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Hunter nodded, but he looked out at the trees. “What’s beyond those woods? More residential properties?”
“No,” said Michael. “Commercial. A couple strip malls, fast food, a car dealership, that kind of stuff.”
Hunter frowned. “Maybe it’s a dead end, then. Maybe he kept a car there.”
But Casper found a trail right away, leading out of the woods. They stopped behind a McDonald’s, hidden in the shade of the trees. A hundred feet ahead sat a four-lane road, busy with late morning traffic. The drive-thru was packed.
Hunter had a tight grip on Casper’s collar, though the dog was obviously onto a scent. “You guys should wait here.”
“Why?” said Michael. “So you can warn him?”
“No.” Hunter glanced at him, and it wasn’t a friendly look. “Because Casper’s found a trail. A strong one. The Guide might be nearby.”
“Good,” said Gabriel, and now Becca heard the fury in his voice. “Let’s go.”
“Yeah,” said Hunter. “But he’s looking for you. I can check it out, see what we find, then—”
“I don’t care,” said Michael. “I don’t trust you.”
Hunter narrowed his eyes. “Look, man, I don’t have to help you.”
Becca put a hand on Hunter’s arm and looked at Michael. No way she was letting stupid male posturing screw this up. “Do you trust me?”
Michael’s expression hardened, just for a moment. Then she watched something soften in his eyes. He nodded. “Yeah. I do.”
“Come on,” she said to Hunter. “Let’s check it out.” Without waiting for him to agree, she started forward, half sliding down the grassy hill into the McDonald’s parking lot.
Casper bounded past her, then Hunter appeared at her side. “Take it slow,” he said. His voice turned wry. “You had a pentagram on your door, too.”
She swung her head around, unsure what emotions were rattling around in her head. “You knew. All that time, you knew.”
He shrugged, and she didn’t know if that was indifference or embarrassment. “Not all that time. At first I was only sure about you. It wasn’t until that morning in your driveway that I really started to suspect the Merricks.” He paused. “I also thought you were with them.”
“So all that—when you wouldn’t kiss me in the parking lot.” She swallowed. “You thought I was in on some plot to kill your father?”
“No.” His voice was sharp again, and he caught her hand and pulled her into a jog as Casper rounded a corner into the strip mall parking lot. “I knew you couldn’t have done it. I figured that out right away. But I thought maybe the Merricks were using you. And you trusted me. You were an easy link to follow.”
“God.” She shook her head. “And I thought all those rocks were so special. I’m such an idiot—”
“They are,” he said. “They are.” He pulled her to a stop, looking down at her in the middle of the blacktop. The breeze lifted hair from her neck, wrapping around her body and urging her close to him.
“Just the quartz tracked you,” he said. “Everything else did exactly what I said it did.” He paused. “Do you trust me, Becca?”
She licked her lips, uncertain. He’d lied about so much. Was he lying now?
Casper barked again, halfway across the parking lot. He was heading for the grocery store area, where dozens of cars were parked in a big colorful mass, drawing sunlight like gems.
“Shit,” said Hunter. He took off after his dog.
She took off after him.
Casper was dodging between cars, leaping onto hoods and down, probably reliving his good ol’ days as a police dog.
“Casper!” Hunter called. “Hier! Fuss!”
Casper didn’t hier. Or fuss.
He dove down another row, and Hunter and Becca almost caught up to him. The dog stopped on the far side of a green pickup truck, and she heard a man yelling. It sounded like groceries hit the pavement.
