“She felt blindsided,” Jared ascertained. “She thought you’d been lying to her for decades.”
“She did. We never had children. It was never even a consideration for us. Suddenly, though, she was accusing me of stealing her best years when I was clearly playing a game with her. I told her that wasn’t true, but she didn’t want to hear it.
“She’s been fighting me tooth and nail on the divorce since the start,” he continued. “I don’t have any problem splitting our assets. It’s totally called for even though I make more than she. I even want to give her the house.”
“I don’t understand why you came on this trip together,” Harper admitted. “If the marriage is over ... .”
“I still wanted her as my friend.” Sam pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead. “Näively, I thought we could find a way through it with the friendship intact. I didn’t want to remove her from my life. When I told her that, she didn’t believe me. Still, she brought up this trip and I agreed.”
“Even though you didn’t want to come,” Jared surmised.
“No, I would’ve preferred staying home. I was bitter about the drive. I freaking hate camping. I mean ... it’s just not fun. Do you know there’s not even a hair dryer in the bathroom?”
Harper had to bite back a laugh. Nothing about their situation was funny, but his reaction, so much like Zander’s earlier disgust, momentarily had her smiling.
“I should’ve been nicer to her,” Sam admitted. “I was unhappy with the trip and I took it out on her. That wasn’t her fault and now ... well ... now I can’t even tell her I’m sorry.”
Harper pictured the ghost from her dream. “Maybe not the way you’re thinking, but I bet she would appreciate the sentiment, wherever she is now.”
“Maybe.” Sam looked lost. “I don’t know what to do about any of this. It’s just ... too much.”
Jared took pity on the man and reached over and patted his hand. “We’ll figure it out. First things first, though. Did Leslie have any enemies that you know of?”
“No, she was a wonderful woman. She had an infectious laugh and was the life of the party. Everybody liked her.”
“Maybe not everybody,” Jared prodded.
Realization dawned on Sam. “Wait ... are you saying she was murdered? I thought it was an accident.” His voice rose an octave. “Harris reassured me it was an accident.”
“We don’t know what it is at this point,” Jared cautioned. “It could’ve been an accident. It could’ve been something more, though, too. We have to wait for the medical examiner’s determination to find out.”
“And then what?”
Jared held out his hands. “I don’t know. We can only take it one step at a time. We need information to act on and then we’ll push forward. We will figure it out, though. You have my word.”
10
Ten
“We’re behind in the game,” Zander announced when Harper and Jared joined him in front of the pavilion after breakfast. “Harris made sure I was aware that we’re not participating to the level we’re supposed to.”
Harper furrowed her brow, annoyance evident. “Are you serious? He can’t possibly think we care about the game at this point.”
“Oh, he cares.” Zander shifted from one foot to the other and focused on a point behind Harper. When she shifted, she found he was studying his reflection in one of the windows that led to the showers. “He wanted me to remind you that we had a deal coming into this.”
Harper’s agitation — as well as her blood pressure — jumped. “Maybe I should have a talk with him.”
Chuckling, Jared extended a hand to still her. “Chill out, Tiger.”
She pinned him with a dark look. “A real woman has died.”
“Yes, and he’s still got a business to run.”
She was understandably confused. “You can’t think it’s okay to prioritize business over a human life.”
“Of course not. We’ll be focused on Leslie. We still need a reason to stay here, and that’s the game. We don’t have to make some dastardly choice. We can do both.”
“Oh.” Understanding dawned on Harper. “You want to participate in the game as cover so we can move around as freely as we want to investigate the murder.”
“Kind of,” he hedged. “We don’t know that there was actually a murder. We need to wait for a determination from the medical examiner’s office, and given how slowly I imagine things are up here, that could be days away.”
“Unless it’s obvious that she was murdered. We have no idea what sort of wound was under all that blood. It could’ve been a bullet hole for all we know.”
“It could have,” Jared agreed. “We can’t rush to conclusions right now, though. I think focusing on the game is the right way to go.”
Harper remained unconvinced. “I guess.” She glanced around. “Where is Shawn? If we’re going to head out there, we should do it as a group.”
“He had to run to the bathroom,” Zander replied. “I could tell Harris was bugging him, and he, all of a sudden, announced he had to take a leak. That was the word he used. I figured he was only being crass because Harris was driving him crazy because he usually doesn’t say stuff like that.”
“It sounds like it,” Jared agreed. “We can wait for him. Then we can head out to the way station. That’s where the fake body landed, right?”
“Yes, and Harris promised to provide us with a few pertinent details,” Zander replied. “Here he comes now, in fact.” He tilted his head. “Try not to claw his eyes out, Harp. That’s going to make future endorsement gigs hard
