Murder at the Writers' Retreat: The Birchwood Academy Files 5 by Jade Astor

Author:Jade Astor [Astor, Jade]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-02-09T05:00:00+00:00

“Lanislaw dithered for a while, but in the end he came clean. Of course, he asked the cops to keep his real identity secret from everyone except us.” Argo leaned both arms on the table and toyed with his coffee cup. He had returned to the cabin a few hours after Darian and the rest of the workshop participants had been sent to their quarters with strict orders not to discuss the case with one another. Darian had endured a long afternoon of solitude while he waited for an update. He’d even been too distracted to work on Rory’s research materials. Once again, the mysteries of Wilfred Baine would have to wait.

“And the locals agreed to go along with him?” Darian asked, surprised.

“Believe it or not, yes. If you want the truth, I think they found the whole idea of an undercover cop from Florida exciting. They probably think Cole was some kind of drug kingpin or gang leader. Not that Lanislaw would encourage them in that fantasy.”

“Of course not, no.” Darian shared Argo’s weary smile.

“Gotta admit, I enjoyed seeing Chief Creed’s beady little eyes bug out when he discovered not one, but two vacationing cops camped out on his turf.”

“Lanislaw probably figured they’d run a background check on everyone here, anyway,” Darian said. He went to the counter and returned with the coffee pot, refilling his and Argo’s cups. “His true line of work was bound to come out.”

“You’d think so.” Argo scowled. “When it comes to Chief Creed, though, I’m not so sure he would have bothered. I wasn’t too impressed by what I saw at the station. He seems to think this was all the result of someone horsing around with an archery set.”

“You’re kidding.” Darian sat down heavily. It was exactly as he had feared. Cole’s nudity gave the townies license to speculate he’d been killed during some kinky interlude in the woods. In fairness, Darian couldn’t really rule the possibility out, considering what he’d seen at the lake. However, he didn’t believe for a minute that Cole’s death was unintentional. “Whoever shot that arrow knew what he was doing. He must have aimed directly at Cole’s back.”

Argo drained his second cup of coffee and rubbed his neck irritably. “I can see why you’d reach that conclusion, and I don’t mind admitting I’m leaning in the same direction myself. But like I said before, this isn’t my territory and it sure as hell isn’t my case. I got Chief Creed started and gave him my impressions so far. I assume you and everyone else at the retreat did, too. Meaning my part in this sorry little drama is over.”

“Okay, yeah. Whatever you say.”

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” Argo sounded stern, but Darian caught him biting back a smile.

“Nothing. It’s just that in the past, you’ve had a hard time walking away from a case involving people you know. And it’s doubly frustrating when the people in charge don’t seem particularly competent or motivated.”

Argo’s fidgeting told Darian he’d struck a nerve.

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