The road was too narrow to turn around, especially with the big kind of dual-wheeled truck Liam drove. She considered what Liam had shared of his conversation with Taggart. Was there a story there regarding the mayor’s connection to this real estate mogul? A connection worth looking into? Or was her journalistic mind kicking into overdrive?
At the very least, she would put another possible story aside until Zoey’s whereabouts were discovered.
Liam turned onto the road heading who knew where. Rae was totally lost in this scenic mountain wilderness. She might like to come back and visit sometime. She never got out of the city much. There was something about this place—maybe it was the serious lack of population, but the peace and solitude could calm a quaking heart.
But not her quaking heart. Not yet.
If only she would allow the scenery to slow her racing heart and calm her mind, maybe with that calmness, she’d gain some clarity. Liam seemed more at home here than he ever had when she’d known him in Denver. And really, how well could you know someone after only three months? Some people fell in love and got engaged in that time. Others, less than a few days. She couldn’t save what she and Liam might have had, but she could possibly save what Alan and Zoey had.
Rae shook off her melancholy. “I guess this means we’re not going to sit and wait on them to see where they go next.”
“We can.”
“I need to see Samara Davidson. I think there’s something more there.” Again, she wished they could split up. “If we could get our hands on some proof, then the sheriff would have no choice but to barge into that home. Oh, except the mayor told him to back off. I can’t believe this. Maybe we should visit the mayor ourselves. I have no qualms about facing off with this woman who might be standing in the way of Zoey’s safety.”
“Let’s stick with going to see Samara Davidson.”
Realization dawned. “Oh, I get it. We’re not going to follow Astor all the way in because you’re in protective mode. If I wasn’t with you, then you’d go all the way in on your own and see where they headed.”
He half smiled and shook his head.
“That’s it, isn’t it?”
“That’s partially it. Remember when I said there is a time to expose the truth and a time to keep secrets? Well, there’s a time to pull back. Even without the sheriff being instructed to back off, I’d had the feeling that we were closing in on him too fast. We need to give him some space to make mistakes.”
“I take it you’ve learned that through experience.”
“Yeah. I’m going off a sense of things. The rhythm of the hunt.”
Rae studied him as he drove. She wished she could look at his face and see the expression in his eyes. He had a gift, and she’d be a fool to ignore him. “So it’s like you have your fingers on the pulse of my investigation.”
“Something like that.”
She grabbed her notepad and pen while Liam drove. “While you’re monitoring the pulse, I feel like there’s something we’ve missed. I’m going to run through what we know so far.”
“I’m listening.” The timbre of his voice reassured her. She hadn’t known she needed it.
“One. Astor doesn’t seem overly concerned about his brother’s death. The news came out this week. He said he was going to look into his brother’s killer. But then he gets on a snowmobile for what . . . fun? I don’t get it.”
“None of us really knows how we’ll respond under certain circumstances. None of us grieves the same. Enzo apparently suspected Simon had been murdered and possibly even knows who murdered him, so this news wasn’t a shock to him. Regardless of whether he knew or not, his brother has been missing for five years. He’s had time to come to certain terms with that. Five years is a long time, and Enzo Astor probably suspected his brother was dead because he knew Simon wouldn’t willingly leave an inheritance or access to millions on the table.”
“Next. He told the sheriff he was going to Colorado. Then he calls the mayor to get the sheriff off his back.”
Her cell rang, and she glanced at the screen. “It’s the Mountain Valley Adventures number. Maybe it’s Sam.” She answered the cell. “This is Rae.”
Silence met her on the line.
“Hello? Hello?” Rae looked at the cell. “The call disconnected.”