“Not really.” She shrugged.
“She was acting suspiciously when I saw her in the dining hall yesterday,” Andi said.
“I know she kept going on walks in the woods alone.” Juniper shrugged. “I thought it was a little strange, but she said she felt one with nature.”
Andi stored that information away.
When she glanced across the camp, she spotted Duke and Ranger walking toward them. Had they found something?
The men reached them a few minutes later and joined them in the reindeer pen.
“You’re coming from Peppermint’s place.” Tension stretched through Juniper’s voice. “Did you find anything?”
“Not much,” Duke said. “But we do have a question for you.”
“What do you need?”
“Was Pepper dating anyone?”
“Dating?” A crease formed between Juniper’s eyes. “No. Why would you ask that?”
Duke and Ranger exchanged a glance. “We found two pair of slippers, and based on their size, we wondered if one belonged to a man.”
“I’m sure Pepper would have told me if she was dating someone.”
“We just thought we’d ask,” Duke told her. “We didn’t find anything else of note, unfortunately.”
“That’s too bad. I can’t sleep at night thinking about what happened to her. It still seems like a nightmare I should wake up from. Then again, I should be used to this after what happened to my parents . . .” Her voice cracked as a sob lodged in her throat.
Simmy pulled the young woman into her arms, and Juniper nearly collapsed against her.
They gave her a few minutes to compose herself.
Then Duke asked, “Juniper, do you know where Caleb is now?”
“I haven’t seen him in a while. I assume he’s blowing off some steam.”
“I was hoping to ask him a few more questions about the ice fishing.”
“You could go to his cabin and see if he’s there.” Juniper sniffled again, still leaning into Simmy as she gave them directions.
While Simmy and Ranger stayed with Juniper, Duke and Andi headed toward Caleb’s cabin to talk with him.
The man’s smug face flashed in his mind as he walked. “Caleb is hiding something.”
“I agree.” Andi pulled the collar of her coat up higher around her neck as the breeze swept over them. “But what? He might not be a great guy or who he portrays himself to be, but that doesn’t make him a killer.”
“You’re right.” Duke’s jaw tightened. “Maybe he’ll give us some solid answers this time.”
“I hope so.”
They headed past the guest cabins until they reached some smaller, plainer cabins the workers utilized. From what Duke understood after talking to Juniper, four employees usually shared a small cabin with two sets of bunkbeds.
Which made the fact that Pepper had her own cabin even stranger, especially since she wasn’t an employee. Apparently, Juniper had given her friend special privileges.
Did anyone here at the camp resent the women for that?
As they reached the cabin—which was more of rectangular metal pod—Duke climbed up some icy steps onto a narrow landing and pounded at the door.