“Any idea who?”
“No. The report came in from a couple of sightseers. The body is in the water, from the sound of it.” She paused. “Are you still in the area?”
“Yes. I’ll head over there now to begin prelims. Liz and Belle can drive my truck back.” He glanced at us briefly when he said that, eyebrow raised in query. When I nodded, he added, “Have you called in Ciara?”
“Yes, and she’s not amused.”
“Given her recent workload, I’m not surprised. Can you contact Byron and ask him to bring along his scuba gear? We’ll have to do a search of the lake.”
“Will do.”
As the call light on the screen went out, he glanced at us and said, “Sorry about this, ladies. Will you be all right finding your way back to Castle Rock from this area?”
“Shouldn’t be a problem,” I said. “But if it is, we’ve Google Maps on our phones.”
There was satnav in the truck, but I had a suspicion he wouldn’t be happy if we started playing about with the onboard computer.
“Good. I’ll come by sometime later today to pick the truck up.”
Silence fell after that, although between the pelting rain and the siren there was little point in trying to talk. Aiden obviously knew this area well, because we were driving along the old dirt road far faster than I would have thought wise given the lack of visibility.
We sped along several more roads—although some of them were little more than rough muddy lines—before we reached our destination. As Aiden slowed, I spotted a red SUV parked to the right of the track, though it was little more than a bright flicker in the wet gloom of the day. Beyond it was the faint outline of what was probably a barbecue hut, given this area was called Picnic Point. If there were people inside either the vehicle or the hut, I couldn’t see them.
Aiden halted beside the SUV, shoved his truck into park, and then twisted around to grab one of the coats. “I’ll get my gear out of the back, and then you can head home. Just take it easy until you get onto the main road, because the tracks will have deteriorated rapidly in this storm.”
“We will.” I hesitated, only barely resisting the urge to drop a kiss on his cheek. “Talk to you later.”
“Yes.” His smile flashed, but it was all too fleeting.
Once he’d climbed out, I undid my belt and slid across to the driver seat. When he’d retrieved his kit, he hit the side of the truck a couple of times. I watched him walked around the front of the vehicle, and then slipped the gears into reverse and got out of there.
“Let’s hope this body isn’t connected to either the other two or our soul eater,” Belle commented.
“I’m betting we’ve got Buckley’s chance of that being the case.”
She grimaced—something I felt through our connection more than saw, given my attention was solely on keeping the truck straight on the increasingly shitty road.
“And I’m betting you’re right. It doesn’t stop me from hoping otherwise though.” She yawned hugely. “Do you mind if I nap?”
“Go for it.” I paused, but couldn’t help adding, “If I’m going to slide us into a tree or something, it’s probably better not to see it.”
“Thanks for that rather cheery thought.”
“You’re welcome, my friend.”
She shook her head, amusement teasing her lips as she grabbed the remaining coat, folded it up to form a pillow, and then shifted to a more comfortable position in the seat. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.
I not only managed to stay awake and not run us into a tree or worse, but also find my way back to the main highway without resorting to Google for help. Visibility remained poor, however, so I kept well below the speed limit—no doubt frustrating those who were caught behind me for however many minutes it might have taken to reach a passing point. It took me almost an hour to get back to Castle Rock and, by that time, I was battling to stay awake as tiredness pulsed through me.
I pulled up in front of the café and lightly nudged Belle. “Crap,” she muttered. “We here already?”
“Yeah. Are you going to be okay to get inside while I park the truck around the back, or do you want help?”
“I’ll manage.”
She dumped the coat on the seat then climbed out and staggered more than walked across to the door. I waited until she’d disappeared inside, then drove around to the rear of the building and the parking area we shared with all five businesses along this section of the street. Once the truck was safely tucked behind our old wagon, I shoved Aiden’s coat on, grabbed the backpack, and then ran like hell for the rear access door—one we generally used only when we needed to dump the waste in the nearby bins. But in the few seconds it took me to open it, my hair was running with rivers and the bottom half of me was soaked through.
I stripped off in the small, rather cold corridor that held both our walk-in fridge-freezer and the storeroom, and then grabbed a bag from the latter to shove in the wet stuff so I didn’t drip into the main part of the building. Once upstairs, I dumped my clothes into the wash basket, hung Aiden’s coat up to dry, and then checked on Belle. She’d managed to strip off, but had hit the bed fast asleep. I tugged the blankets over her and got muttered at for my trouble. The spells we’d placed around the room to give Belle a break from the constant barrage of my thoughts prevented me from understanding the content of that mutter, but it didn’t really matter. Her tone told me it wasn’t a “thank you” but rather something along the lines of “bugger off and leave me alone”—only less polite.