Zach hung out drinking freshly roasted coffee at The Rainshadow Brewhouse and watched for Karl to exit the sheriff’s office across the street. Big drum roasters squatted in the west window, and the aroma of roasting coffee sent him to the counter for a refill. The cleanup crews were beginning to form in the streets, but he had enough time for one more cup.
The aroma of coffee mixed with the cinnamon rolls just coming out of the oven. This was his favorite hangout in town. The coffee shop had been around for ten years or so, and the brew was always strong and roasted to perfection. The building had once been a bar in the late 1800s, and it boasted wide plank floors, tin ceilings that soared to sixteen feet, and a polished wood bar top with its original mirrors behind it. The character in the place always made him feel like putting his feet up on the heavy wooden tables and watching TV.
The bell on the door tinkled, and Jermaine entered with his wife. Zach waved to them and pointed to the empty chairs at his table.
Michelle joined him, and Jermaine went to the counter to order. They’d been married five years. She made a line of organic skin-care products with lavender oil from her farm. Judging from her beautiful Asian skin, it worked well. Her glossy black hair hung in a braid over one shoulder.
Michelle pulled out a chair and settled in it. She wore a flannel shirt over slim-fitting jeans tucked into work boots. “Did you come in to help?”
“Yeah, you two also?”
She nodded. “Jermaine had been looking forward to a day off, but it was not to be.”
Jermaine, dressed in work clothes and boots, handed his wife a cup. “Venti mocha with whip. That will give you the energy to get through the day.” He sat in the chair beside Zach.
Zach took a sip of his coffee. “Did you suffer any damage from the quake at your house?”
“A crack in the living room ceiling was about all I found,” Jermaine said.
Michelle was studying him with a knowing expression. “What’s this I hear about you and Shauna?”
“What are you hearing?”
“That the two of you are getting pretty cozy.” Her eyes smiled at him over the rim of her coffee cup.
“Well, we’ve always been friends.”
“Not always,” Jermaine put in. “I’ve heard some pretty heated words since Jack died.”
Zach wanted the world to know he wasn’t responsible for his best friend’s death, but now wasn’t the time. The sheriff had been adamant about keeping the details of the murders quiet. “She got over that. We’re getting along okay.”
“You’ve always had a thing for her,” Michelle said.
His fingers curled into his palms. “What do you mean by that? She was married to my best friend. I never made a move on her. Ever.”
“I didn’t mean you made a pass, goofball, but you’ve always watched her with a lot of admiration.”
“Well, yeah, she’s been my friend ever since Jack started dating her. I approved of her for Jack.”
“Are you saying you’re not attracted to her and never have been?”
Michelle had him there. “I’d have to be blind not to have noticed she’s beautiful, kind, and a good person.”
She sat back with a satisfied expression. “You didn’t see me, but I was in town during the earthquake yesterday. I saw the panic on your face, and the way you focused on making sure she was safe. Looked like love to me, my friend.”
His face burned, and he took a gulp of coffee. “I’m just helping out. I owe it to Jack.”
Jermaine’s pale-green eyes held amusement. “Tell yourself whatever you want, boss, but I’ll bet you there will be a wedding ring on your finger within a year. Want to take that bet?”
Zach shifted his gaze across the street to the sheriff’s office. Karl stepped out the door and headed toward the coffee shop. “Here comes Karl, and I need to talk to him.” At least he wouldn’t have to face the inquisition any longer.
Zach stepped out into the brisk wind and dodged a wheelbarrow full of rubble, then held up his hand toward Karl. “Hold up there a minute, buddy. Got time for a coffee?”
Karl stopped near a pile of shattered glass from a demolished car. “I have an appointment at the office in a few minutes, so I’ll have to take a rain check.”
“I heard you had information about Clarence’s murder. I’m trying to keep Shauna and Alex safe, and I was hoping you’d share with me whatever you know.”
Karl’s light-brown eyes softened. “Ever the protector. I don’t know much, really. I came across a box of Darla’s belongings in a compartment in the trunk. I thought there might be something important in her things so I brought it to the sheriff.”
Zach frowned. “In your car? I don’t get it.”
“I had bought her old car for my granddaughter to drive back and forth to school. The Camry was in good shape and didn’t have that many miles on it. Alyssa had a flat a couple of days ago, and it was the first time she’d opened the trunk. There was a box of stuff in it. She and Darla were good friends.”
“Did you look through it?”
Karl nodded, and a lock of his thick salt-and-pepper hair fell over his forehead. “There was a denim jacket and snacks.” He hesitated. “There were also needles and some white powder. I thought it might be heroin or some other kind of drug. I guess it proves Darla went back to the drugs. Sad.”
Would this new evidence take Darla’s death out of the investigation if the powder proved to be heroine? Zach didn’t know what to think.
Storm clouds built in the west behind the mountains, but the storm was far enough out that Shauna would be able to return to the airport before it hit. She sat on a log near her chopper and listened to the birds chirp in the trees surrounding the clearing. The distant voices of her clients mingled with the tinkle of running water in an unseen stream.
She couldn’t get the picture of Zach last night out of her head. It only would have taken one of them leaning toward the other for them to have kissed. Her burgeoning feelings for him still felt disloyal to Jack, even though she’d told herself over and over again he would want her to move on with her life. It was one thing to know something in your head and another thing to really believe it in your heart.
Guy and his two associates stepped out of the woods, and she rose to head toward the helicopter. “Just in time. That storm looks nasty. I’d like to be back to Lavender Tides before it hits.”
Guy’s frown didn’t lessen, but he nodded. A lock of golden-brown hair lay plastered on his damp forehead. “We’re done here for now, though I’d like you to fly over the western part of the Jupiter Quadrangle.”
She stopped in her tracks and turned. “What did you say? The western part of what?”
“The Jupiter Quadrangle. We’re on the southeastern part of the Mount Jupiter Quadrangle. I think the runoff is coming from something in the western part.”
“Jupiter Quadrangle. Funny term.” Her pulse throbbed in her throat. When Zach had mentioned it last night, he wasn’t sure if it was connected, but here was a prime opportunity to find out.
Guy pulled a creased and dirty map from his back pocket. “The forestry department has the area divided into quadrangles.” He unfolded it and turned it toward her. “We’re here.” He pointed a muddy finger at their location. “I would have guessed you’d know all that.”
“I don’t use forestry maps to fly.”
“Why the questions then? You seem pretty intense about it.”
She wasn’t about to explain her husband’s last words about checking out Jupiter. “I hate being caught flatfooted about directions.” She turned back toward her helicopter and jogged over to climb in and start the rotors. A few fat drops of rain hit the windshield, and she wasn’t sure they would get back before the force of the storm hit. The low, churning clouds had moved faster than she’d anticipated.
She motioned to Guy and the other two men. “Let’s head out.”
They climbed into the chopper, and she lifted off as soon as she could. Winds buffeted the bird, but she kept the chopper level and veered west.
The area was heavily forested, so it was going to take a lot of hiking to see anything important. Was she even on the right track? From the air she saw nothing that didn’t seem to belong, just endless treetops and rocky hillsides.
Guy pointed out a steep hillside on the very edge of the area. “The runoff might be coming from there.”
The place looked familiar, then it clicked. The Baers’ orchard. She’d have to mention it to Zach. Lightning flickered across the sky. “We need to get back.”
Lightning continued to flash and rain wrapped the helicopter as she headed for the airport. Perspiration dampened her forehead by the time she set the chopper on the pad. She ran through the cold rain to the office and waved to her passengers as they pulled out of the parking lot in Guy’s big truck.
Zach looked up when she burst into the office and shook the rain off her head. He held out a mug. “I just poured the coffee and haven’t had any of this yet. You need it more than I do.”
She curled her fingers around the mug and took a gulp of warming coffee. “Thanks. Hey, I learned something today.” She dropped into a chair and told him about the run off. “It’s in that Jupiter Quadrangle.”
Zach poured another mug of coffee from the rolling cart behind his desk, then returned. “Harry sent me a map. Let me take a look.” He pulled it up on his computer. “Yeah, I see what you’re saying. The hillside is right there.” He stabbed a finger on the spot.
She took another sip of coffee and studied the map on his screen. “Did Jack have any forestry maps? I never asked how he knew where to go on his hikes and climbs.”
“I think I have a box of his climbing stuff in one of the lockers. Let me see what’s there.” He set down his mug on the battered desk and went to the back storeroom.
Shauna warmed her hands on the mug and tried not to raise her hopes. Even if Jack’s comments referred to the Jupiter Quadrangle, it was a large area to explore. They still had no idea what it might mean, or even if it was the same Jupiter he referred to in his video.
Zach came back through the door with some maps in his hand. “Bingo! There’s a Mount Jupiter one here, and it’s got several areas circled.”
She jumped up and looked over his shoulder as he smoothed out the creased map onto the desk. “Any idea why these areas would be marked?”
“They are all areas we’ve climbed and hiked, but there might be more to it than that. I can check them out.”
“How about we land and hike them together?” She watched pleasure spread over his face. Even though the invitation had popped out of its own accord, she didn’t regret it. Something was happening between them, and she wanted to see where it would lead.