Page 53 of Only One More Lie

Like the type that had been left on the fake hand outside their door.

Had Caleb been the one who’d left that?

Duke rubbed his jaw before shaking his head. “Let’s get back to Juniper and see if she can radio Caleb. Caleb is somehow involved in all of this, and I need the truth.”

Andi’s gaze locked on his. “I couldn’t agree more.”

CHAPTER 25

“Caleb, are you there? I need to talk to you.” Juniper’s knuckles were white as she gripped the radio.

When there was no response, she lowered her device back into her lap.

Andi and Duke had come back, found her in her office, and told her what they’d found. Panic had fluttered through her gaze, and her face had gone pale.

“I don’t know why he isn’t responding,” she murmured as she leaned against her desk. “It’s not like him. Even when he’s acting like a jerk, he’s still usually pretty good at communicating.”

“You said you saw him walking back to his cabin earlier, right?” Andi grabbed a paper cup and got some water from the dispenser in Juniper’s office. She handed the drink to Juniper.

“That’s right. He said he needed to be by himself a while. That’s what he does.” Juniper took a sip of the water before running her hand over her face. “But he usually hangs out at his cabin. I don’t know where else he would be.”

“Is it like him to leave the camp without saying something?” Duke asked.

“He doesn’t have a vehicle here so it would be hard for him to actually leave the property unless he went with someone else. Isuppose he could have walked into the woods to have some alone time, but that doesn’t seem like him either.” Juniper frowned.

“What about the fake blood?” Andi asked. “Do you know anything about that?”

“Caleb did mention once that he has an older brother who works special effects on some low budget films. I didn’t even think anything about it until just now. Caleb hasn’t seen his brother in years so . . . I don’t know. I didn’t put it together. I have no idea why Caleb would leave a fake bloody hand on your door, though.”

“Any guesses as to what might be going on?” Duke continued to press.

“I don’t know what to say.” Juniper ran a hand through her hair, tension seizing her expression. “I only know I’m fielding a lot of questions from guests about what’s going on, and I’m trying my best to get through this. Probably 75 percent of the people staying here are leaving and asking for refunds. This is creeping them out, I guess.”

“That’s understandable.” Andi squeezed her arm. “But I also know this situation has to be hard on you.”

Juniper pressed her eyes closed as if fighting discouragement. “We need to have the majority of our cabins booked in order to make ends meet. Running this place isn’t cheap. That’s why I’ve been so thankful our bookings have been so consistent. But now with these things happening, it’s going to cause bad press . . . and I don’t know if we’ll survive that.”

“We’re going to keep looking for answers,” Duke assured her. “But first, we need to find Caleb.”

“If I hear from him, I’ll let you know. The rest of the guys on his team—who are also his roommates—should be out on the trails with guests. I’ll check with them when they get back.” She glanced at her radio as it crackled, and someone asked for her.“But right now, I have another guest who wants to leave. I should probably head to the front desk so I can handle this.”

“You do that,” Andi said. “We’ll stay in touch with you as well.”

Andi and Duke wandered away from the lodge. She wouldn’t want to be in Juniper’s position right now. She knew it wasn’t easy.

But she needed to stay focused on finding Caleb. If he didn’t have a car, then he couldn’t have left the area unless he either caught a ride or he borrowed someone’s car—with or without their permission.

“I’d like to go back to Caleb’s cabin one more time,” she murmured to Duke.

“Then let’s go.”

The sun had sunk again, barely lingering on the edge of the horizon and creating an early twilight for them. The breeze was still brisk and cold. More than cold. It was freezing and attacked any exposed skin.

Andi tugged her coat closer around her face as they walked.

When they reached the cabin this time, they didn’t go inside.

Instead, they paced the outside of the place. The snow was deep and soft near the edges of the building, and they sank down to their knees—which made walking incredibly hard.

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