Page 26 of Traitor

Chapter Ten

Ford

Lack of sleepand a headache from straining to see through the murky water put me in a foul mood. Not that I’m normally in a perky one.

“How much longer do you think you’ll keep at it?” I ask Hadley, as we disembark from his boat and trek back up to the lodge.

Hadley looks about as good as I feel. He rubs at the dark smudges beneath his eyes. Guess I wasn’t the only one who got little to no rest the night before. “Couple more hours, but we could only spare a few guys and they’re volunteering. Can’t waste anymore manpower if we’re coming up with squat.”

“Sooner the better. All this nonsense is gonna start scaring off business.” I’d already had a cancelation from a current customer, who didn’t want to come back next month for their spring break vacation.

Hadley pauses and narrows his eyes at me. “Nonsense, huh? I thought you believed her.”

I shrug, my gaze lifting from the trail to find Peyton. It doesn’t take long. That woman always seems to be right in the middle of chaos. How she manages to derail everything in such a short amount of time, I’ll never know.

“It’s not that I don’t believe her. Shit, Paul. Just want this over with.”

He sighs and we continue on. “You and me both.”

Not to mention the longer this drags out, the more I’ll have to worry about Mercy, who took my request to leave about as well as I anticipated. Stubbornness must be a family trait.

In a compromise, I threw money at the both of them to go shopping or whatever a couple towns over, with strict instructions to keep themselves busy until Hadley and the other cops cleared out. Both in case they did find a body, or on the off chance reporters showed up.

So far, I’ve been lucky on both counts.

Hadley pauses at the top of the steps, nodding to the older couple who owns the town bakery and often stay at the lodge for a little getaway. The wife, Mrs. Margaret, is also the biggest mouth this side of the Mississippi, so if I have any doubts about word getting around they are squashed. Peyton gets to her feet as Hadley reaches her side. Her face is carefully blank and clean of makeup, leaving her looking even more innocent and vulnerable than usual.

I keep a couple steps behind Hadley and prop myself on an elbow. Technically, he shouldn’t need me involved, but I can’t seem to make myself go back inside. I don’t want to give a damn, but I also don’t want to leave her alone. Not when it looks like a stiff wind could knock her over.

Peyton gives me a look over Hadley’s shoulder, like she’s wondering what I’m doing here, and I glower back at her.

Nell, who must have been watching the security cameras from the front desk, comes out with a tray of steaming hot coffee and several mugs. She tops off Peyton’s, then hands Hadley and me the remaining mugs.

“Here you are, Sheriff,” she says.

“Thank you, Nell, I appreciate it.”

“You have a message for you when you’re finished here, Boss,” Nell tells me with a pointed look.

“Appreciate it. I’ll be back in a few,” I tell her. “Leave it on my desk.”

“Ya’ll need anything else while I’m here?”

“No, thank you,” Hadley and Peyton chime in.

“We’re good,” I say.

With one last curious glance backward, Nell goes back inside. I push the curiosity of a message to the back of my mind.

“Good morning, Ms. Rhodes,” Hadley says.

“Sheriff,” she says shakily. If possible, her face has lost even more color, leaving only a slash of pink at her cheeks from the cold. Damn woman is gonna faint again if she doesn’t take better care of herself. Knowing she’d only bite my head off, I take a deep swallow of coffee and am pleased when she does the same.

I frown and look away.

No reason why I should be staring at her unless I want another rude awakening.

“We’ve searched the whole area,” Hadley begins. “Are you absolutely sure about what you saw? Where?”