Rock Harbor Series - 03 - Into the Deep

  Kade cleared his throat and stepped back when she didn’t answer. Bree whirled, afraid he’d left. “I . . . I’ve missed you too.” His gaze probed her face, and she felt vulnerable and exposed. Since the night Anu’s husband had returned to town, they’d barely spoken.

  He smiled and started to step closer, but Samson came leaping from the forest with Davy on his heels. The dog carried a stick in his mouth, and Davy had an armload of twigs. The boy skidded to a halt when he saw Kade. A scowl darkened his heart-shaped face, so like Bree’s own.

  “What’s he doing here? I don’t want him here.”

  “Davy, that’s enough,” Bree said sternly. “Apologize at once.”

  Davy thrust out his lip. “Sorry,” he muttered. He refused to look at Kade but walked stiffly toward his mother and dropped the wood at her feet. “I wanted Nick to come.”

  Kade knelt with one knee on the sand. “You can have more than one friend, Davy. I thought we were getting to be friends.”

  Davy glanced at him quickly then looked away. “I want Mommy to be friends with Nick.”

  Bree winced, but Kade didn’t even blink. “Mommy can be friends with me and with Nick. She doesn’t have to pick just one friend either.”

  Bree stared at him. This was new. Kade’s jealousy of Nick was what had brought about this impasse between the two of them. Before Davy could answer, the brush rustled, and they turned to look.

  Nick came striding through the trees. His smile faded when he saw Kade standing beside Bree. He recovered his smile. “Am I too late for lunch?”

  “Nick, you came!” Davy scrambled toward the fireman and flung himself against his legs.

  Nick hoisted the boy into his arms. “I thought you wanted me to come. You sound surprised. I told you I’d try to make it.”

  Bree’s jaw tightened. “Davy invited you?” She could sense Kade’s withdrawal, and she felt suddenly angry with both Nick and Kade. The hostility emanating from both of them made her want to walk away from the whole situation. Maybe she should quit seeing Nick as well. Just focus on her son. Davy might like the fireman, but he’d soon get over it.

  But looking at the boy’s rapt face as he gazed up at Nick made her resolve fade as quickly as the morning mist over Lake Superior. Davy had come so far in the past seven months. She couldn’t do anything to jeopardize his adjustment after all he’d been through.

  “Davy, would you see if you can find a few more sticks?” If things got tense, she didn’t want him to overhear. But neither Davy nor Nick seemed to hear her.

  Kade slowly took his hand from his pocket then held it out to Nick. “Fletcher, I think it’s time we called a truce. Bree and Davy aren’t bones to be fought over. They can be friends with both of us. Let’s start there.”

  Nick’s eyebrows went up almost to his hairline. With obvious hesitation, he reached out and grasped Kade’s hand. “We can give it a shot. Just so you know I don’t like to lose.”

  “Neither do I,” Kade said quietly.

  Bree was tempted to grab Davy and get back in the boat. She wasn’t sure either of them really wanted her for herself. They were like two dogs marking their territory. “Hey, you two, don’t talk about me like I’m invisible. You’re not even asking me what I want!”

  Kade nodded. “You’re right. What do you want?”

  “I . . . I . . .” Bree’s voice trailed off. “I don’t know what I want, but I don’t want either of you using . . . others . . . to get to me.” She glanced at Davy.

  “You know me better than that.” Kade scowled.

  “I’d never do that either,” Nick said. He ruffled Davy’s hair with a gloved hand. “Me and Davy are buds just because we want to be, right?”

  “Right!” Davy squirmed to get down. “Come see the fish I caught, Nick.”

  Nick set him down, then followed the boy to the lake’s edge. Left alone with Kade, Bree felt tongue-tied all over again. She knelt and put an arm around Samson, rubbing his ears. She didn’t want to meet Kade’s eyes. “Want some lunch? I have plenty.” She continued to babble under Kade’s steady gaze. “Lauri hasn’t been to practice in a couple of weeks. What’s she been up to?”

  “I didn’t come here to talk about Lauri,” he said. “She’s been telling me I’m an idiot for letting you go, and I finally came to my senses. I’m not going to make this easy for you, Bree. I’m not going to let Fletcher win by default. So I want us to start over. Are you willing?”

  Starting over sounded good. Bree looked away. “I don’t know, Kade. I’ve got too much going on for serious thought right now.”

  Kade seemed to accept her ambivalence. “How’s the rest of the family? Hilary doing okay?”

  “She seems almost overly happy, as though if she just ignores the problem with the pregnancy, it will pass. I’m so afraid of what she’ll go through if she loses the baby.” It felt good to talk to Kade again, to share her worries with him. His level head and calm manner always lightened her cares.

  “Lauri is doing the same thing. She’s determined that Naomi will be the one to adopt her baby, but Naomi and Donovan still haven’t decided what is best for them. They’re praying about it.”

  “I think Naomi’s leaning that way though.”

  “I’d like to talk to her about it, but Lauri wants to handle everything herself.” He picked up a stick and poked at the fire. “It’s hard to let her handle this on her own.”

  Bree nodded. “How is the baby wildlife center doing? Landorf laying off your case?”

  “Pretty much. He’s basking in the media attention. The center is packed to near capacity right now. Someone brought in two eaglets yesterday. You should bring Davy by to see them.”

  “He’d love that. Maybe on Friday? I could bring him out after story hour at the library.”

  Kade nodded. “I’ll be back to the center by around three. Come over then so I can show you around.” He bit into a pretzel. “Anything new on the investigation?”

  “Mason said Phil didn’t drown. He was shot with a .44 magnum. We visited Cassie yesterday, and she seemed reluctant to say too much. I’m not sure how long Phil worked for her, so maybe it’s just that she doesn’t know much. And she’s protective of her facility.”

  Talking to Kade, Bree felt as though the sun shone brighter and the trees turned greener. She hadn’t been aware of just how much her estrangement from him had affected her until now. Samson bumped his head against Kade’s hand. Kade laughed and then scratched the dog’s ears. Bree’s throat tightened at how much even her dog wanted to be around the big ranger. She just had to be sure what was right for Davy.

  5

  Rock Harbor Mortuary was packed by the time Bree made it to the parking lot. She left the windows down for Samson and went inside with Davy. She glanced around. Rock Harbor residents were out in force to support Denise, even though Phil was a newcomer. Bree took Davy’s hand and walked into the crowd.

  “There’s Adrian, Mommy,” Davy said. He pulled his hand from hers and ran forward to see his friend.

  Denise stood by the casket with Adrian by her side. Bree pressed her arm. “How’re you doing?”

  “Okay,” Denise said. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she avoided looking Bree in the eye. “Thanks for bringing Davy. He’ll help Adrian stay occupied. Where’s Samson?”

  “In the Jeep.” Bree watched Adrian show Davy a toy fire truck. They walked off to a secluded corner and squatted on the floor to play. Bree turned back to Denise. “Can I help with the twins today?”

  “They’re taken care of.” Denise nodded to a corner. Bree spied the twins being carted around by Lola Marcos and Nora Corbit. Ian Baird stood stiffly beside Lola. He looked uncomfortable in his gray pinstripe suit, which had been unfortunately paired with a plaid shirt. As always, Yancy hadn’t bothered to dress up. He wore a red-denim shirt over blue jeans and boots. He was coaxing a smile out of the babies.

  Bree touched Denise’s hand. “I have some food in the Jeep I thought I’d drop by.”
>
  “Fine,” Denise said vaguely, reaching out to take the hand of the man in line behind Bree.

  Feeling dismissed, Bree moved through the crowd to join Phil’s colleagues. “You’re a natural with children, Yancy,” she told the researcher.

  “I love kids. I wish I got to see my daughter more.” He broke off and looked toward the door. Bree turned to look and saw an older man.

  “That’s Bernard Hecko,” Lola said.

  “Cassie’s dad?” Bree asked. She glanced around for Cassie but didn’t see her.

  Nora nodded. “Poor man has Alzheimer’s. He was a brilliant researcher until just a few months ago. It hit him fast.”

  Bernard ambled toward the group. “There you are,” he said, beaming. “I’ve found it, Yancy! The missing piece of the puzzle. But I can’t find my notes. Someone has moved them.”

  Chito squared his shoulders, and his jaw flexed. “You’re causing a scene, Bernard. Go home. You don’t need to be here.”

  Bernard pulled away. “You just want my notes,” he shouted. “Everyone wants my notes.”

  Nora and Ian exchanged glances. Bree could see everyone turning to stare. Denise would be devastated if the funeral turned into a circus.

  “I’ll take care of him; he likes me,” Yancy whispered as Bree started to move forward. He took Bernard’s hand. “I’ve got something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” he said. “Let’s go to your house and talk about it.” He led Bernard toward the door. “And I’ll help you look for your notes, okay?”

  Bree’s own relief was reflected on the faces of the rest of the research team. “It’s so sad,” Lola said. “We’d have this project finished if Bernard hadn’t gotten sick.”

  Abby reached for Bree. She scooped up the toddler and found joy in the soft little body. She nodded toward the baby’s mother, who was sitting in a chair staring off into space. “She doesn’t seem to be doing very well.”

  Chito shrugged. “About like you’d expect. She’s always been a bit weak.”

  Nora scowled at him. “She’s in shock, you moron! She hasn’t slept since Friday. Poor kid.”

  Chito frowned back at her. “You’re such a bleeding heart.” He stalked off.

  “Is that her mother?” Bree nodded toward a woman walking with determination toward Denise. She had the same nose and chin as Denise.

  Nora nodded. “She’s been hovering pretty closely. We told her we’d watch the twins today so she could tend to her daughter.”

  “What’s up with Chito?” Bree asked.

  Ian grimaced. “He’s in one of his moods. Let him go. He’ll talk archeology with anyone who’ll listen and then he’ll be fine.”

  Lola wrinkled her nose. “I’m glad he’s not zeroing in on me. I’m sick of hearing about it.”

  “I take it he’s an amateur archeologist?” Bree asked.

  “Haven’t you heard him droning on and on about it?” Nora yawned. “Snoresville. He’s interested in the Ojibwa tribe now. Wants to get an amateur dig going at the burial site on Eagle Island. He’s been exploring some underwater ruins.”

  “How fascinating,” Bree said.

  “Chito’s all right,” Ian said. “Nora just doesn’t like him because he doesn’t listen to her golden nuggets of wisdom.” His voice held an edge.

  “Drop it, Ian,” Lola said sharply. “No one wants to hear your views anyway.”

  Bree could sense the hostility between the two researchers. “Do you all dive? I saw Yancy in the water earlier today.”

  Lola nodded. “It started with Yancy. He got hooked on scuba, then talked us into taking lessons. His new formula depends . . .” she broke off. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about it.”

  Ian shrugged. “Women can’t keep their mouths shut,” he snapped. “But I doubt Bree would understand it anyway.”

  “Probably not,” Bree agreed. “I’ve gone down a time or two, but it always scares me. I like my feet firmly planted on terra firma.”

  Ian gave a curt nod and walked away.

  Bree raised her eyebrows and looked at Lola. She frowned and shrugged before turning in the opposite direction.

  “They were dating,” Nora said as soon as Lola was out of earshot. “It never pays to date a coworker. I tried to tell them. Now we all have to deal with the fallout until they get over it.”

  Bree spotted Nick coming in the door. She waved at him, and he joined her and Nora. She introduced them, but Nick barely acknowledged her presence.

  “I was wondering if you were here,” Nick said.

  Bree noticed how he ignored the baby in her arms. He’d always spent a lot of time with Davy, and she’d often wondered if he really liked all children or was using Davy to get to her.

  “How long are you off-duty?” she asked.

  “Three days. I thought we might take Davy out fishing one day.”

  “I’ll have to see. I need to do what I can to help Mason find the murderer.”

  “Yeah,” he looked around and lowered his voice. “Surely you’ll need a break sometime.”

  “You could take Davy and go one afternoon,” she offered.

  He frowned. “It’s not nearly as much fun without you.”

  He sounded like Davy when he didn’t get his way. The pouting was even less attractive in a grown man. Bree forced a smile. “I’ll see if I can get away a few hours.”

  His face cleared, and he smiled. “How about I take you to dinner when this is over?”

  “I’m exhausted. I just want to stay home and veg out.” Just thinking of smiling and keeping up with Nick’s energy made her tired. What did that say about how she really felt about him?

  “Tomorrow?”

  “Okay. Why don’t you come to the house, and I’ll fix us dinner.”

  “Is it safe?” He grinned. “I’d rather take you both out.”

  Bree couldn’t help but compare him to Kade. The big ranger never made her feel her cooking was sub par even though she knew it was. But Nick was a gourmet cook in his own right. No wonder he found her offerings to be less than adequate.

  She decided not to make an issue out of it. Why should she complain about not having to cook? “As long as I get to pick.”

  He groaned. “You’ll just pick the Suomi. I want a good steak. Let’s go into Houghton.”

  “Davy hates steak.”

  “Steak joints have hamburger.”

  She didn’t know why she was being difficult, but she was tired of accommodating everyone else. “Let’s go for pizza.”

  “Fine. I can endure pizza for one night.” He gave her a quick kiss then went toward the receiving line.

  “Handsome man,” Nora said. “His whole attention was on you.”

  “He’s a fireman,” Bree said.

  “I thought I heard you were seeing that bonito ranger,” Lola said.

  “I was.” Bree changed the subject. Her love life confused her, so she could only imagine how it looked to others.

  The next day a storm front had pushed out the bright summer weather and replaced it with a cold drizzle more characteristic of autumn than late June. Weather in the U.P. was always unpredictable, and June could be capricious. Bree had learned to always carry jackets as well as yellow slickers for her and Davy in the Jeep.

  “I hate rain,” Naomi grumbled beside her in the Jeep.

  Bree’s cell phone rang. “Grab that, will you?” She tossed her cell phone to Naomi.

  Naomi answered it. “Kitchigami Search and Rescue. Naomi speaking.” She listened a moment. “Just a minute, you’d better talk to Bree.” She covered the mouthpiece. “It’s Cassie. Her father is missing.”

  Bree pulled off the edge of the road. This lane was too narrow to try to negotiate while on the phone. “Cassie? What’s wrong?”

  Cassie’s voice was barely recognizable. “I came home for lunch to check on Dad. He’s nowhere to be found. Bubbles and I have been looking, but . . . Can you bring Samson and see if you can find him?”

  “I’ll call in the te
am.” She looked out at the drizzle. “I don’t suppose he has a jacket on?”

  Cassie’s sigh was loud in the receiver. “I have no idea. The last I saw him this morning, he was in pajamas.” She gave a hiccup. “This is my fault. I should have put him in the nursing home. I knew it wasn’t safe to leave him.”

  “We’ll be right there. The dogs will find him. The moisture in the air actually helps them.” She clicked off the phone and dropped the gearshift into drive, then turned the Jeep around and headed toward town. Naomi made the necessary calls to the team. They dropped Davy off with Anu at Nicholls’ Finnish Imports, then drove out to Cassie’s house.

  Cassie and Bubbles were waiting curbside when they got out of the Jeep. Bree let the dogs out and went to join them.

  “You’ve got to find him, Bree.” Cassie’s face contorted. Samson whined and pressed against her leg as if to offer comfort. She dropped to her knees and buried her face in his fur.

  Bree put her hand on Cassie’s head, but she knew the best comfort would be to find her dad. “Do you have a scent article?”

  Cassie raised her head and nodded. “I’ll get it.” She seemed to collect herself, then went to the door. The rest of the team began to arrive while Bree waited for Cassie to return. Once she had the search article, Bree sent her team out. She took Samson into the open field next to the house and let him sniff the socks Cassie had brought out in paper sacks. Samson sniffed the bag and began to wag his tail. He crisscrossed the field with his nose in the air then headed toward the woods across the road.

  Bree glanced at the darkening sky and winced. The storm clouds obscured the sun and made the interior of the forest even darker. Hypothermia set in quickly in these conditions, especially with the elderly. An added problem was the density of the forest. The trees were so close together they were hard to walk through.

  Cassie loped along beside her as she ran after her dog. Charley shot past them and raced after Samson. Naomi jogged behind them. They entered the woods, and their progress slowed. Brambles tore at Bree’s jeans, and she had to force her way through the thick tangle of vegetation. Crushed evergreen needles stirred the air with pine scent.