Page 113 of Maneater
“What’s what?” Rowan doesn’t catch what I saw, but I move toward it regardless, ignoring him. It’s deep in the woods, but even now, even on a day when it’s just Rowan and me hanging out, doing nothing, my mind is still on work, still processing the case.
As I approach the area, I almost lose track of the spot, since it’s hidden really well, and the only reason Isaw it was a perfectly timed glintof light on metal made possible by the fortunate sway of a tree. I move slowly, never shifting my eyes from the spot now, as if I’m a predator and it is my prey.
“Josie, what are you doing?” Rowan asks, but I don’t respond, instead waving a hand to indicate he should follow me. I’m going with my gut, and that’s never led me astray, but I don’t have time to explain that.
”Josie—”
“I saw something,” I say.
My heart starts to pound as I see another flash of metal. My hands are shaking as I reach for it, trying to ignore the ick that covers the item. I push away that fear, swiping away leaves that were covering what I see is a towel of some sort, before I unwrap it.
And there it is.
The missing surveillance camera.
“Saw what?” he asks as his steps slow beside me. I point then and smile up at him.
“That.”
Beneath a swatch of tall grass and a few palm fronds that I believe must have slipped is the charred camera from the rental shack.
“What is that?” Rowan asks, leaning forward but not reaching for it as if he’s nervous it might bite.
“This is the biggest piece of evidence we haven’t been able to find,” I whisper, then reach into my bag for the towel I dried off with. The universe has been in my favor the last few weeks, but mygod, she is working with me today with this find. If the trees hadn’t moved atjustthat moment, if we hadn’t taken exactlythistrail, if we hadn’t left when we had, the sun wouldn’t have hit just right to catch my eye.
“That’s a security camera,” he says finally as I pull it up and inspect it. It looks to be in pretty good condition despite the char marks and grime on it. I’m hoping that the chip is preserved, as Rory said it should be, and that it will contain some usable footage on it.
“There was that big storm last night. Maybe it was better hidden, and now it’s revealed?” Rowan asks, and I nod.
“Probably. Rory might be able to salvage some footage from this, so now we need to get it back to her as soon as possible. She’s going to absolutely lose it,” I say, almost giddy at the new find. It seems my afternoon off was productive after all.
He smiles at me wide and shakes his head before grabbing the package and putting it into his backpack. “Then let’s get this back to her.”
FORTY-THREE
JOSIE
“Welcome back, lovebirds,” Rory says when we walk in, and I smile at her, my body light with happiness. As much as I hate to admit it, she was right: I so very much needed an afternoon with no work, without having to dig into the minds of people. Now I’m refreshed and excited to close this case.
Finding a huge piece of evidence helped.
“How was your afternoon off?” she asks.
“Amazing, actually. We have a discovery,” I say, reaching into Rowan’s bag.
She looks at us, exasperated. “I don’t want to know about your sexcapades, Josie.”
Rowan chokes on his spit before coughing, but I ignore him.
“No sexcapades, you freak.” My fingers wrap around the equipment before I grip it and lift it out. “But how about a camera?”
“Is that…?” she whispers, eyes wide as she takes in the charred camera in my hands.
“The camera from the rental room? I hope so.”
“Oh my god,” she whispers, then reaches for it. “Where did you find it?”
I hand the wrapped camera to her. “Luck, really,” I admit. “We went to some hidden beach, and when we walked back, it just happened to catch the sun. I went to look at it, and there it was. The hikes were cancelled after the booby traps, so I’m assuming our culprit hid it there, thinking no one would be out that way for a bit.”
