“Isn’t ruining your husband’s prospects enough motivation?” Daniel asked. “Could this be a political rival?”
Margaux shook her head. “Nope. No way.”
Her confidence didn’t make him feel any better. How many skeletons could one person have in a closet? He supposed a walk-in allowed plenty of room for a lifetime’s worth of secrets. He couldn’t live that way. “Was it something good? Like your family’s investment in the camp?”
“What?” Margaux scrunched up her face in distaste. “My parents did no such thing. Why would they?”
“Because…it meant so much to you.” Daniel struggled to think on his feet, searching for words. “Didn’t they? Without the money, the camp would have closed after Liz.” Margaux came from the wealthiest family.
“Christine,” Margaux murmured. “Her parents were splitting up. Things got ugly. She was inconsolable about Liz. They wanted to do something to help. I think they were trying to bribe her. Jennifer totaled a car that summer, too.”
Daniel had no response. His mind whirled with the possibilities. Perhaps his instinct that the payment was to clear a conscience was spot on. The easiest solution could be correct. Jennifer and Christine were gone. Together. They could have set it up that way to pick off the three of them. No one knew the woods as well as those two. But if she had knowingly ingested nuts, she would have had her EpiPen close.
“I don’t understand,” Emma said. “What does the note writer want? If you gave up your company and support your husband’s efforts now, why target you?”
Margaux shrugged.
He met Emma’s confused gaze and could only surmise she saw a mirror on his features. Something was up with Margaux in a way he couldn’t define. That worried him. Without understanding motivation, he’d been slow to realize the threat Jennifer and Christine posed. He needed to know more about Margaux.
He had to push for the truth. “Have you called home?”
“Not on this little adventure,” Margaux replied, picking lint off her sleeve. “Two hundred acres with limited cell service isn’t worth the attempt.”
Daniel disagreed. He’d received a patchy voicemail from Agent Reynolds earlier in the morning. He’d attempted to find better reception, but in lieu of that, he’d given Christine a letter to deliver to his deputy or any other law enforcement member.
For her part, Christine hid any sort of shock at the request. Again, he wasn’t sure whether that was to be expected following a series of mishaps or not. After she’d left, he’d wandered up the rise and texted Agent Reynolds, dropping his location and their ultimate destination.
He’d waited a few minutes for the message to deliver, but the sent tag never appeared on the screen. Not wanting to arouse suspicions, he sent the same information again and left. If the land sold to another private citizen, Daniel might make a request that they allow at least one cell tower on the property for everyone’s safety. But his deputies knew where he was heading, the more people that did the better.
“I reached out to your husband’s team and gave them a heads up,” Daniel said.
Margaux stiffened. “Oh? You did?” She twitched. “That was a good idea.”
Her words rang false, sounding more like an emergency siren than anything else.
“Yes, I should have done that. But I’m glad you did,” Margaux said, recovering quickly. She stood and dusted her hands on her jeans. “We should get going so we don’t have to camp out for another night.”
“I’ll pack up,” Emma murmured and left.
Daniel upended the rest of his coffee on the flames, the fire sputtering and steaming as he added a bottle of water to the embers. He stared at the stone ring surrounding the fire, grateful for the break from more conversation with Margaux. She wanted protection but wouldn’t explain herself. He still didn’t understand the seriousness of the threat. What would the note writer do if not satisfied? Agent Reynolds would catch up with them soon.
Fourteen
Emma packed up her sleeping bag, stuffing what she could into her backpack. Taking the time to neatly fold the sleeping bag in half and roll from the top down, compressing it as she went, wasn’t an option. Fighting to fit the smooth nylon into the drawstring bag was a battle she won.
She was glad to move fast and work alone. Margaux’s conversation rattled her more than Emma wanted to show. What had spurred Margaux to confront Emma? Was the other woman facing her own past decisions and outwardly projecting?
Something was off in Margaux’s behavior. With each yard farther from civilization, the wilder she became. Or was that only Emma’s perception? She was losing her own grounding and direction the longer she was out here, as evidenced by the sloppy backpack. She gave herself a shake, laid down on top of the bag and zipped it shut.
The tent flap opened.
“Oh, wow. You’re packed?” Margaux tittered. “I’ve left such a mess it’ll take me ages.”
Emma balked again at the dramatics but swallowed the response building in her throat. She wanted to scream. She’d settle for space. With a pained smile, Emma nodded and escaped the tight confines.
The fire was only a pile of soaked sticks and ashes, the hint of woodsmoke lingered in the air like a ghost. Her moment with Daniel had been so nice and promising. She prayed what was between them wasn’t a phantom of a road not traveled.
Footsteps sounded.
