If he really considered the situation from an adult standpoint, he wasn’t surprised. Without a sudden influx of cash, the business would have been a bust. After a tragedy, there would be a stigma to the camp. Parents might not let everyone return the next summer. Revenue would go down. But Camp Promise had endured. Until the present, he’d never wondered—or questioned—how. “Who?”
Mrs. T shrugged. “I don’t know. The money came one day via a wire transfer followed by instructions from lawyers and accountants. We didn’t have to repay a cent, so we weren’t given more information.”
Benefactors didn’t often linger nearby, waiting to bail out worthy businesses. An incident usually spurred a person to take such action concerning financial matters. Like a guilty conscience? Had someone confessed to their wealthy relatives? Was the money spent to wash away a crime?
“In the darkest moments, I worried about losing the land. I hated to think about the forest getting cut up and subdivided,” she continued after a pause.
Daniel did, too. “It’s okay, Mrs. T. You avoided disaster. Owen will step up now. You’re giving him a chance.” He prayed for the family that this was the answer they needed. He had his doubts about Owen’s abilities but wanted to encourage and not dissuade. He would love to have another answer for her, an easy and brilliant solution to save the day. But the reality of running a business was too much for a simple, quick fix.
“We have to make the most of every moment we have. None of us know what’s in store,” she said.
He met her steady, shrewd gaze. She knew the effect her words would have on him. She’d known him for his entire life. She was family. She could come out and say exactly what she wanted about Daniel and Emma. Then he could let them both down gently. Emma wasn’t here to see him or reconnect. He’d be foolish to even entertain the thought.
The screen door opened and snapped shut.
Deputy Frank Wells filled the frame. “Hello, Sheriff. Good day, Mrs. Thomas,” he greeted.
“Good morning, Deputy.” Mrs. T rose from the table. “May I get you a coffee?”
Frankie shook his head. “No need, ma’am. Thank you. I need a quick debrief with the sheriff.”
“I’ll leave you to it,” Mrs. T said and backed away. “George and I will head to the hospital. If either of you need us, you know where we’ll be.”
Daniel smiled and tipped his head. He waited for Mrs. T to leave via the side door before rising. “We better talk in my vehicle.”
Frankie widened his eyes but didn’t argue.
Daniel led the way. He hated that he couldn’t be sure who he could trust on a property owned by people he’d considered family. But he wouldn’t deny reality. To do so, endangered everyone.
He shut the door on his SUV and waited for Frankie to do the same. “Okay, what did you discover?”
“I stopped by the hospital on the way here. Owen is awake and talking,” Frankie began.
Daniel nodded. Good news, not just so his department might get some answers but also so the parents wouldn’t have to see their son looking so fragile and vulnerable.
“I have the bullet,” Frankie continued.
“What? Where?”
Frankie pulled an evidence baggie out of his pocket.
The slug looked like a spent 9mm. The sort of ammo used in a Glock, a weapon carried by many law enforcement departments, including his own. “Did he recognize the assailant?”
Frankie shrugged. “I asked that. He denied having any knowledge. His response was cagey, and his body language didn’t match his words.”
“Did the same person crash the car?”
“He said his vision was really blurry, and he couldn’t be sure. But he thinks so.”
Daniel was glad at least to be hunting one person and not a whole league. It was targeted. He wouldn’t have to alert the town to danger. Why wouldn’t Owen identify the suspect? Why protect them? Daniel didn’t need a citizen on a vigilante crusade.
“He wanted Emma to know about what happened.”
The hairs raised on the back of Daniel’s neck. Because she was in the crosshairs?
“I don’t know why. I’ll take over the next watch at the camp if you want to head there to interview him. I had to step out for the doctors, but they’re probably done now.”
Daniel scrubbed his hands over his face. He wanted a lot of things at the moment. A shower, a meal, a bed. But more than any of that he needed time to walk around the camp and understand the events of last night. “I’m going to do a walk through and then bring Emma with me to the hospital. Is there still a deputy on watch?”
