Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

A ndi set the files she’d been scouring on the floor before leaning against the wall and sighing.

This research hadn’t gone as they’d planned.

Thankfully, Duke had come back, and he was okay.

But they had no idea who that man was.

They’d spent the first fifteen minutes simply picking up the bookcase and placing the items back on it.

Then they’d begun to look through the rest of the files.

“Anything?” Duke glanced over at her.

“No. I figured this might not lead anywhere. But what Juniper said was correct. There’s nothing suspicious in these files. Everything looks like business as usual.”

“That’s too bad.”

“The only things that grabbed my attention were two items that were found on the bottom of the drawer.” She held up the items. “One is Juniper’s birth certificate. Normally, that wouldn’t be weird. But it was under a false bottom in this drawer, almost like it was hidden.”

“Anything look strange about it?”

“Not really. Then there was this.” She held up a partial photo of Juniper’s parents. “This was taken around the time this place opened. There’s a date stamp in the lower right corner. But, as you can see, someone was torn out of the photo.”

“Maybe it was Heath and Claire Klinkhart, their former best friends.”

“That’s what I was wondering also. But tearing people out of a photo seems immature. And why keep this picture at all?”

Duke looked it over and shrugged. “Maybe Mary liked the way she looked in it, although she didn’t strike me as the vain type—from what I heard about her, at least.”

Andi shrugged. “Maybe. I’m going to hang on to this and the birth certificate, just in case. I’ll return them both when this is over, of course. And I’ll mention it to Juniper.”

Duke set his own stack of files on the floor next to him and leaned back also. “At least we can mark this task off our list.”

“At least. But my fear is that there’s absolutely no connection between these victims.”

“There has to be some type of connection, even if it’s vague. This guy didn’t simply pick his victims out of the phone book and go kill them.”

Andi shrugged. “He could have. I mean, what do we know? People have done stranger things for stranger reasons. I can’t help but think there’s some type of method to his madness. We just need to figure out what that is.”

Before she could say anything, footsteps sounded in the house, and a shadow moved in the distance.

Duke bristled and rose to his feet.

Was their earlier intruder back again?

And, if so, what had he come to do this time?

Then she saw a familiar face.

Caleb. He didn’t appear to know Andi and Duke were there.

Strange that he’d just walked right into Juniper’s private residence.

Or maybe it wasn’t.

“I know an opening when I see one.” She scrambled to her feet and wiped the dust from her jeans as she made her way into the living room.

Caleb flinched when she stepped out of the office, clearly startled by her presence. He stopped near the stairway and stared.

Where had he been headed? It almost looked as if he was walking to the bedrooms upstairs. But why would he go there?

“Can I help you?” He narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

“We’re here investigating the murders that happened at the camp last year.”

“I know. I saw you earlier in the dining hall.” He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited for her next move.

“You weren’t in here earlier, were you?”

He narrowed his eyes. “No. Why would you even ask?”

“Just curious.” Andi studied his face, searching for the truth. “You don’t think having us here is a good idea, do you?”

He pressed his lips together as if he didn’t want to answer. Finally, he said, “Not really. I told Juniper we should try to put what happened behind us, not stir up bad memories through the podcast.”

“And she didn’t listen to you.” Andi was curious about how deep Juniper and Caleb’s relationship went.

They were clearly more than friends. Were they close enough that Caleb helped her make decisions around here? Andi didn’t think so. But that was almost how it sounded.

He shrugged. “Juniper tends to be a bit of a Pollyanna. I try to guide her in the right direction.”

Whose right direction? Andi didn’t ask the question out loud. But why would Caleb think he knew better than Juniper? Than Tim?

“I thought that was what Tim did?” Andi finally asked.

Caleb’s gaze darkened. “Tim just wants to take this place over. He’s waiting for the moment Juniper cracks so he can move in. I’m trying to make sure this podcast isn’t the opening Tim has been looking for.”

That was an interesting way of viewing things.

She crossed her arms as their conversation continued. “Why do you think the podcast would be a crack?”

“It will bring more attention to the murders—and the camp. I think we should put that behind us, not dwell on it more. It’s bad publicity.”

Andi could see his point, although some people would say that any publicity was good publicity. She wasn’t sure that was true, however, especially not when it came to vacation destinations.

“Were you working here last year at this time?” Andi continued, determined to get some information from him. She didn’t like how squirrely he was acting.

Realization seemed to wash over the man’s face. “You mean when Calvin and Mary were murdered?”

“Yes, when they were murdered.”

He ran a hand over his face and shook his head again. “You don’t think someone working at the camp is behind their murders, do you?”

“It’s a theory—something we need to rule out, at least.”

He swung his head back and forth in disbelief. “That doesn’t fit with this killer’s MO. He picks random people. Why would someone here at the camp kill five other people in other locations before finally deciding to kill Mr. and Mrs. Burrows here?”

“That’s what we’re trying to determine.”

His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head again. “Well, you’re looking in the wrong direction. No one here did this. It was a stranger. A psycho. Not a friend or coworker. The idea is ludicrous.”

“If no one here did it, then no one here should mind us asking questions. And now there’s Pepper . . .”

His eyes closed as if her words brought him pain.

Andi frowned at Caleb’s reaction. He’d almost been defensive. But now he also appeared sad.

Was that because he was protecting Juniper? Or was he protecting his own secrets?

Duke straightened the files, all while listening to the conversation on the other side of the door—just to be safe. But Andi’s talk with the man sounded harmless.

As soon as Caleb left, he stepped out of the office and spotted Andi still standing in the living room, looking deep in thought.

Duke stepped closer. “That guy definitely doesn’t want us here.”

Andi snapped from her thoughts and turned toward him. “No, he doesn’t. He doesn’t want Juniper to have anything to do with us. I think it’s because he’s hiding something.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, and right now it’s getting late. But first thing in the morning, I want to talk to everyone who was here on the night of the murder.”

“I agree,” Andi said. “Even though the police conducted interviews, there’s still a chance someone saw something and didn’t even realize what they saw. I’m not just talking about Calvin and Mary’s murders, but Pepper’s also.”

Duke nodded slowly. “It’s also a possibility that the killer posed here as a guest just so he could strike.”

“I think so also,” Andi said. “People would notice if a stranger showed up. It’s not like the other murders that took place in a community or neighborhood. In the other locations, someone could have come and gone without eyebrows being raised. That’s not the case here.”

“We need to look into each of those guests, even though I’m sure the police have already done that also. Maybe we’ll see something one of them hasn’t.” Duke stared at the door, where Caleb had just disappeared. “I’m definitely keeping my eye on him.”

“I don’t know why exactly he raises my suspicions, but he does. He looks like an all-American guy. But I have a feeling there’s a lot more to him.”

“We could run a background check,” Duke suggested.

“Run a background check on who?”

They turned to see Juniper and Tundra standing in the doorway. Juniper stared at them with a look of confusion across her face.

Before either of them could respond, Juniper filled in the blanks. “You’re talking about Caleb?”

Duke chose his words carefully. “We’ll be looking into everybody who was here when the murders occurred.”

Juniper paused in front of them and crossed her arms, almost appearing offended with her tight expression and narrowed eyes. “But the police already did that.”

“Of course,” Duke said. “But we want to be a second set of eyes, just in case anything was missed.”

She rubbed her arms before shaking her head. “Caleb probably told you he doesn’t want you to be here.”

“He did mention that,” Andi said.

“But I’m the one who’s calling the shots.” Her voice hardened as if she were trying to prove herself. “This is my decision.”

Andi tilted her head before softly asking, “You’re seeing him, aren’t you?”

Juniper’s eyes widened. “How did you know?”

“Your body language gave it away,” Duke said. “The way you both stood close to each other, almost leaning toward one another. The low tone of your conversation. It shows a familiarity.”

Juniper frowned, biting down on her lip. “I try to keep that quiet. I don’t particularly want my uncle to know. I mean, he’s not stupid. I’m sure he knows something. But Caleb and I have been seeing each other for a while. We’re more serious than he thinks.”

“Why don’t you want him to know more?” Duke asked. “You don’t think he’d approve?”

Her lips tugged down in a frown. “He and Caleb don’t see eye to eye on things.”

Duke stored that fact away. “Why not?”

Sadness filled her gaze. “I’m not really sure. I’ve always assumed it was a personality difference, and neither of them have told me anything otherwise. They’ve never mentioned any fights or disagreements that led to them disliking each other.”

Duke and Andi needed to get to the bottom of this conflict. Maybe that truth would provide them with some of the answers they needed.

For now, they’d get back to the rest of the team and see if they’d discovered anything.

He and Andi bundled in their coats before starting back to their cabin. The brisk wind made the temperature feel at least ten degrees cooler and prevented much conversation. The air was so cold that breathing it made a person’s lungs ache.

Finally, they reached the cabin, and Duke opened the door to allow Andi inside. As he did, something tumbled from the storm door.

He glanced down and sucked in a breath.

It was a hand . . . complete with fresh blood on the severed wrist.