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I waited until Margaret disappeared from view before I pulled out my phone.
“Did you find him?” Mack asked.
“No.”
He sighed, and I knew he was wondering why I was calling him then.
“But I found someone else.”
There was a pause. “Who?”
“Margaret.”
“Who?”
I stepped over a log, my boot slipping on a patch of ice as I brought my foot back down. I reached out with my free hand and steadied myself by grabbing at a tree. Pieces of bark scratched my hand.
“The woman from the Wicked Wich,” I told him. “Miranda’s sister.”
“A Miranda’s sister, not the Miranda’s sister,” he reminded me. “We don’t know they are related.”
“Well, we do now,” I said.
I slowed my pace and filled him in on what Margaret had told me.
He let out a low whistle when I was done. “So Tim is our man.”
“Seems that way.”
“Where are you?” Mack asked.
I frowned. “Uh, in the woods. Same as you.”
“No,” he said impatiently. “I mean where in the woods?”
My frown deepened. “How on earth would I know? I kept walking, remember? Away from you. Why does it matter?”
He sighed. “Look, we now know that Tim is probably dangerous. You shouldn’t try to confront him on your own.”
I bristled. “Do you really think I’m going to march up to him if I find him and accuse him of murder?”
“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Mack said. “You have a temper, you know.”
My mouth dropped open. I had a temper??
“Look, just stay where you are. Keep talking. I’ll head toward where you were when we split up and listen for your voice. Maybe you can send some sort of signal.”
“Like a smoke signal?” I said, rolling my eyes.
“You smoke?”
I sighed. “No, Mack, I don’t smoke. It was a joke.”
He didn’t laugh. “Just stay where you are, Rainy. I’ll find you. And then I can take care of finding Tim.”
“What?” My voice shook with anger. “You don’t think I’m capable of handling this on my own?”
“I just said you shouldn’t do anything without me.”
“Because you don’t think I’m capable.”
“I never said that.”
He didn’t have to.
I held the phone limply to my ear. His words stung.
I thought for a minute, trying to decide what I wanted to do.
It took me all of three seconds to make a decision.
I ended the call and stuffed the phone back in my pocket.
I wasn’t going to wait for Mack Mercy.
I was going to keep going, on my own if necessary.
Because I didn’t need a man to tell me what to do.