Page 74 of Last Witch Attempt
“That would be a great lake for a naiad,” Evan said. “We should take a look.”
“I want to go with you,” Thistle volunteered. “I’ve been dying to see the site. We used to party there when we were kids.”
“If you’re going, I want to go too,” Clove complained. “You can’t leave me out.”
“You can go,” I said, “but you can’t take Calvin.”
I cringed when she sent a helpless look toward the baby.
“Don’t worry about him.” Evan grinned. “I can have him at The Overlook and be back in ten minutes so everybody can go.”
“Really?” Clove looked relieved. “You’re handy to have around.”
“I clearly missed my calling in life.” Evan scooped up the baby. “Get him dressed so he doesn’t get cold. I’m going to be going fast.” He handed Calvin to his mother. “As for you, are you going to tell Landon about this?” His gaze landed on me.
“Eventually,” I confirmed. “I might wait until we figure out what we’re dealing with. I want breathing room with the Feds. We’re going to have to come to a happy meeting of the minds. I can’t report to them.”
Evan’s lips twitched. “I wonder how open they’ll be to compromise.”
“I guess we’ll find out. For now, just the four of us will go. After that, we’ll see where we stand.”
18
EIGHTEEN
After Evan returned from dropping Calvin at The Overlook, he insisted on driving and took the wheel of my car.
“Hold on,” he instructed as we took off.
My car didn’t have a lot of get up and go—Landon kept insisting it was time for me to get a new one—but somehow, he managed to draw multiple sets of eyes as we headed out of town thanks to the tires screeching on the pavement.
“You drive like Aunt Tillie,” I complained.
Evan grinned. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
Torch Lake was only a fifteen-minute drive. When we got to the construction site, he parked next to the stacked pallets, excavators, bulldozers, and tractors. No one was working, but it looked as if they were gearing up to get going soon.
“It’s kind of sad,” Clove noted as we stood in front of the car and took in the serene view. “In a year, this place will be crowded with tourists. The lake will be filled with fudgies. It will never be quiet again.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” I said as I looked around. “Maybe the naiad has lived here for a long time and now herhome is being destroyed. That would be enough to put me in a bad mood.”
“Why kill three people from Detroit?” Thistle challenged.
“Maybe the victims have ties to the construction,” I suggested. “I’ll have Landon look into it.” I scanned the area. “So, the question is, if you were a naiad, where would you call home?”
We scanned the shoreline.
“That way,” Evan said, pointing east. “There’s more cover from the elements but clear access to the water.”
“We could split up and look in two directions,” I suggested.
Clove’s headshake told me she hated the idea.
“Or we could stick together,” I said on a laugh.
“That’s definitely the better plan,” she agreed.
We headed into the woods with Evan in the lead.
