Page 70 of Love Me Fearless

I jerk my chin toward the top of the boulder. “Hope I didn’t fuck up your crime scene.”

“Finding Marin was the priority.”

I gaze at the broad valley. “Find something useful?”

“Sofie tells me kids party up here.”

He didn’t answer my question, but there is probably plenty he can’t share. “Yeah. That boulder is sort of prime territory. Seniors only.”

“Troy says he never hung out here, and he didn’t think Marin did, either.”

“Did you ask Linnea?” Sofie’s younger sister is the same age asBeth and Marin, but I don’t know if they ran in the same circles in high school.

“Yeah, but she did Running Start, so she was in a different crowd last year.”

“Do you think Marin’s killer brought her here as part of some plan, or was it random?”

“My gut is that he brought her here on purpose. I mean, he could have left her anywhere. Why come out here? And why leave her truck in plain sight for everyone to see? It’s like he wanted us to find her.”

“That’s fucking creepy.”

Zach huffs a sigh. “Truth.”

From the top of the boulder, an older man with glasses peers over the edge. “Deputy, you should see this.”

Zach eyes me. “You wanna meet for that beer later?”

“Sure.” I also want to find a way to see Ava, but she only saidmaybe.

“How about the Knotty Pine, say just after five?”

We say goodbye and I climb behind the wheel. After one last glance at the rocky valley that served as Marin’s final resting place, I turn the ignition and pull away.

Once I’m within town limits, I call Ava. It’s almost the end of her lunch hour, so maybe I’ll catch her.

“Hey,” she says. “How’s Louisa?”

“She looks pretty good for someone who recently had a tube in her heart.”

Ava gives a soft chuckle. “That’s great news.”

“Got plans for dinner tonight?”

“Why?”

I shake my head. “Is that how you respond to all the men who want to take you out?”

“You don’t want to take me out.”

The way this woman can irritate me is unreal. “How about I cook you dinner?”

“Really?”

I soak up the surprise in her tone. Maybe I have a shot after all. “Your place okay? It’s going to be a zoo at mine.”

“Just dinner, though.”

I’m starting to feel pretty good about this idea, so I don’t let this deter me. “How about we start with dinner and see what happens?”

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