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Sam chuckled, tossing another log onto the fire. “Don’t worry, he knows where the good food is. I’m sure he won’t stray too far.”
Holden, gazing into the fire, spoke in a more somber tone. “FBI’s gonna start digging up the woods behind Hazel’s house.”
Jo’s eyes clouded with a mix of emotions. The idea of finding closure was comforting, yet the image of Tammy’s bones, hidden in the dirt for so long, unsettled her stomach.
Sam, sensing her discomfort, added gently, “With Hazel’s confessions, there might be a lot of digging. She’s been cagy about the exact numbers, but it could be dozens.”
Jo shivered, despite the warmth of the fire. “Matching those bones to cold cases… some of them decades old… That’s a daunting task.”
“Yeah,” Mick chimed in, “but at least Ricky’s cooperating. Gave the FBI permission to search the woods. Maybe the kid isn’t as bad as everyone thought.”
Jo nodded slowly, a thoughtful look crossing her face. “At least Hazel only gave me a sedative in that tea,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
Sam raised his beer to her. “I’m glad. I can’t afford to lose my second in command.” He chuckled, earning a playful eye roll from Jo. “Though now that Kevin is back full time…”
“I’m sure I couldn’t replace Jo,” Kevin joked, raising his beer to Jo.
“I’m so glad you’re back. We can use the help,” Jo said.
“I just hope I don’t disappoint. I am glad to have my gun back, though. Could have used that at Hazel’s,” Kevin said.
“You proved you’re more than capable,” Sam said, clinking his bottle against Kevin’s. “Doctor couldn’t argue after that rescue.”
“I’ll second that,” Jo said. “Weird that Wyatt didn’t find anything else on that thumb drive.” They’d given the drive to Wyatt, figuring that if more was hidden on there he’d be able to uncover it, but there was nothing else.
“Nothing else on it but those trees and coordinates,” Sam mused, looking at Kevin. “Still a mystery where it came from.”
Kevin shook his head, his expression a mix of frustration and acceptance. “I wish I could remember.”
Jo scrunched up her face. “It’s odd because that means that someone knew about this and put it on that thumb drive, and somehow Kevin ended up with it. But who gave it to him and why?”
Kevin shook his head. “I have no idea. Could it have been part of an investigation that somehow ended up in my pocket when we got that call?”
Sam shook his head. “If it was, I would think one of us would know about it too.”
“Maybe you found it at the station? We found pictures of the beech trees in Tyler’s things, and I suppose he could have had a thumb drive tucked away around there. You might have found it and not had a chance to mention you had it,” Sam said to Kevin.
“If it was Tyler’s, then we might never know why he had it.” Jo shrugged as if accepting the fact then turned to Sam. “What’s going on with the April Summers case?”
“Danika is being charged with involuntary manslaughter,” he explained. “And Travis as an accomplice. If only they’d called the police…”
“It really was an accident,” Kevin added. “But hiding it made things worse.”
“At least those owl protesters are gone. Satisfied the ‘owl killer’ was caught,” Jo said.
“Bet Jamison is happy about that.” Holden poked at the fire with a stick.
“Can’t wait to see how this mayoral election turns out,” Mick said with a hint of disdain in his voice. “I saw a campaign commercial from that Marnie Wilson person. Don’t know who’s worse, her or Jamison.”
The group shared a collective groan, the future of the town hanging in the balance of the upcoming election.
Sam stared into the fire, the flames reflecting in his eyes. “Well, things are bound to get heated on the campaign trail,” he said, his voice carrying a note of foreboding. “Let’s just hope it doesn’t turn deadly.”
*************
