“It is. Sorry about blank the screen. My camera is broken on my phone.”
“Oh, that’s okay. I just wanted to let you know that the necklace is safe and I know where it is.”
“I can’t believe this.” He laughed, incredulous. “You don’t know what this means to my family. We’ve wondered for so long what happened to Emily.”
Unfortunately, she couldn’t tell him the truth on that front. She would have to tread carefully, but he needed know the case would be solved. Just maybe not any time soon. “I’ve been looking into all the cases.”
“All the cases?”
“Yes. Several people went missing from the area. Mostly travelers who stayed at a particular boardinghouse in Del Sol.”
“You don’t say.”
“And I saw that necklace in what used to be the boardinghouse. I don’t want to get your hopes up about finding out what happened to your cousin, but I think the person who ran the boardinghouse may have been killing travelers for their personal possessions.”
“A boardinghouse, huh? And it’s still there?”
“Well, no. It’s not a boardinghouse anymore.”
“Gotcha. But the necklace is inside the house now?”
Her pulse sped up. “Um, yes. I’m going to get it. But my mom’s the sheriff.”
“The sheriff?” he asked, seemingly alarmed.
“Yes. I’m going to get the necklace and give it to my mom. I’ll tell her I found the necklace in the house and maybe they’ll reopen the case.” He didn’t need to know she would purposely botch the chain of custody in the process and hopefully keep Mrs. Fairborn out of jail. “We can finally find out what happened to your—”
“Maybe we shouldn’t bring your mom into this.”
She blinked, taken aback. “I’m sorry?”
“I mean, you know how the law works. It could take years for my family to get back my cousin’s things.”
“But I have to tell her. How else will we find out what happened to Emily? And to the other victims? The families have a right to know what happened to their loved ones. Also, I think an innocent man was killed because of this case. His family needs to know he was falsely accused.”
“Right.” He laughed again. “Sorry, I didn’t mean you should keep it a secret. Of course, we want to know what happened to Emily. That’s our first priority.”
“I’ll let you know when I get the necklace.”
“Thank you, Aurora. I appreciate this so much. My family is going to be over the moon.”
“You’re welcome.” She hung up feeling slightly elated. At the same time, she felt like she’d just betrayed Mrs. Fairborn. She didn’t know why. If the woman did kill those people, it was her own fault. And if she didn’t, she had nothing to worry about. But what if her plan backfired and Mrs. Fairborn really did go to prison? Auri would just have to figure out a way to smuggle in a shiv.
20
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Sun and Levi didn’t wait for backup. The minute the bright yellow orb crested the horizon, they headed out. They’d parked in a valley at the base of the Sangre de Cristos. It was going to be a long hike up to the mine.
They grabbed water and power bars from her emergency stash along with various supplies and a first-aid kit. Sun insisted on wearing the backpack, since she hadn’t been hit by a truck as recently as he had, but he practically ripped it out of her hands and slid it over his shoulders despite her protests.
Men. Especially men who picked fights with Toyota Tundras.
“Thank you,” Sun said, as they walked an overgrown trail.
“For?”
“I’m not sure I would’ve realized Elliot meant to write Sawry, as in the Sawry Silver Mine, without your prompting.”
“You figured it out before I did, and without knowing how much Eli loves that mine.”
“He loves the mine?”
“Seabright mentioned it a couple years ago.”
“Either way, thank you.”
He looked down at her, the trail wide enough at that point for them to walk side by side through the brush, and the appreciation she saw in his eyes went straight to her head. And other parts of her body. Like a margarita might. Or a hit of acid. Not that she’d ever done acid. Much.
She turned back to the trail. There was a time they could’ve gotten a vehicle up to the mine. It would’ve been rough, but it could’ve happened. Disuse and overgrowth put a stop to that, and while the mine had been boarded up for decades, kids still managed to find a way in. It rarely ended well.
Quincy and the gang were bringing ATVs, but the overgrowth would slow even those down, and Sun didn’t want to wait.
“I don’t care how much Elliot loves that mine, it’s dangerous. And now he has a seven-year-old with him.”
“He knows it like the back of his hand. He trains in there with Seabright.”
“But Adam doesn’t. And he’s only seven. The pit has a way of sneaking up on you.”
The pit was a massive hole deep in the mine and impossible to see until you were falling into it. It dropped thirty feet and led to another level. More than one kid had fallen into it over the years, despite it being boarded up. When a middle-school boy died after falling in a few years back, Sun’s parents started a petition and tried to have it filled in with cement, but the city council dismissed it, arguing it would be impossible to get a cement truck up to the mine.
Difficult, yes. But not impossible. And worth the added cost, in Sun’s opinion. She could hardly blame kids for their curiosity. She’d been one.
“By the way,” Levi said after they’d been walking about forty minutes.
She liked walking with him. And driving with him. And watching him drive. “Yes?”
“We were followed.”
She almost tripped but managed to keep her feet on solid ground. Staring straight ahead, she said, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wasn’t positive.”
“But you are now?”
He nodded.
“It has to be the Delmar family,” she said. “There have been men stationed in town for a few days now. I’m certain they work for them. But they’re still after Elliot? After all this time? They have to know Matthew Kent doesn’t have the money.”
He stayed silent for a long time, then said, “Revenge?”
A shiver raced up her spine. “Not on my watch. How do you know they’re still following us?”
“They’re keeping a watch with binoculars. Or a scope. The lens is reflecting in the trees off to the left.”
“I’m thirsty,” Sun said, turning toward him. She motioned for him to turn around.
He grinned down at her, his powerful frame like a mountain towering over her. When he didn’t move, she rolled her eyes dramatically and walked around him, playing her part and taking the opportunity he’d provided to scan the distant tree line. A single lens flare reflected the sun then disappeared.