Page 58 of This is Why We Lied

“Boy’s about as popular as a snake in a sleeping bag. We’ll hear soon enough if somebody spots him in town. The hike will take him a couple of hours, and that’s after the rain clears. No way he’d take a bike out in this weather. End up like Papa tumbling down a cliff.”

Nothing he said brought her any relief, but Sara felt like she might as well shout at the rain as try to get the sheriff to show concern for a missing child.

Will told Sara, “If he went to see Mercy, Delilah will be there. She wanted to sit with the body.”

Sara felt her eyes sting with the threat of tears. At least someone actually cared.

“Ma’am, I’m Douglas Hartshorne, by the way.” The sheriff held out his hand. “You can call me Biscuits.”

“Sara Linton.” His hand felt weak and clammy when Sara shook it. She glanced at Will, who looked like he wanted to throw the man over the side of the railing. It made no sense that the two law enforcement officers were standing on the porch talking while Mercy lay brutally murdered down by the lake. They should be searching for Dave, taking witness statements, arranging for Mercy’s body to be cared for. She could tell by the way Will had his left hand clenched that the lack of momentum was causing him more pain than the wound in his right hand.

She couldn’t give up. She asked the sheriff, “Is it possible Jon will try to take revenge on Dave?”

Biscuits shrugged. “Note don’t say anything about revenge.”

Sara tried yet again, “He’s still a minor who lost his mother to a brutal murder. We should look for him.”

Will said, “I can help search.”

“Nah, the boy was raised in these woods. He’ll be fine. Thank you kindly for the offer anyways. I got it from here on out.” Biscuits started for the door, but then he seemed to remember Sara. He tipped his hat to her. “Ma’am.”

Will and Sara were both speechless as Biscuits gently closed the door behind him. Will nodded for Sara to move toward the corner of the porch. They could only stare at each other. Neither one of them could articulate their feelings.

Finally, Will said, “Come here.”

Sara buried her face in his chest as his arms wrapped around her. She felt her body let go of a tiny bit of the anguish she’d been carrying since they’d left the lake. She wanted to cry for Mercy, to yell at her family, to find Dave, to bring back Jon, to feel like she had actually done something on behalf of the dead woman lying inside an abandoned old cottage.

“I’m sorry,” Will said. “This isn’t much of a honeymoon for you.”

“For us,” she said, because this was meant to be a special week for him, too. “What can we do now? Tell me how to help.”

Will seemed reluctant to let her go. Sara leaned against one of the posts. The late hour had suddenly caught up with her. They both stared at each other again. The only sound was the rain gushing off the roof and slapping the hard ground.

Will asked, “What happened inside?”

“I volunteered to make coffee so I could search the kitchen. If there’s a missing knife, I couldn’t tell. It looks like they’ve been hoarding cutlery since the lodge opened. We’ll have to find the broken handle before we can try for a match.”

“I’m sure Biscuits will get right on it.” He rested his injured hand against his chest. Now that the adrenaline had burned off, the pain was probably making itself known.

He asked, “When did Bitty talk to the sheriff?”

Sara felt the surprise register on her face. “I didn’t see her on the phone. Probably when I was in the kitchen.”

“There was nothing you could’ve done about it anyway.” Will moved his hand higher, like he could put it out of reach of the burning. “I need to find Dave. He could still be on the property.”

The thought of him going after Dave injured and without backup sent a chill through her spine. “He could have another weapon.”

“If he’s still hanging around up here, he wants to get caught.”

“Not by you.”

“What is it you’re always saying? Life makes you pay for your personality?”

Sara felt her throat tighten. “The sheriff—”

“Isn’t going to help,” Will said. “He told me the coroner should be here in thirty minutes. Maybe they’ll treat this murder with some urgency. Did you get anything at all from the family?”

“They were worried about the guests who are leaving and the ones who are due here on Thursday. Could they keep the deposits? Would people still come? Who was going to order the food and handle the staff and book the guides?” Sara still could not believe none of them had said anything about Mercy. “Then things got really heated when they started talking about the investors.”

---