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“You’re crazy.”
Mack was staring at me like I’d grown an extra head.
I stuffed my keys in my pocket and tightened the scarf wrapped around my neck. “What’s so crazy about going out to look for him?”
Mack snorted. “Uh, do you notice something about this place?” he asked, gesturing to the woods behind him.
“It’s cold?” I asked. The trees wouldn’t allow for much sunlight, and I knew it would feel significantly colder under the canopy of branches, despite the fact they were mostly bare and that we’d be buffered from the breeze.
“No, Rainy. It’s huge!” Mack waved his hand around. “You want to just traipse through the forest and look for Tim? You actually think that’s a good idea?”
I did. Because I didn’t think we had any better options. “What else do you suggest we do?”
Mack sighed. “I don’t know. Anything but this!”
“We might be able to find some clues—” I began, but Mack cut me off.
“Clues? What, in the snow? Like footprints or something?” He shook his head. “I’m an investigator, Rainy, not a tracker.”
“I’m not a tracker, either,” I told him. “I’m not even an investigator!”
“So then why are you trying to call all the shots?” he retorted.
I glared at him. “Because you haven’t offered any other suggestions, Mack Mercy. At least I’m trying to do something!”
I left him standing there and headed for the trees. My boots crunched on the snow and branches snagged against my jacket as I crashed into the woods. There was no sound behind me, no indication that Mack was following my lead. In fact, the only sound I heard was my own heavy breathing and my heartbeat drumming in my ears.
Oh well, I thought. He could wait by the car for all I cared. He’d be bored and cold, though, because I’d locked the doors and the keys were safely tucked inside my pocket. He could suffer for all I cared.
A minute or so later, I heard grunting and huffing behind me, and I smiled in satisfaction. He’d clearly decided it would be a better idea to tag along. Score one for me.
“What exactly are we looking for?” he grumbled from behind me.
“Tim.”
“I know that,” he snapped. I could picture the glare on his face. “So what? Footprints? Or boot prints, as the case may be?”
“Sure,” I said. My eyes were focused on the ground in front of me, not so much looking for prints but trying to avoid fallen logs and other debris that might cause me to trip. I’d already stumbled a couple of times and the last thing I wanted was a twisted ankle or a face full of snow.
“We should probably split up,” Mack said from behind me. From the sound of his voice, he had moved a little closer.
I stopped and turned to look at him. He was at least dressed more appropriately for the weather on this outing, thanks to the donated clothes Declan had brought over, but his cheeks and nose were red, and he still looked remarkably out of his element.
I wondered if I did, too.
“Why?” I asked. I was breathing a little heavier than normal and my breath came out in white puffs, like mini clouds floating in the forest.
“Cover more ground,” Mack said.
“What if we get separated?”
He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his phone. “Isn’t that what these are for?”
He had a good point. “Okay,” I said, turning back around. “I’ll keep going this way.”
“I’m peeling right,” he told me. “Back toward Tim’s place. Maybe he decided to stay close to home.”
I nodded and kept going, trudging through the snow, trying not to think about how cold I was. The forest was peaceful almost, a sea of white in front of me, and I did my best to focus on how pretty it was. Snow blanketed the ground and coated the tree branches, and there was virtually no sound: no birds chirping, no squirrels scurrying about, no deer moving about in search of food.
I knew Mack was with me, probably just yards away, but I’d never felt more alone. It was beautiful to look at but for some reason, the peaceful feeling began to dissipate and the woods suddenly felt eerie, like I was caught in some winter horror movie where something was about to go seriously awry.
I shook my head, trying to snap myself out of it. I was looking for a missing man, someone who had taken off for unknown reasons. And sure, we suspected he might have something to do with a woman’s disappearance and death, but that didn’t mean I was in any danger. It wasn’t like I was going to accuse Tim of anything if I found him out there. We actually had the perfect story for why we were looking for him in the first place: his brother was worried sick and we were just offering a helping hand.
What could possibly go wrong?