Page 48 of Shallow Remains

“Yeah, how about that.” She studied the bruise on his cheekbone. “Heard you guys had an exciting night.”

“Who’d you hear that from?”

Her expression was wry. “It’s Skelly. Everyone knows.”

“Does Maddy?” He hadn’t heard from her and wanted to tell her about it in person, hopefully tonight. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this into someone.

“I’m not sure. I haven’t seen or talked to her yet today. Anyway, what happened to the guy who hit you?”

“He’s got a busted lip and won’t be using his right arm for a few days.”

“Good. Hear anything from Rafe about what the Coast Guard found when they pulled the boat out?”

“Not yet, but this has drug smuggling all over it.” He’d seen it dozens of times during his military service.

“Hopefully the suspects give Rafe something to work with so he can start pulling on that piece of yarn.” She glanced up at the leaden gray cloud deck overhead. Winds were light but gusty out of the west. “How wet is it gonna be today?”

“Pretty wet. You got the drone ready to go?” The endangered Southern Resident orcas in the area had gone through a lot of stress over the past few weeks, including the recent loss of their longtime matriarch.

Today’s research trip involved taking the souped-up drone Blaine had donated to the research center to try and get some samples from J and K-pods. Xanthe and Allistair had rigged it to hold a couple petri dishes. Once they found the orcas, they could fly the drone in close to collect samples from the vapor of their blows.

“Allistair’s taking it to the boat right now. Won’t let anyone else handle it. That thing is his baby.”

“Boys and their toys, am I right?”

“Guess so.” She waited while he grabbed his gear from the truck bed and fell in step next to him on the way to the end of the dock. With another rainstorm and moderate winds about to hit the island, only the local fishermen were heading out of the harbor today. “How are things?”

He shot her a glance, wondering why she was asking. “Things are good. You?”

“Fantastic. Blaine and I’ve been working on some designs for the new research center, along with ideas on how to make the resort a lot more eco-friendly. We’re going to the mainland to meet with some experts at the Seattle aquarium about it.”

“You guys’ve been busy.” They were opposites in a lot of ways, but well matched in drive, passion, and work ethic. Lachlan thought they complimented each other.

“We both like to stay busy. I also heard about Grey and Beth, by the way. That sucks.”

He was well used to the island grapevine and how it worked. “It’s tough for him right now, but I think he knows it’s the right call. They’ll both be happier in the long run.”

“Ah.” She was uncharacteristically quiet until they reached the end of the dock. “You been keeping busy lately too?”

He frowned. It felt like she was fishing, and that wasn’t like her. “Why?”

“Heard you went out with Maddy the other day.”

“I did, yeah.” He was a bit surprised Maddy had told her. “That bother you?”

“No, not at all.” Her expression said otherwise.

“But?”

She sighed. “Look, I’m not gonna stick my nose in your business⁠—”

“Good.”

“—except to say…just be careful with her.”

His instincts started humming. “Meaning?”

“From what I understand, she’s been pretty sheltered for most of her life.”