“Someone like me?” I raise an eyebrow.
“Someone who’s gone through all the things you have. I shouldn’t just throw around words like that. Or at least give you a trigger warning or something before I’m careless,” she explains.
“Can you warn someone you’re going to do something carelessly?” Xavier wonders, still in a low voice.
I’m almost convinced he thinks she really can’t hear him.
“It’s fine,” I tell her. “If I needed a trigger warning for everything that I’ve seen or been through, there would have to be one on essentially everything I encounter.”
She laughs. I’m not sure why. A second later she realizes the rest of us aren’t laughing and stops, looking uneasy, but still smiling.
“I’m really looking forward to today,” she says.
“We’re going to look through bones and teeth and pieces of people’s belongings that were scattered through the woods and chained to the bottom of a lake by two serial killers,” I say.
“I know,” she says after a thoughtful pause. “It’s just my first investigation.”
“You’re not investigating,” I clarify. “You’re shadowing. You’re just there to watch me and get used to things.”
Dean gives me a slow, incredulous look. A bit of guilt shoots through me.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “That was…”
Ava shakes her head, holding up her hands to stop me. “No. No, it’s fine. I understand. I’m too eager. I won’t get in your way.”
“Well, it’s a campground. There’s a lot of space. So that shouldn’t be hard,” Xavier adds.
“Speaking of which,” I say, looking her up and down. “The suit might not fare terribly well out there.”
Ava looks down. “Oh. Yeah, probably not.” She looks up at me. “I just wanted to look my best when I met you. It’s such an honor. You have no idea how long I’ve admired you. I’ve been following your career since you went to Feathered Nest. You’re such an inspiration to me, and I just can’t believe you’re willing to be my mentor. It’s amazing. I barely know what to do.”
“Whatever she says,” Xavier says.
Dean gives the smile he always does when it’s time to step in and be a buffer.
“Just shadowing her,” he says. “Emma is the best, so just pay attention to her.”
Ava nods.
This is off to a splendid start.
“I’m going in to get some coffee, then we’ll get going. We don’t want it to be too late before we get to the campground. I need some time with the main investigation before we talk to Allison and Vivian.”
I go into the coffee shop and get the biggest cup of their strongest, darkest coffee. Stepping back outside, I drop my sunglasses down over my eyes and head for the car.
Fifteen
“She’s not going to make it a month,” I say the second we get in the car and head out of the parking lot.
“Why do you say that?” Dean asks. “She seems nice.”
“Exactly,” I say. “She seems nice. And just a little bit unhinged.”
“I think that was the coffee,” Xavier shrugs. “I notice at least two cups on the table with her and I can smell it coming off her. Maybe she has a caffeine sensitivity and was feeling jittery.”
“She was feeling something,” I mutter. “She sounded as if she can barely keep it together.”
“I think she was a little starstruck,” Dean says. “Did you hear the way she was gushing over you?”
“That’s ridiculous,” I say.
“No, it’s not,” he counters. “You obviously made a big impact on her. And now she’s not only getting to meet you, but see you in action and learn from you. That’s a big deal. Wasn’t there anybody who you would have had that kind of reaction about when you first got started?”
“No,” I say. “I had my father. I didn’t need to be impressed by anybody else.”
“Fair enough. But not everybody has that. It was an awkward start, but give her a chance,” he says.
It’s eerie to be back at Arrow Lake Campground. This is the first time I’ve been back since we left a couple of weeks ago. I’ve been checking up on the investigation and staying in touch with the people on the ground here over video and phone calls, but other cases have kept me from being here in person until now.
That brutal night wasn’t long ago, but somehow it also feels surreal. Almost as though it didn’t happen. I step out of the car in the makeshift parking lot set up near the campground and look around. There’s far more life and activity here now than there was the last time I was here. Everywhere I look, there are cars and people and stations set up to process evidence.
The last day I was here, the team was smaller. Now it almost looks like a movie set. Part of that is simply because of the sheer unfathomable nature of the crimes that took place here. It wasn’t just murder. There were so many more layers. I’m still trying to really wrap my head around all of it.
But I’m less concerned about how I feel being here than I am about Dean. I look over at him. He’s still standing by the car as if it’s anchoring him. His eyes move slowly around the space, sweeping over the people; flitting over the blue tarps spread out across the ground with their waterlogged mementos of horror lined up across them.
This isn’t easy for him. He’s the reason I came here in the first place. It started with something inconsequential. Just a TV show. Some supernatural ghost hunters. Something I thought was silly, but the rest of the group wanted to see. I had no idea what it would turn into. How it would unlock a part of my cousin’s life I had no idea even existed.
I look at him differently now. Not in a bad way. Not that I’m judging him, or that I don’t trust him
