Page 82 of Only One More Lie

A frown tugged at her lips. “It’s been bugging me ever since he said that. I know what I heard. But now I’m questioning whether or not I truly did misunderstand something.”

“Who might you be able to ask about it?” Duke asked. “Certainly, your parents had other friends they might have said something to.”

“I suppose my mom and dad could have talked to a few people at the Caribou Club. I could give you a couple of names if you think that would help. The first people who come to mind are Dan and Jan—I mostly remember their names because they rhyme. But they were also a nice couple. He always gave me candy—butterscotch.” Juniper shrugged. “But not in a weird way. In a grandfatherly way.”

“If you could give us their last name, that would be great,” Andi said.

“I can find it,” Juniper said. “But I can’t remember it off the top of my head.”

“What about Tim?” Simmy tilted her head in a gentle manner. “Wouldn’t your uncle know something?”

“Maybe.” Juniper shrugged, the motion listless. “I tried to call him to ask him a few questions about a half an hour ago. He’s not answering.”

Tension immediately tightened Duke’s chest. “What do you mean he’s not answering?”

“He went into town to see his son, Jared, earlier this morning. He needed help with something. I can only assume he got there safely, considering this storm. When he left, it wasn’t as bad outside.”

Duke exchanged a look with Andi. “And I assume it’s not like him to not answer his phone.”

“No, it’s not.” Juniper frowned as worry stretched through her voice.

Another person missing? This wasn’t a good sign, especially considering everything that had already happened.

CHAPTER 43

The snowstorm eased, and forecasters said there would be a break in the snow for the next few hours.

Based on that, Andi and Duke had decided to head into Fairbanks.

The move was risky, but time was ticking away, and they needed answers.

Tim’s son Jared might have some of those.

However, as Andi and Duke took off down the road, Andi couldn’t deny the apprehension she felt.

Though she’d been trained as an ice road trucker, being out on these roads was still unnerving. If anything happened, no one would be around to help them, and most likely they’d have no cell phone service.

However, she trusted Duke’s driving skills. The man could handle himself in almost any situation—and he could handle himself around her. It took a strong man to do that.

“You doing okay?” Duke’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.

“Doing fine.”

The funny thing was that Andi felt as if she could tell Duke anything. But not about her anxiety and panic attacks.

The last thing she wanted was to hurt Duke. She wasn’t sure that being brutally honest about her hangups would be good for him. She felt safer with her walls up.

She wasn’t young and naive anymore. She knew relationships were complicated. Rarely was it boy meets girl, and boy and girl live happily ever after. Obstacles and conflict were a part of every relationship.

Not that Duke had done anything wrong. He hadn’t.

However, Andi had never been in a position like this before, and she didn’t know quite how to handle her uncertainties.

As the camp disappeared in the rearview mirror, Andi set her gaze on the road ahead. It was already a strange shade of grayish white outside, partly because of the snowstorm and partly because of the time of year. It was hard to believe that just last week it had been Thanksgiving.

In a surprising turn of events, the whole murder club gang had decided to stay in Alaska instead of going back home. They’d celebrated the holiday together at Ranger and Simmy’s house. Everyone had brought food and pitched in.

Instead of talking about true crime, they’d talked about what they were thankful for. They’d played games. They had laughed.

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