“Here comes the law,” A.J. said, nodding up toward the road. Jo was walking toward the lodge at a brisk pace with Kyle Rigby right behind her.
Devin could have spotted them from the window in his room and decided to bolt. Had he run into Rigby on the mountain? Or was he just seizing the moment and never meant to talk? Either way, Elijah didn’t like the situation.
A.J. sighed. “I can’t help it,” he said. “I guess it’s because I haven’t been around her all that much lately, but it’s still hard for me to think of Jo as a Secret Service agent.”
Elijah blew out a breath. “Tell me about it.”
“Probably hard for her to think of you as a Special Forces soldier.”
“Probably.”
“Elijah?”
“I’m doomed, A.J.”
His brother nodded grimly, still watching Jo and Rigby. “You always have been when it comes to her.”
“Pop-”
“He knew. He understood. Why do you think he left her the lakefront property? It wasn’t to stick it to us, Elijah.” Just the slightest spark of humor crept into A.J.’s eyes. “It was to put her next door to you.”
“Conniving old bastard,” Elijah said with affection.
“Yep. That he was.”
“A.J., Devin hasn’t told us everything. Maybe what he’s holding back doesn’t matter, but he needs to tell us.”
“For his sake,” A.J. said.
Elijah nodded and gritted his teeth as he noticed Hannah Shay’s heap of a car coming up the road.
Eighteen
Jo hooked Devin’s daypack on one shoulder as Kyle Rigby veered off toward the map sign. He’d parked at the lodge and walked over to the east trailhead, where Nora had left her car. As far as Jo could tell, he was killing time and just waiting for Nora to turn up on her own. He could collect his check from Thomas and go home. She’d run into him on her way back from the falls. She’d found Devin’s pack in the trees where he’d slipped, and decided to skip checking the campsite. There was no point. Nora would be on her way by now. Instead, Jo had taken the shortcut trail down from the falls. It ended in a quiet lane, where she’d discovered Devin’s truck, which explained both his and Elijah’s presence at the falls. The lane was almost a mile down the ridge road, but an easy, reasonably level walk back to the lodge.
As she approached the shop, Jo noticed Hannah Shay standing toe-to-toe with A.J. and Elijah, her arms crossed on her chest as she spoke to them in her steady, determined manner. “I’m not afraid of you Camerons,” she said. “I never have been. If you have any complaints about Devin, you can call the police and tell them. I believe in my brother.”
A.J. was impassive. “Go home, Hannah.”
She didn’t back down. “Devin isn’t obsessed with Nora Asher, and he didn’t cause your father’s death. That was a horrible tragedy, and I’m sorry. Devin actually did you all a favor by finding him.” Her control faltered slightly. “And he doesn’t steal. We grew up poor, but that didn’t turn us into criminals.”
But A.J. was just as tightly controlled as she was and looked at her in that uncompromising way he had. “Money’s missing from the café, isn’t it?”
Hannah dropped her arms to her sides. “That’s none of your business, A.J.”
“Come on,” Elijah said gently, easing in between her and his older brother. “I’ll walk you back to your car.”
“I’m perfectly capable of walking back on my own.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Prickly, Hannah.”
“I’m sorry.” She drew in a breath and spoke directly to Elijah, ignoring A.J. “I believe in my brother. Period. There’s nothing else to say.”
Elijah started to speak, but Hannah spun around and headed back toward her car.
Jo jumped in front of the Cameron brothers before either one could move. “Let me talk to her, okay?”
“I’ll be at the lodge,” A.J. said tightly. “Elijah?”
He didn’t respond immediately, then gave a curt nod and joined A.J.
Jo caught up with Hannah at the edge of the parking lot. “Hannah,” she said, “have you talked with Devin?”
“Are you asking as a friend, Jo, or are you going to show me your badge?”
“I’m sorry I was hard on you last night,” Jo said simply.
“I can take it.” But she softened slightly. “I’ve left a couple of messages on Devin’s cell phone. I don’t know if he’s gotten them. I haven’t heard from him. Elijah said he wasn’t hurt badly. That’s true, isn’t it? Elijah wouldn’t not tell me if something was seriously wrong, right?”
“Right. Devin’s not hurt badly. He has some scrapes and bruises, that’s all.” Jo frowned suddenly. “Isn’t he here?”
“He took off on Elijah.”
No wonder he and A.J. were in rotten moods. Jo asked, “When?”
“Just before I got here. Apparently Elijah had gone to get some ice. Devin hasn’t done anything wrong. A.J. and Elijah can’t just hunt him like he’s a rabid dog.”
Hannah was a gentle soul, but she was proud-and she wasn’t afraid of anyone, especially when it came to defending her two younger brothers. Jo had to admire Hannah’s belief in Devin and her grit in standing up to the Cameron brothers.
“A.J. and Elijah are still here,” Jo pointed out. “They haven’t gone after anyone.”
Hannah looked out toward the mountain. “Nora wasn’t thinking clearly yesterday, obviously, after the shock of her stepfather’s death. I’m sure Devin’s just trying to be a friend to her. That other business I mentioned last night. Whatever they’re up to, I’m sure it’s innocent.”
“Do you have any idea where they could be?” Jo asked.
Hannah tightened her unzipped jacket around her, hesitated a split second, then, without a word, returned to the walk and headed straight up to the map sign. Jo followed, noticing that Rigby was now at the lodge’s main entrance, talking with A.J. and Elijah.
Hannah pointed to the section of the map marking the remote north side of Cameron Mountain. “Devin found Drew’s body in this area here,” she said, calm and serious. “Native Vermonter that I am, I’m not much on wilderness hiking. Day hikes are fine, but I don’t need to spend days tramping through the woods. Devin’s a lot like the Camerons. I think that’s why he and Drew got along so well.”
“I’m glad they did, Hannah. Is that why Devin was able to find Drew in April?”
Crossing her arms on her chest, Hannah stared at the whirl of lines on the map. “Devin helped Drew with something up on the north side of the mountain last fall. Apparently it’s where the Camerons first settled when they came to Vermont. Most of the land was cleared back then. Devin didn’t tell me exactly what he did. He said he really doesn’t know what Drew was up to.”
“He didn’t tell the police about this project after Drew died?”
“He answered all their questions truthfully. Drew asked Devin not to tell anyone. Whatever he was up to was meant as a surprise.”
A lawyerlike response, Jo thought. “How long have you known?”
“A few weeks. He’d gotten pulled over for a broken taillight. This was right after a fight he had outside the café one night. A couple of guys were picking on Toby, and Devin let them have it. He fell apart later and finally told me about Drew. He felt guilty-as if he’d violated Drew’s trust. I promised I wouldn’t say anything. Now…that might have been a mistake.”
“You all have a lot to deal with,” Jo said.
Hannah faced her without a hint self-pity. “I never tried to pretend I was anything but Devin and Toby’s older sister. We’re a family, but I’m well aware that my brothers grew up without a mother and father.”
So had Hannah, when it came down to it. Jo handed her Devin’s daypack. “You might want to hang on to this. He dropped it when he fell. Does Nora know about his and Drew’s project?”