Page 57 of Mystery in the Mountains

“I don’t know . . . It’s weird, right? We should probably talk to Bridget.”

Asher nodded and peered into the room. “Do you want to go in?”

She paused and looked up at him. Something about her gaze made Asher want to pick her up and whisk her away to somewhere safer.

Fuck. She was everything.

He put his hand on the small of her back, which seemed to give her enough confidence to enter the room.

“What is all this?” she said, eyes wide, taking in the room.

They entered her father’s office. One wall was covered in newspaper clippings all about the accident. A large corkboard displayed pictures and papers stuck up with red strings connecting them. A bookshelf held binders and stacks of folders, and the desk was covered in mounds of paper, all caked in dust.

“So . . . it looks like your dad had a murder board?”

Sunny joined in and slid her arms around his waist as they both took in the board. Alongside a letter from VenDeer Coal and the name Nox Whittaker connecting his name to the side was a picture of the accident. Another name, Bradford Wilkes, had a long red string connecting him to VenDeer card. There was a letter attached to both VenDeer and Bradford Wilkes. From the letter, another set of strings stretched to two other names.

There was so much to take in, but his eyes kept being pulled back to the wreckage. That crumpled-up, upside down, smoking car. That was how both of his parents died. They never had any answers, but maybe there were some to be found.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice, pulling Sunny close to him.

She held him tighter and nodded.

He kissed the top of her head. “Do you think there are answers here?”

Sunny shrugged. “I don’t know. This is what slowly drove him into madness, trying to figure it all out.”

“Do you think that maybe fresh eyes would be able to solve it?”

“I don’t know. Let’s not think about it until we’ve had coffee.”

“Oh. I made coffee and was just about to make some pancakes. Are you hungry?”

She looked up at him, trepidation lining the creases on her forehead. “I could eat. This is all so overwhelming.”

“Well, why don’t we go get some breakfast before we tackle anything in here so you can decide what you want to do with all of this stuff.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He bent his head, dropping a sweet kiss on her lips.

They made their way downstairs.

Asher turned for one last look into this room, his eyes stuck on the accident.

Grief is a funny thing. They’d been gone for years, and he missed them every day. But every now and then, something would happen that made it feel fresh.

“You coming?” Sunny asked from the top of the stairs.

Asher nodded, and they settled at the table, each with a steaming cup of coffee and a warm stack of pancakes.

“What are your plans for the day?” Asher asked.

“I think I might try and go through some of the paperwork in my dad’s office.”

“Do you want help with it?”

Sunny sighed. “Maybe. What are your plans? Do you have to go do some work with Abe?”

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