Chapter Eleven

The bell jangled above the door to the outdoor supply store, drawing the clerk’s attention to Mel’s arrival. The bearded man beamed at her as if he’d been waiting all day for her to come in. “Well hello there.” He sauntered closer, his gaze drinking her in from the bottom up with a sexy grin. “How can I help you?”

She rested her elbows against the tall glass counter where he stood and pulled her phone from the pocket of her borrowed coat, showing him the picture of the footprint. “Do you recognize this? I think it’s from a hiking boot. It looks so cool, I wondered about getting a pair for myself.”

The clerk peered at the tiny picture. “I might have an idea, give me a second.”

He moved back to the sales counter where he switched the cash register to computer mode. He danced his fingers along the keyboard and in no time pulled up a company website. “There you go.” He spun the computer screen around so she could easily see it. Rock Star Hiking Boots. The Big Dipper was their logo.

“They’re like the Tesla for hikers.”

“Electric?”

He flashed a sex-on-a-stick smile. “No, they only make a few of them a year, and there’s a wait list. They’re based in Palo Alto and mostly distribute their boots in Northern California. I can call them in the morning if you want?”

Mel’s eyes widened at the price listed as “discount” on screen. “No, thanks. They’re cool, but not two paychecks worth of cool.”

As she turned to leave, the clerk stopped her. “Hey, you’re the new owner of the Babbling Brook. It’s a small town, word gets around.” His entire demeanor changed from sexy come on to compassionate neighbor. Good Lord, he must make a killing in commissions. “I’m sorry about that old dude dying in your lobby and now Mandy.”

Mandy? “Oh, were you friends with Mindy?”

He slapped his palm to his forehead. “Mindy, right, that’s what I meant. Sweet kid, we hung out last summer when she came up, such a tragic loss.” Mel couldn’t believe her luck, she’d found Mindy’s hook-up, and it wasn’t Jackson. This investigating thing wasn’t so hard after all.

“Oh right, one of her friends mentioned she dated someone up here. You’re the reason the yoga retreat was here instead of a cruise ship.”

“I don’t think I was the reason, more like an afterthought,” he replied, casually brushing their relationship aside.

Did he think so little of Mindy that he would have no problem shoving her off the mountain? “What makes you say that?”

“She didn’t call me until after she arrived and needed a favor. She wanted to meet at your hotel and bring my camera.” He pointed to an amazing display of nature photos hanging in various nooks and crannies. “I take all the photos in the shop.”

Mel frowned. What on Earth did Mindy want him to take a picture of? “When did she want you to do this photographic favor? Just curious.”

“I’m not sure, that night, I think. But then she called me sounding really pissy and pulled the plug. Something about this jerk backing out after she came all the way up here to see him.”

That threw Mel for a second until she recalled Keiko telling her about the argument Mindy had with Hubbard. “Do you think she wanted you to shoot photos to blackmail someone?”

He smirked. “I mean, I guess she could have been giving a private yoga class, but from my experience she wasn’t great with the whole ‘Namaste-see-the-light-in-others thing.’ Hella flexy though.” A dreamy smile curled up his mouth, lost in what Mel guessed was a special memory.

“Did you get together at all this weekend? Any idea of what was on her mind?”

His smile faltered for a moment. “Sure are a curious one, aren’t you?” He shrugged and chilled again. “She called me the day she went missing, super stoked about some money coming her way. We made plans to get together the next night, but then she disappeared.”

The timeline confused Mel. “Wait, first she was angry about someone backing out on her, and then she called excited about a new investor?”

“I don’t know about an investor, but in her head she was definitely picking out the drapes for a new yoga studio.”

Mel thanked him for his time and headed back up the hill to the Babbling Brook, pondering what it all meant. Was someone from Northern California on the trail that day with Mindy? Was it the person she hoped to get money from for her yoga studio? And if they were there, did they help her over the edge?