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Liz looked back at the menu. “What are you having…besides a hard-on for Cameron Pope?”
Patricia glared. She hated it when her daughter got bawdy.
Rusty heard jealousy in the tone and ignored her.
Their waitress’s appearance ended the foolishness. They gave her their orders, then as soon as she was gone, Liz and Patricia started grilling Rusty again. Finally, she gave in.
“Look, you two. It wasn’t a secret. It was a one-night stand that changed my life. I knew he was going back to war, and he knew nothing about me. We made a pact. No promises. No regrets, and no names. He called me Angel. I called him Soldier Boy. When I woke up the next morning, he was gone, and I felt like he’d taken a piece of me with him. In a way, I’ve been at war with myself ever since. Finding him here after all this time feels like such a gift, and to know he feels the same way is a miracle. I’m not going to dissect anything about it.”
Patricia reached across the table and patted Rusty’s hand. “Understood, and just so you know, I’m happy that you’re happy.”
“Thank you,” Rusty said.
Liz glanced up. “Finally, here comes our food. After all this drama, I could eat a horse.”
***
Cameron left with a sandwich in a bag and new orders to follow. Not all of their dramatic embrace had been sweet whispers. After what he’d told her last night about the photos on Kevin Vanzant’s laptop, Rusty was sending him on his first mission—to pay a visit to Kevin Vanzant.
He sat in the parking lot long enough to eat the sandwich he’d ordered, sharing some of it with Ghost, then tossed the trash in a garbage can and headed out of town.
He was on his way to the campground when he began hearing sirens behind him. He glanced up, saw two police cars coming up fast and pulled over. They flew past him with lights flashing and sirens screaming.
Frowning, he pulled back onto the highway. A few moments later he glanced up in the rearview mirror again and saw three more police cars behind him, running hot. As he pulled over again to let them pass, he realized these were from the county sheriff’s office. Now the hair was standing up on the back of his neck. Something bad was going down and he was right behind them.
When they took the turn into Barton’s campground, he did the same, and was immediately flagged down by one of the local police. Before Cameron could get out, the policeman was knocking on the window.
Cameron rolled it down. “Hey, Charlie, what’s going on?”
“They found a dead body at one of the campsites.”
Cameron frowned. “What happened? Some kind of accident?”
“Yeah. The dude got in front of someone else’s bullet, but I didn’t tell you that.”
“Has he been identified?” Cameron asked.
Charlie shrugged. “Some guy doing research for a college degree. Been here all summer and now this. But I didn’t tell you that, either. Understand?”
“His name wouldn’t be Kevin Vanzant, would it?” Cameron asked.
“I didn’t verify that, did I?” Charlie said. “This place is off-limits for now. Sorry.”
“No problem,” Cameron said. “I’ll come back another time,” he added, then backed up and headed back to town.
He knew Rusty would still be at the restaurant with her family, but this was her investigation and he had to let her know. He pulled over on the shoulder of the highway long enough to send her a text.
Cops all over campground. Dead body found. Word is that it’s Vanzant. He was shot. Local police and county on scene. Awaiting orders.
***
The Caldwell girls were debating about ordering dessert when Rusty’s phone began to vibrate in her purse.
“Sorry,” she said. “I know I’m on leave, but my job overrules ignoring calls.” She was still smiling as she pulled out her phone and read the text. Shock rolled through her as the smile froze on her face. “I have to take this. Excuse me a sec,” she said, and headed outside with the phone in her hand.
The moment she was out of earshot, she called Jay Howard.
“Hello. Special Agent Howard speaking.”
