Page 16 of This is Why We Lied

They both smiled as they waited for the group to catch up.

The man said, “Y’all must be heading toward the McAlpine Lodge. I’m Drew, this is my partner, Keisha.”

Will waited for his turn to shake hands, trying not to think back to the blissful moments he’d had alone with Sara. His brain was throwing up images from the McAlpine Lodge website. Chef-prepared meals. Curated hikes. Fly-fishing excursions. There were always two or three couples enjoying themselves in each photo. It was only now that Will realized the couples had probably not known each other before arriving at the lodge.

He was going to end up paddle boarding with Frank.

Keisha said, “You just missed Landry and Gordon. They sprinted on ahead of us to the lodge. It’s their first time. They’re app developers.”

“Really?” Frank asked. “Did they mention which app?”

“We were all too caught up in the view to talk about anything else.” Drew rested his hand on Keisha’s hip. “We made a pledge that we’re not gonna talk about work the whole week. Y’all wanna join in?”

“Absolutely,” Sara said. “Should we go?”

Will had never loved her more.

They all fell silent as they followed the winding trail up the mountain. The trees thickened overhead. The path narrowed again so they went back to single file. There was a well-maintained wooden footbridge over a rushing stream. Will looked down at the churning water. He wondered how often it flooded the bank, but he let the question go when Frank started verbally debating himself on the differences between creeks and rivers. Sara gave a pained smile at Will as Frank yapped on like a toy poodle at her heels. Will had somehow ended up second from last. Drew was in front of him. Monica took up the rear, head down, feet still slipping on the rocks. Will hoped she’d shipped some hiking boots to the lodge. He was wearing his HAIX tactical boots. He could probably scale the side of a building. If his calves didn’t explode.

Frank finally stopped talking when they had to navigate a rocky section. Thankfully, the silence continued as the path widened and the going got smoother. Sara managed to drop back behind Frank so that she could talk to Keisha. Soon, both women were laughing. Will loved the easy way Sara had about her. She could find common ground with almost anybody. Will, not so much, but he was mindful that they were going to be surrounded by these people for the next six days. And also of the look that Sara had given him earlier. She needed him to carry his side of the conversation. The only time Will was good at small talk was when he was sitting across the table from a suspect.

He thought about his four fellow guests, wondering what kind of criminals they would hypothetically be. Considering the hefty cost of the lodge, he assumed at least three of them would lean more toward white-collar crimes. Frank would definitely be embroiled in something to do with crypto. Keisha had the sly, competent look of an embezzler. Drew reminded Will of a guy he’d busted for running a Ponzi scheme involving nutritional supplements. That left Monica, who legitimately looked like she was going to murder Frank. Of the group, Will figured she’d be the one most likely to get away with it. She’d have an alibi. She’d have a lawyer. She sure as hell wouldn’t sit for an interview.

And he would have a hard time blaming her for the crime.

“Will,” Drew said. Which was how you started a conversation when you weren’t gaming out criminals in your head. “First time at the lodge?”

“Yeah.” Will kept his voice low because Drew had. “You?”

“Third time. We love it up there.” His looped his thumbs through the straps on his backpack. “Keisha and I own a catering business on the West Side. Hard to clock out. She dragged me kicking and screaming the first time. Couldn’t believe there was no phone or internet. Thought I was gonna go into shock by the end of the day. But then—”

Will watched him stretch out his arms and take a deep, cleansing breath.

Drew said, “Being in nature resets you. Know what I mean?”

Will nodded, but he had some concerns. “So, everything at the lodge is done in groups?”

“Meals are communal. The activities are limited to four guests per guide.”

Will did not like those odds. “How is that assigned?”

“You can ask for a specific couple,” Drew said. “Why do you think I dropped back to talk to you?”

Will guessed it was pretty obvious. “There’s really no internet? No reception?”

“Not for us.” Drew was grinning. “They’ve got a landline for emergencies. The staff has access to Wi-Fi, but they aren’t allowed to give out the password. Believe me, that first time, I tried to wear them down, but Papa runs a tight ship.”

“Papa?”

“Wowza!” Frank yelled.

Will saw a deer darting across the path. A large clearing was a hundred yards on. Sunlight poured through the gap. Will saw a rainbow arcing across the blue sky. It was like something out of a movie. All that was missing was a singing nun. He felt his heart slow in his chest. A calmness took over. Sara was looking at him again, a huge smile on her face. Will let go of a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

She was happy.

“Here.” Drew handed a map to Will. “It’s old, but it’ll help you get your bearings.”

Old was an accurate description. The map looked like something from the seventies, with press-on letters and line drawings to indicate various points of interest. An irregular loop lassoed around the top quadrant, with dashed lines indicating smaller trails. Will spotted the footbridge where they’d crossed over the creek. The scale had to be off. They’d walked for at least twenty minutes to get here. He guessed by the McAlpine stamp at the bottom that the owners hadn’t been going for accuracy.