There was no denying it. A trap was definitely beneath the surface. Now, to find the rope. I may not have the strength, but I had to try.
I let my flashlight travel the shoreline ahead of me, scanning the brush for any signs of an anchor point, but before I could find anything, the sound of footsteps came from behind me. I clicked off the light and crouched behind a bush holding the pepper spray out.
The footsteps drew closer. Was it the murderer? What would he do if he found me here? I had to do something.
I reached for my phone and tried to wiggle it out of my jeans pocket. It was lodged in there. I extended one leg, trying to be as silent as possible, and finally my phone came free. But when I clicked on the power, a hand grabbed my shoulder.
“Gotcha.”
My whole body flailed. I took an accidental step backwards, my foot landing in the water, my butt following, and my phone flying into the reservoir with a kerplunk. At least I still had the pepper spray in my hand. I aimed. “Don’t come any closer.”
“Rylie?” A flashlight clicked on and shone directly in my eyes.
“I’ll do it . . .”
The light clicked off, and little orbs floated in my vision.
“Take my hand.” The voice sounded more and more familiar.
“I can’t see. You blinded me.”
A hand reached down, grabbed me by the collar of my jacket, and yanked me to my feet.
“Kyle?” I said when I could finally see his face. “What are you doing here?”
“The same thing I assume you’re doing . . . looking for the MWB.”
“Well, he’s here. He’s wearing green waders. And he put out another trap.”
Kyle threw me an irritated glance. “I’ve been observing this cove for hours, and the only person I’ve seen out here is you.”
“Maybe he went another way, to set another trap.”
“Or maybe you’re the MWB.” Kyle’s patience seemed to be running out.
“You can’t possibly think—how would I—” No, he couldn’t think I was the MWB.
“You’re here after hours, threatening to spray an officer of the law—your supervisor—with pepper spray.”
Supervisor, okay. But officer of the law? That was a bit of a stretch. “I thought you were him. I thought you were the killer.”
“Me? The killer?” His face was turning red. “You should go home. Summies have gotten fired for less than this.”
“You’re going to get me fired?”
He got closer to my face, definitely invading my personal bubble. “I’m your supervisor. I don’t get you fired. I do the firing. Now go.” He pointed off into the distance toward the gate.
“But the MWB, there’s a trap just there.” I pointed to where the water rippled.
“I’ll check it out, but if I were you, I’d hope there was no trap, because if there was, I only see one person who might be guilty of setting a trap there. The only person here who knows exactly where it is . . .”
“It’s in the same place we found the others. That’s the only reason I—”
“Let’s go.” He grabbed my arm, hard, and pushed me back to the trail.
My chest felt like it might explode. How dare he think I was the MWB, let alone the murderer? How dare he put his hands on me? How dare he threaten to fire me?
I needed this job. I was just trying to help, and he wasn’t even taking me seriously.
The murderer was trespassing right now, probably laughing at us from behind a tree, and this idiot was acting like I was the bad guy. Maybe I should have words with his supervisor.
Greg.
Ugh, Greg would never fire anyone. He was too nice. And it wasn’t like I had an in with Ursula like Nikki.
I yanked my arm from his grasp and rubbed my bicep where I was sure a bruise would blossom by morning.
“Go home. Leave now and I’ll drop it.” He glared at me.
“Fine.” I turned and walked back to my car. I sat there for a while, waiting for the trespasser to reappear, but he never did. Meanwhile an irritated-looking Luke showed up and reamed me for not answering his phone calls.
“I dropped my phone in the reservoir,” I said.
“You weren’t supposed to go in without me. You could have gotten yourself killed.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. I probably won’t have a job tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?”
“Kyle thinks I’m the MWB. He threatened to fire me.”
“That’s ridiculous. Maybe I should go in there and—”
“No, don’t,” I panicked. “He said he’d drop it if I didn’t tell anyone.”
Luke frowned. “Maybe I should go in there anyway. Look around. Try to find the trespasser.”
“He’s long gone by now. Probably picked up and left when he saw Kyle and me arguing.”
Luke’s radio lit up, and I knew by the look on his face that he’d been called over his earpiece. “I have to go. Please, go home. And stop getting into trouble.”
I nodded.
“And get another phone.”
My legs were chafed almost as badly as my ego by the time I snuck back into my house. Thankfully, my parents hadn’t changed the locks on me since I’d been gone. Though I wouldn’t have faulted them if they had.
How had I gone from on top of the world one day to screwing everything up the next? I had to make it up to all of them, somehow. I had to apologize to Mom, keep my job, and find the real murderer. Should be a breeze.
14
Mom wasn’t awake when I left for my shift, but I left her a note of apology next to the coffee pot where I knew she couldn’t miss it. Not ideal, but it was something.
Ben and Kyle were both at the shop when I arrived, having what looked to be quite a heated discussion. Great. Had Kyle changed his mind and decided to fire me anyway? At least it seemed like Ben was trying to stand up for me.
“Hi,” I said in a meek voice when I walked over to them, but they acted like
