She didn’t think Warren was strong enough either.
But Trick, Tevin, or Rex could have managed.
A shiver ran through her that had nothing to do with the cold. “We’re missing something, Jason. I can feel it.”
He nodded grimly. “We’ll find it.”
But as they turned toward the stairs, both knew the truth—they were chasing a ghost in the shadows of a snowstorm.
No one was getting any sleep tonight.
CHAPTER
TWELVE
The fire had burnedlow by the time Olive and Jason returned upstairs.
Their team looked up as they entered, faces etched with worry.
Rex stood near the hearth, arms crossed. Trick sat sprawled in one of the armchairs, tapping his fingers against the armrest. Mitzi paced near the window, while Nova hovered close to Tevin, who was trying in vain to coax life into his laptop battery.
Jason didn’t waste time or mince words. “The basement’s empty. JJ’s body is gone.”
A collective gasp rippled through the room.
“What do you meangone?” Mitzi’s voice cracked as she gaped at them.
“Gone,” Olive repeated. “There are no signs of struggle. No drag marks. It’s like he just . . . disappeared.”
Rex’s expression hardened, but his eyes stayed unreadable. “Someone moved him.”
“Why would anyone do that?” Nova whispered.
Olive’s words came out low. “Maybe the killer realized there was still evidence on JJ—something that could point the murder back to them.”
“Where could they have taken him?” Rex asked. “His body didn’t just disappear. And how did they get him out of there?”
“There is an outside door leading to the basement,” Jason said. “It’s locked from the inside, but the lock could have been picked.”
“And then they took his body into the snowy wilderness in the middle of a blizzard?” Trick shook his head. “Makes no sense. And I’d think we could find them.”
“You would think that,” Jason said. “But Olive and I glanced outside. The snow is coming down so heavy there are no tracks out there.”
“There are no other cabins around,” Mara added. “It’s really quite a mystery, isn’t it?”
Silence stretched between everyone as they let that disturbing thought settle.
Trick muttered under his breath, pushing to his feet. “This just keeps getting better.”
Mitzi flinched. “You sound annoyed, Trick. Like this is inconveniencing you.”
“Maybe because itis,” he snapped. “Forgive me if I’m not thrilled about being trapped in a real-life Agatha Christie movie.”
“At least you’re not trapped in the movie with someone who’s sick and spreading his germs,” Mitzi snapped back.
Rex’s voice cut through the tension. “Enough, you two. You’re not making this situation any better.”
The room fell silent.
