Highlanders.
I had eight hours before I was supposed to be in Seattle, no idea how to get there and even less idea how to begin clearing Sera’s name. During my brief time working with Carmichael and Johnson, they’d taught me a thing or two about how to approach an investigation. List the suspects. Gather facts. See the big picture. I hadn’t done any of that yet.
The folder in my bag was a place to start, at least. I could return to the cottage, share it with Sera, and attempt to form an actual plan.
Five hundred feet from our cottage, I passed one of the guest houses that had been emptied the night before. Though travel was limited to the other side of the island, where Robin could track it, this house reached far enough into the ocean to double as a dock. A decrepit rowboat and a modest houseboat were tied to its stilts. The houseboat looked new, and I wondered if it was intended as an additional guest accommodation.
I stared at the dock, a truly terrible idea forming.
“Planning your prison break?”
I turned to see David at my side, the empty camera box in one hand.
“What gave it away?”
“Something about the longing look and evil grin. Gives it away every time.” He glanced to his left and right, then lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Also, I know how you feel.”
“What, an island full of drunken waters isn’t your idea of a good time?”
He shook his head in disbelief. It was the standard reaction when someone met my aunts for the first time. “I noticed you weren’t partaking much last night. Are you sure you’re related?”
“When I drink, I tend to miss things, and that’s not an option right now. When this whole thing is over, I’ll down a glass or ten, I promise.”
David handed me the empty box. “Speaking of not missing things, the camera is up. Sera won’t be able to step outside without it being captured. I set it to wide angle, too, so the windows are in the frame. If anything else happens, she’ll have an unbreakable alibi.”
I took the box and studied the image on the front. It was your bog-standard motion sensing camera, the kind I’d become all too familiar with recently. “Thanks. Where does the footage go?”
“There’s an SD card in there, and if something happens to that, there’s a wireless backup drive. Who should have access to that?”
“My mother. Fiona.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You’re being so helpful. Like you think Sera might be innocent.”
“Is that a problem?” His brows knit, and it wasn’t a rhetorical question. I hadn’t known many stones in my life, but they rarely wasted words.
“No. It’s just unusual in the current climate.”
David stared at the ocean, and I waited. Okay, I bit my lip, counted to ten, and forced myself not to speak before he replied, but I also waited.
“I’ve known fires,” he said at last. “They’re hot-headed, but they also have tremendous control. I can’t see one of them losing it and causing an explosion in front of dozens of witnesses. It just doesn’t feel right.”
Something inside me unknotted at his words. It wasn’t much support, but it was more than I’d had five minutes ago. “I appreciate you doing this,” I said, holding up the box.
He shook his head, waving off my thanks. “It’s good to be useful.”
“Are you and Lana planning on staying long?” I worked hard to keep the hope from my voice, and when he shook his head I worked even harder to keep the smile from my face. Lana—or what she knew about me—was simply too dangerous to be around the old ones. The sooner she and David were off the island, the sooner I could relax and just worry about little things like my best friend’s murder charge.
“A few more days. We’ll leave once the embargo is lifted. I’m eager to get some rocks under my feet, but Lana’s enjoying herself too much. I can’t blame her, I guess. There aren’t many places in the world like this.”
“Someday, you’re
I had eight hours before I was supposed to be in Seattle, no idea how to get there and even less idea how to begin clearing Sera’s name. During my brief time working with Carmichael and Johnson, they’d taught me a thing or two about how to approach an investigation. List the suspects. Gather facts. See the big picture. I hadn’t done any of that yet.
The folder in my bag was a place to start, at least. I could return to the cottage, share it with Sera, and attempt to form an actual plan.
Five hundred feet from our cottage, I passed one of the guest houses that had been emptied the night before. Though travel was limited to the other side of the island, where Robin could track it, this house reached far enough into the ocean to double as a dock. A decrepit rowboat and a modest houseboat were tied to its stilts. The houseboat looked new, and I wondered if it was intended as an additional guest accommodation.
I stared at the dock, a truly terrible idea forming.
“Planning your prison break?”
I turned to see David at my side, the empty camera box in one hand.
“What gave it away?”
“Something about the longing look and evil grin. Gives it away every time.” He glanced to his left and right, then lowered his voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “Also, I know how you feel.”
“What, an island full of drunken waters isn’t your idea of a good time?”
He shook his head in disbelief. It was the standard reaction when someone met my aunts for the first time. “I noticed you weren’t partaking much last night. Are you sure you’re related?”
“When I drink, I tend to miss things, and that’s not an option right now. When this whole thing is over, I’ll down a glass or ten, I promise.”
David handed me the empty box. “Speaking of not missing things, the camera is up. Sera won’t be able to step outside without it being captured. I set it to wide angle, too, so the windows are in the frame. If anything else happens, she’ll have an unbreakable alibi.”
I took the box and studied the image on the front. It was your bog-standard motion sensing camera, the kind I’d become all too familiar with recently. “Thanks. Where does the footage go?”
“There’s an SD card in there, and if something happens to that, there’s a wireless backup drive. Who should have access to that?”
“My mother. Fiona.”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You’re being so helpful. Like you think Sera might be innocent.”
“Is that a problem?” His brows knit, and it wasn’t a rhetorical question. I hadn’t known many stones in my life, but they rarely wasted words.
“No. It’s just unusual in the current climate.”
David stared at the ocean, and I waited. Okay, I bit my lip, counted to ten, and forced myself not to speak before he replied, but I also waited.
“I’ve known fires,” he said at last. “They’re hot-headed, but they also have tremendous control. I can’t see one of them losing it and causing an explosion in front of dozens of witnesses. It just doesn’t feel right.”
Something inside me unknotted at his words. It wasn’t much support, but it was more than I’d had five minutes ago. “I appreciate you doing this,” I said, holding up the box.
He shook his head, waving off my thanks. “It’s good to be useful.”
“Are you and Lana planning on staying long?” I worked hard to keep the hope from my voice, and when he shook his head I worked even harder to keep the smile from my face. Lana—or what she knew about me—was simply too dangerous to be around the old ones. The sooner she and David were off the island, the sooner I could relax and just worry about little things like my best friend’s murder charge.
“A few more days. We’ll leave once the embargo is lifted. I’m eager to get some rocks under my feet, but Lana’s enjoying herself too much. I can’t blame her, I guess. There aren’t many places in the world like this.”
“Someday, you’re
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