Page 24 of Vanished in the Mist
He smiled. “Okay. So other than me performing searches on the lake, once I’m allowed back in that area, you and I are going to spend the rest of our time looking into a group of teenagers to see, what, if one or all of them are killers?”
“Now, that would be jumping to conclusions.”
“Normally I consider myself an intelligent man. But keeping up with the twists and turns of your thought process is blowing my confidence.”
She laughed. “I’ll take that as a compliment. I’m just thinking out loud here. No hard facts, just a lot of assumptions and potential connections, far more questions than answers. All I’m really concluding is that we need to look for a connection between Tristan and Tanya. And follow up on Peyton to see what connections she might have had with either of them. I’m not saying that she or her other friends are killers. Honestly, it doesn’t sound plausible since nothing in any of their backgrounds—at least according to the police reports we read—raised any red flags. None of them have police records or have done anything outrageous.”
“That we know of.”
“Agreed.” She shrugged. “But my experience, or instinct, or whatever you want to call it, tells me we’ve found a thread to follow that might lead us where we want to go. We should focuson Peyton, Tristan and Tanya, and look for where their paths crossed in the days leading up to Tanya’s disappearance, and Tristan’s death—once the medical examiner can give us a date range on that.”
“Is there another angle we should pursue, in case that one is a dead end?”
“I didn’t find anything in the files we read last night that leads me to any other avenues to explore. If I had another month to research and interview people, I’m certain I could come up with something more promising. But time being what it is, this is the best we’ve got.”
“You’re the expert. I’ll follow your lead. Until Chief Dawson gives me the green light to continue my grid search, I’m free to be the Watson to your Sherlock. What’s our next step?”
She grabbed her purse from one of the end tables. “We’re heading into town. I’ll drive. I’m tired of climbing up in that behemoth truck of yours.”
“I don’t mind being chauffeured. What’s the plan once we get to town?”
“Lunch and eavesdropping.”
When they reached her silver Lexus, he held the driver’s door open. She smiled her thanks but hesitated, her smile fading as she looked over the car’s roof toward the woods behind the cabin.
Kaden turned and scanned the trees as well, but didn’t see any cause for alarm. “What is it? Did you hear something?”
Her gaze was still on the woods. “I didn’t hear anything. It’s just… For a moment, I thought I… The breeze, it smelled like…cologne.”
He glanced toward the woods again, studying the shadows. But it was no use. In spite of the bright sunlight today, the gloom of the forest was nearly impenetrable. “Get in the cabin. I’ll check it out.”
She grabbed his hand. “No. You’re not going into the woods alone just because all those flowers my sister has in her yard reminded me of someone. She could practically start her own perfume factory with everything she’s planted out here. Come on. Let’s go. We have an investigation to run.”
When she tried to pull her hand back, he tightened his hold. “Is it Troy? Is that what you’re worried about? You think he might have figured out where you are?”
She blinked in surprise. “You remembered his name?”
“Troy Warren. I remember.” He glanced at the woods again. “Get in your car. Lock the door. When we get to town, the first thing we’re doing is stopping at the police station.”
Chapter Eleven
With Troy Warren’s picture given to the police, and after Chief Dawson assured them he’d send some deputies to search the area around the cabin for signs of an intruder, Kaden was more at ease. But he was still on high alert just in case Shanna’s ex was here in Mystic Lake. Kaden had no intention of letting her out of his sight now, even if that meant sleeping on the couch for the rest of his time here.
As Shanna turned her car into a parking lot behind a large two-story building, Kaden couldn’t help but laugh.
“Stella’s Bed and Breakfast. Guess you changed your mind about me sharing the cabin, even during the daylight hours.”
“I wouldn’t dream of kicking out my new assistant, Dr. Watson. My sister’s notes about places to go around town included the restaurant attached to the B and B. Aside from a few sandwich shops or the restaurant at the marina, it’s pretty much the only place to eat around here. It’s supposed to be really good, though.”
“Seems unusual to attach a restaurant to a B and B.” Kaden got out of the car and headed toward the building with Shanna.
“True, but my sister said the restaurant is the real money maker for Stella and her husband, Frank. The rooms don’t fill up much except during the summer.”
“Sounds like Stella is a good businesswoman to have diversified.”
“Thanks for noticing,” an older woman said as she opened the door for them. “Now, if you’ll share that observation with my husband, I might comp a dessert for you. Table for two? You must be Cassidy’s sister. Shanna, right? And this handsome man must be your plus-one.”
Before Kaden could set her straight, Shanna said, “Yes, ma’am. I keep him along as eye candy.”
