Page 49 of Fire Harbor

“Maybe his dog died. Or maybe a cat? Maybe he decided to plant a tree, a big one. Maybe he was looking for buried treasure. I don’t know.”

“I thought you’d take this seriously. Maybe he was hiding evidence. With the case heating up, maybe he decided to bury his trophies from all his victims and get them out of the house.”

“Okay, we definitely need to either check him out ourselves or tell Eastlyn.”

“But we need a story if we’re the ones who knock on his door. It needs to be good. It’s too late for Girl Scout cookie season, so that’s out. We can’t pretend to be selling magazines. He’s not gonna buy that. So what does that leave?”

Linus snapped his fingers. “I’ve got it. Solar panels.”

“Too cheesy.”

“No, really. You said he was renovating his house. I’ll make a pitch for putting solar panels on the roof to save on his utility bills.”

“If that’s the best we can come up with, I guess so. Do you know anything about solar panels?”

“Most companies that peddle solar door-to-door are scam artists. They don’t know much about solar panels either.”

“You said he knows you. Doesn’t that mean he knows you’re a paramedic?”

“Maybe selling solar panels is my side hustle.”

Lake lifted a shoulder. “Sure. He’s your friend. You’d know best how to approach him.”

“He’s not exactly my friend. I mean, we’re not buddies or anything. I just don’t see Derrick as a serial killer. Before I forget to mention it, Cooper invited us over to his house for a cookout this weekend.”

Lake smiled. “Dating you has doubled my social life for sure. Many more of these invitations, and I’ll need a calendar just for my extracurricular activities.”

“You really don’t get out much, do you?”

She lifted her shoulder and got up to clear the table. “What can I say? I’m a nerdy, book-loving homebody.”

“Is that a yes to the cookout?”

“Absolutely,” she said, bending at the waist to scratch Jack’s ears. “If we go to Derrick’s place, we should take the dogs. They could use a walk on the beach.”

Linus shoved from the table, causing Farley and Scout to snap to their feet. He ruffled their fur as he walked over to help Lake clean up. “I’m all for taking the dogs out. But do you really think we should make a big deal out of Derrick digging a hole on his own property?”

“It sounds like you’re having second thoughts.”

“I guess I am,” Linus replied. “Ten minutes ago, you didn’t think it was a good idea to go charging over there. How would you feel if someone showed up here and wanted to tear up your backyard looking for a body?”

Lake held up her hands. “Fine. We won’t go. We won’t mention this to anyone. We’ll keep this to ourselves.”

She tried to dash past Linus, but he managed to snag her hand. “Don’t be mad.”

“I’m not. I’m frustrated and grasping at straws. You’re the one who insisted you wanted to play detective and find the killer. I was simply trying to funnel a lead to you. That’s all.”

“I’m just not convinced that we have enough proof Derrick did anything but dig a hole in the ground. I mean, it’s Derrick.”

“What does that mean? Abby said he acted creepy, talking to himself in a weird voice.”

“Was he wearing headphones at the time? Could he have been listening to music and trying to sing along?”

“It’s possible. I didn’t grill Abby about it.”

“Maybe you should have.”

“Well, excuse me if I’m not using the proper investigative skills to your liking,” Lake fumed. “I didn’t set out to become a web sleuth or an armchair detective.”

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