. Playing a game on your phone?”
He lifted his head as Willow walked into the kitchen, her hair swinging in a ponytail and jeans encasing her slender legs. Tilting his phone back and forth, he said, “Reception is spotty. Can’t get new mail or messages.”
“That’s a problem out here. Hike or drive?” She pointed to two pairs of shoes stationed at the front door—white tennis shoes and scuffed hiking boots.
“Let’s walk over. You can show me where you found that piece of flannel. Did you ever tell West about that?” He dumped his coffee down the drain and chased it with a blast of water.
“I gave West a call and told him everything—about Toby’s will, the anger of the Keels, and I handed over that scrap of material after the break-in yesterday.” She sat down on the edge of a chair and stuffed her stockinged feet into her boots. “I can’t run around grabbing everyone with a red flannel.”
“Just me, but you can grab me all you want.” As Willow’s cheeks turned pink, he shook his head. “I mean, if you ever need help or...anything.”
“I’m not selling, Son.”
Crouching in front of Apollo, he cupped the dog’s head and touched his nose to his. “A guy can’t get a break around here, dude.”
“And don’t try to get Apollo on your side, either. He can’t be bought with cheap affection.” She raised a finger. “Don’t even go there.”
Heath left Willow’s cabin with a lighter step than when he’d arrived. He’d plastered over his fatigue and disappointment with a quick smile and a jovial attitude, just like he always did, but several minutes in Willow’s company turned the cover-up into reality. She had a way of making him feel at ease. The whole island did, and he’d turned her into some kind of woodsy representative of Dead Falls.
As they tromped through the woods, Heath tried to keep his gaze on the trail in front of him instead of on Willow’s pert backside in those tight jeans. He’d still want her even if she didn’t own one blade of grass on this island.
She stopped suddenly, and he almost plowed into her. “Whoa.”
She glanced at the hand on her hip he’d used to avoid knocking her to the ground. Then she flicked a skinny branch with her fingers. “I found the flannel material here.”
Taking a step back, he surveyed the area. “No reason for anyone to be hiking this trail unless he or she was going from Toby’s place to yours, right?”
She rubbed her chin. “I mean, yeah, but it’s part of the National Forest. Anyone has a right to be here.”
“You didn’t find anything else suspicious?”
“Nope. Could’ve been some hiker, but I thought it was a coincidence.”
“I agree, especially as someone trashed your place yesterday. They must’ve known you were out, known about the dogs, known they were tied up.” He snapped a twig between his fingers. “Like they were watching you.”
“I know.” She hunched her shoulders. “Let’s get to Luna.”
Ten minutes later, they emerged from the tree line onto Toby’s property. Yellow crime scene tape sagged between a post and the picnic bench, and Luna lay beside the firepit where they’d found Toby’s body just two nights ago.
Willow dabbed the corner of her eye with the tip of her finger. “That’s so sad. She’s waiting for Toby to come back.”
Heath crept toward the dog and hunched beside her. “It’s all right, girl. You don’t need to protect him anymore.”
Leaning above him, Willow circled her finger in the air over a spot on the ground. “West took the rock. I imagine the medical examiner is going to determine if Toby fell on it or if someone used it to bash his head.”
“West is being tight-lipped about it.” Heath rose to his feet, his gaze darting toward Toby’s cabin. “Do you need to get anything out of Toby’s cabin for Luna?”
“I have everything I need for her—” Willow shoved her hands in her pockets and kicked at one of the stones circling the firepit “—but I might need her vaccination records.”
Heath lifted his shoulders. “It’s not really breaking in if he left everything to you.”
She pulled her hand free from her pocket and dangled a silver key in front of him. “We don’t need to break in. I have a key to the cabin, just as Toby had a key to mine.”
“Even better.”
Willow ordered the dogs to stay as she bobbled the key in the palm of her hand. When they reached the entrance, she slid the key home and pushed open the door.
The layout of Toby’s cabin mirrored Willow’s, but the resemblance ended there. While Willow had turned her space into a cozy, charming, neat forest retreat, Toby had stuffed his place full of junk. Towers of books lined one wall without the benefit of a shelf. On one crowded table, Samish relics fought for space with bits of flora from the forest.
Heath wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. If he thought he was going to find any evidence of his mother’s mysterious disappearance here, he’d been grossly mistaken. He whistled through his teeth. “What a mess.”
“Kind of a controlled chaos.” Willow picked up a red file folder from a desk and thumbed through it. “It would take weeks to find anything in here.”
Throwing her a sharp look, he said, “You mean Luna’s records?”
“Yeah, yeah. Luna’s records. I’ll just ask Dr. Jaimie. She probably has all that.” She swept several folders from the desk, including the red one, and tucked them under her arm. “Maybe Toby’s attorney needs some of these papers.”
Heath turned his back on her and scanned the rest of the cluttered room. It felt like he wasn’t the only one compelled to search through Toby Keel’s life for clues. No wonder he hadn’t had to twist her arm to get in here. But he couldn’t do much of a search with her hanging over his shoulder.
As they stepped out of the cabin, a chill permeated the air, and the sun struggled to reach the ground, now swirling with mist. He glanced up as moisture caressed his face. “That was fast.”
“Toby’s property dips just enough to be susceptible to the moisture from the ocean that gets trapped inland. He had a name for this property when my father sold it to him. I don’t remember the Samish name, which is more poetic, but he called it where the mist meets the earth.”
Chapter Eight
Heath froze beside her, and she stumbled to a stop, nearly tripping over Apollo. “Did you forget something?”
He turned in a circle and pointed to a thatch of trees near a creek that ran through the back of the property. “Are those maple trees?”
“Yes.” She grabbed Apollo’s collar to prevent him from backtracking to Heath. “The two big ones are big-leaf maples. Are you having second thoughts about tearing everything down and putting up a parking lot?”
“I see them around a lot. Thought they were maples but couldn’t remember. There are a couple on the Misty Hollow property, too.”
“They’re all over.” She tilted her head toward the trail back to her place. “You ready to go, or have you decided to do a nature inventory here? If that’s the case, I can put you to work.”
“Yeah, let’s get going. I’ll take Luna with me, so she doesn’t make a beeline back here. But how are you going to stop her from going back home?”
“Food, warmth, affection. I guess I have to expect she’ll return here occasionally and just hope she doesn’t get attacked by anything feral.”
“Hey, you two.”
Willow spun around at the sound of a voice, slipping the file folders inside her flannel. She swallowed as Lee Scott ambled toward them, the silver from his bolo tie glinting through the haze. As the business rep for the Samish, Lee always dressed sharply. No quick getaway, but a swift offense always trumped a backpedaling defense.
“Hi, Lee. What brings you out here?”
“I could ask you the same.” Lee nodded at Heath. “Hello, Heath. Checking out the property again now that Toby has passed?”
“I guess introductions aren’t necessary.” She wagged her finger between the two men. “You guys know each other?”
Heath reached forward to grab Lee’s hand. “Of course we do. Similar interests.”
Willow thunked her forehead with the heel of her hand, even though she knew all about their shared interests. “That’s right. Lee’s the one leading the charge to get a casino on the island.”
“We’ll get it done one way or the other, Willow, with or without your land.” He pressed his thin lips into a smile.
“Is that why you’re here? To drool over your prospects with Toby gone?” She tugged her shirt closed, folding her arms over the files.
Lee put his hands together. “I’m here to pay my respects. Even though Toby and I were on opposite sides of the issue, he was still a brother. And you?”
Heath jingled Luna’s collar. “Came to retrieve Toby’s dog. Willow is keeping her for now, but she insists on going home.”
“Poor thing.” Lee advanced toward Luna, who bristled and snarled at him.
“I guess she’s still protective of the area.” Heath smoothed his hand over the top of Luna’s head.
Willow glanced between Luna and Lee, narrowing her eyes. “We’ll leave you to...pay your respects in peace, Lee.”
“Take care, Willow. Good to see you, Heath. We might have to schedule another meeting soon.”
Willow plunged into the forest with Heath hot on her heels. When they got some distance from Toby’s cabin, she hissed over her shoulder. “Did you see how Luna behaved toward Lee?”
“Like a dog defending her people and property.”
“Or like a dog reacting to her owner’s killer.”
Heath tugged on the tail of her shirt. “Now you’ve pegged Lee Scott as Toby’s murderer? Next, you’ll be pawing through his wardrobe looking for a red flannel. He’s probably not even going to get the land now.”
“He doesn’t know that, does he?” She snorted. “Do you think he would’ve been all nicey-nice with me back there if he knew Toby left the property to me?”
“Lee Scott is an astute businessman, not a killer.”
“He’s got a lot riding on that casino. He wants to maximize its profits.” She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and plowed forward.
“If we ever do have that meeting, I’ll see what I can find out. But I think you’ll be suspicious of anyone with connections to the land. The sooner West Chandler and the medical examiner release a manner of death, the sooner we can all move on.”
She shot back, “Unless that manner of death is homicide.”
When they got to her cabin, Heath helped her corral the dogs inside.
As he eyed the stack of file folders she put on the kitchen table, she moved between his line of sight and the table. She didn’t want to explain to him why she wanted to look through the folders or why she’d hidden them from Lee. Bradford and Son didn’t need to know everything about these properties.
“I need to get ready for my meeting with Jason Hart,” she said. “Thanks for coming with me to rescue Luna.”
“Anytime. I hope you get the property. I really do.”
“I might be a long way from that if Ellie and Garrett challenge the will, and I’ll have to stand up to the likes of Lee Scott.”
“I’m sure the Keels plan to contest, which will end up keeping Lee at bay. Keep me posted.” He let himself out and waved.
As soon as the door closed behind him, Willow pounced on the folders. Plopping down in a chair, she flipped open the first one.
She ran her finger down a bunch of meaningless expenses and then thumbed through the rest of the papers in the folder. More of the same. Before she could get to the next folder in the stack, she glanced at her phone and cursed softly.
