Page 105 of This is Why We Lied

Amanda was extremely furious with him right now. More than usual, which said a lot. She had tried to take the case away from Will. Will had told her he would work it anyway. It had turned into a thing. All he could do was wait for that moment in the near future when she would shove her razor-sharp claws down his throat and rip out his intestines.

For now, he had a chef and two waiters to interview. Will folded up the list and stuck it back into his shirt pocket. He tucked his phone and earbuds back into his pants pocket. He clipped the satellite phone on his belt. He pressed his injured hand to his chest and resumed his trek.

The Chow Trail took another gradual curve before zigging back toward the dining hall. The design made sense considering Cecil’s chair couldn’t handle a sharp, downward slope, but Will would have to tell Faith to adjust her timeline. Mercy wouldn’t have bothered with following the curves, especially if she was running for her life.

Will waited until he was standing on the viewing platform to look back up the trail. He thought he could see the roof of the main house. He went to the edge of the platform that overlooked the lake. The tops of trees obscured the shore, but the bachelor cottages were down there somewhere. He leaned over the railing and looked straight down. The drop was steep, but he imagined someone who’d grown up on this property would know how to get down quickly. Will had a feeling he was going to end up being the one sliding down the side of a cliff while Faith held the stopwatch.

He walked around the back of the building toward the kitchen, glancing through the window on his way. The chef was working at a commercial food mixer. The two waiters were carrying large black plastic bags of trash out the back door.

Will was about to go inside when the satellite phone vibrated on his belt.

He took a few steps away from the building before answering, “Trent.”

“Are you still doing this?” Amanda asked.

He heard the clear warning in her prickly tone. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Very well,” she said. “I’ve been trying to reach a circuit judge up here who has phone service. Apparently, the storm took out the main transformers that service the northwestern part of the state, but I’ll make the warrant happen. The dive team is currently searching for a body in Lake Rayburn. Let’s keep that as an option of last resort. As you know, it’s very expensive to search a lake, particularly one that deep, so I need you to find that knife handle quickly and on land.”

“Understood.”

“I located Gordon Wylie’s marriage certificate. He’s married to a man named Paul Ponticello.”

“Anything on their sheets?”

“Nothing. Wylie owns a company that developed a stock market app. Ponticello is a plastic surgeon with an office in Buckhead.”

Will imagined the men were not hurting for money. “What about the others?”

“Monica Johnson picked up a DUI six months ago.”

“Makes sense. And Frank?”

“I found a death certificate for their child, twenty years old. Leukemia. Solid financial picture on both of them,” Amanda said. “The same with all the others. Wealthy, educated professionals for the most part. Drew Conklin is the exception. He has a fifteen-year-old charge for aggravated assault.”

The information surprised him. “Do you have details?”

“I’m tracking down the arrest report for the specifics. Conklin didn’t serve time, so a plea deal was made.”

“Do you know if a weapon was involved?”

“It wouldn’t have been a firearm,” Amanda said. “He would’ve gotten mandatory jail time.”

“Could’ve been a knife.”

“Do you like him for this?”

Will tried to put his personal feelings aside, but it was hard. He needed to know what business Drew had wanted to talk with Bitty about. “It definitely moves him up to the top of my list, but I don’t know.”

“Kevin Rayman is a highly accomplished and decorated agent.”

She was talking about the GBI field agent. “He’s doing a great job up here.”

“Faith is a dogged investigator.”

“That doesn’t sound like a compliment.”

“Wilbur, you’re supposed to be on your honeymoon. There will always be murder cases. You can’t work them all. I will not let this job take over your life.”

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