Travis was gone.
And whatever came next, we’d face it together.
Chapter 25
Levi
Aggie’s Airstream was compact yet remarkably welcoming, every inch thoughtfully arranged to feel like a true home. Mugs already waited on the small table before Matt’s truck engine even quieted, a sign that Aggie had been watching the road.
Gram had stayed. She sat tucked into the corner of the banquette, Gerald draped across her lap like a living scarf, her walking stick leaning against the wall. She sipped her tea and ate a scone with calm, deliberate pleasure, clearly intending to remain until she’d heard what Matt had to say.
Matt stepped through the door. “Morning,” he said, voice low and even.
“Matthew.” Gram raised her mug in greeting. “Scone?”
“I’m good, thank you.”
“They’re very good. You should have one.”
“Gram,” I said.
“I’m being hospitable,” she replied, and passed him one anyway.
He accepted it without protest—resistance was pointless—and took the chair Aggie indicated.
“The car Travis drove this morning,” Matt said without preamble. “I ran the plates on the way over.”
“And?” Becca asked.
Matt set the scone down untouched and wrapped both hands around his mug. “It’s registered to Pacifica Valley Holdings. Same as the other one. The LLC was formed fourteen months ago, and the registered agent is a Portland law firm that specializes in staying opaque. Nothing illegal on its face, but that firm has handled land-acquisition work for at least two other developers in the region over the last three years.”
Becca’s hands rested around her own mug, elbows on the table. “Well, Travis has always known where I live,” she said. “That’s not new. Driving a company car—that’s new. Was he trying to warn me? Or scare me?”
“He’ll never tell us,” Matt said.
“So Travis is a messenger,” I said. “Not the source of all of this.”
“For now. Whether he knows more than he’s letting on is another question.” Matt looked at Becca. “Did he sound rehearsed, or did some of it feel like his own knowledge?”
She considered for a moment. “Mostly, he was yelling about Levi and me. He only let one half-sentence slip about the campground.”
Gram made a small, wordless sound of agreement laced with contempt.
Becca exhaled slowly. “You know I podcasted last night. Just a quick one—it was personal. Nothing about what I saw that night. But he said someone told him to listen.”
Matt nodded once. “Visibility draws attention. Good and bad. Exactly what we counted on.”
“And the next episode…” Becca trailed off, then met his eyes. “I was planning to lay it all out. All of it. Everything I know. The figures, the timing, and what it connects to.
Matt’s jaw tightened slightly, the only outward sign he was processing. “That’s a big step. Don’t do it until I say it’s okay.”
“Okay. I’ll check with you first.”
The table fell quiet. Outside, the campground stirred in fragments. Gerald migrated from Gram’s lap to Aggie’s without fanfare.
“I have information to share,” Aggie said, and slid a manila folder across the table.
We all looked at it.
