Page 36 of Fire Peak

“That’s creepy. It was one thing when I thought it was you. That’s a little close to home, someone spying on Lila.” She gave a shiver. “I don’t like that one bit.”

He didn’t like it either. “Want me to take it down?”

“I already did that. I’m just wondering…” She lowered her voice even further. “I wonder if it’s connected to the listening device.”

“Hard to say. Two different locations. Does Lila ever come up here?”

“Just for a drink now and then.”

“Maybe it’s not about Lila. It could be the hardware store itself, or something in the vicinity.”

She nodded, a worried line appearing between her eyebrows. “Lila said a raccoon broke into her place. But she also says she’s not worried because of Bear.”

“That’s fair.” He’d seen enough of Bear to know that no one messed with him.

“Here’s the other thing, Nick.”

He liked it when she called him Nick—just like the not-so-old days back in Indiana when they’d been hanging out and flirting.

“This is the second strange thing to happen up here. First the listening device, then the smoke bomb. And both times, April destroyed the evidence.”

“Well, it’s her lodge. She doesn’t have to investigate if she doesn’t want to.”

“But she had you right there. She could have asked you to look into it.”

“I told you, I’m on vacation?—”

“Not the point,” she interrupted with a wave of her hand. “You’re clearly a competent quick-thinking individual. Why not at least ask you?”

He’d take that compliment. “You think she’s hiding something?”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m curious. Curiosity is my fatal flaw,” she added. “It gets me into all kinds of trouble. Aren’t you a little curious too?”

“Are you saying you want me to investigate?”

“No, I’m saying you already want to investigate.”

Damnit. She was right. Whoever had thrown that smoke bomb had put his daughter at risk. That was unforgivable.

“But you can’t really do it without me,” Charlie added. “I’m the one on the inside. I have access. In fact, I probably don’t even need you, but the way you sacrificed your jacket was kind of hot. So here we are.” She gave him the kind of smile that could entice anyone to do anything.

“I thought you said we couldn’t trust each other? Now you want to work together?”

“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, isn’t that what they say?”

He sighed. Would she ever believe that he wasn’t her enemy? Maybe conducting a joint investigation would help with that.

“Okay. I’m in.”

She clapped her hands together in delight. “Where do we start?”

“I’ll take the smoke bomb angle. Why don’t you start with April. It seems clear that she might know something more than she’s saying.”

“Agreed.”

“See what you can find out about her.”

Charlie put her hands on her hips. “You want me to spy on my boss?”

---