He was worried about Riley. Well, not worried, exactly. His cousin was smart and knew how to take care of herself, but she also tended to be on the reckless side. If someone she cared about was in trouble or going through something, Riley was exactly the kind of person who would show up at the door with a shovel and a plan.
Which was why he’d covered for her without hesitation, even when it meant turning his back on an opportunity to find out more about his coffee-spilling mystery woman. He wondered if he’d get another chance.
He came through the front door to find Declan on the couch with a book, Garrett asleep in the armchair with the television running at low volume, and Riley at the kitchen table with her laptop open and a mug of something at her elbow.
She looked up when he came in. Her eyes were fine. He did the quick assessment he always did to assure himself she was okay and breathed a little easier. Whatever had happened earlier was apparently resolved or at least contained.
“Long night?” she said.
“Longer than most.” He dropped his jacket on the hook and came to the table.
“Thanks for covering for me.”
He nodded. Thanks were appreciated but never necessary, not with her. “You want to tell me what happened earlier?”
“Not particularly,” she said dismissively, then turned her laptop to face him. “But I do want to show you this.”
He looked at the screen where the Ridge Courier's article about the body found at the campground was loaded and waiting. He skimmed through it, then read it again. It was short, only four paragraphs, and not a lot of information.
“There was talk at the pub tonight,” he said, when he'd finished.
“I figured there would be. Anything useful?”
“Speculation, mostly. You know how it is. People fill in the gaps with hearsay and conjecture. It made the 11 o’clock news too, but only a brief mention.”
“You’d think it would warrant more than a sound bite.”
“You’d think.”
Riley was quiet for a moment. “Were the dads there?”
Patrick nodded. “Yep.”
“How did they react?”
“Carefully.” He looked at the screen. “Your dad said something to mine before they disappeared for a while. I don't know what, but they had that look, you know? The one that makes you think there’s more to the story.”
“There usually is,” she murmured. “Especially when it happens around here. People don’t just show up dead in Pine Ridge.”
Exactly what he’d thought.
“Something's not right about this,” Patrick said.
“Several things.” Riley turned the laptop back and pulled her legal pad toward her. “It just seems so… incongruous.”
“What specifically is raising red flags for you?”
“You mean, besides the lack of ID, phone, and vehicle? Who goes anywhere without those?” She shook her head. “Plus there’s no explanation for his presence there in the first place. The campground hasn’t been operational for a while now. And a preliminary ruling of a ‘medical event’ with no specifics? That’s just lazy, even for the Pine Ridge PD.”
“I haven’t thought about that place in years. Remember going there as kids?” Patrick said. “Swimming in the lake. Grilling burgers and hot dogs and making s’mores.”
“Good times.” A wistful smile curled her lips before it faded. “Not exactly the kind of place that lends itself to a mysterious death, is it?”
“Didn’t use to be,” Patrick agreed. “But some guys at the bar were saying the owner died last year. No one seems to know who owns it now.”
“Which means nobody's watching it.” Riley uncapped her pen. “I want to look at what's publicly available before we take it anywhere.”
He was already reaching for his laptop. “You read my mind.”