“A boot?” Ian frowned. “Is that why you thought it was a body?”
“Yes. It came out when he was putting the tarp in the back of the squad SUV.” Now that they were talking about it, she couldn’t see how the bundle Macavoy had been carrying could have been a pile of junk. “Plus, it just acted like a dead body. That sounds crazy, I know, especially since I’m not an expert in any way, but he had it over his shoulder, and it hung. Lumber or metal or whatever would’ve stuck out straight. When he dumped it in the back of the SUV, he kind of bent over and dropped it, like it was really heavy.” She made a frustrated sound. “I’m not explaining this right.”
“You’re doing fine, Daisy.” Callum’s voice was gentle. “We’re thinking along the same lines. What kind of junk can you roll up in a tarp, hinges at the waist, is heavy, and sheds a boot?”
“Holy monkeys, it was a body!” Lou started to bounce in her chair, but then winced and sat still.
“That is why I asked if you know this deputy well,” Callum said to Chris, leaning back in his chair.
Chris didn’t look convinced. “If Macavoy was moving a corpse, why admit to Rob that he was at the house at all?”
“If he thought he’d been spotted and identified, he probably didn’t think he could deny it,” Lou offered.
“I’m confused.” Ellie frowned, absently picking at her cuticles. When George put a hand over hers, stilling her fingers, she gave him a grateful smile and then turned back to the group. “If it is a body, it’s a new one, right? So who is it?”
There were a few moments of silence before Lou broke it. “Argh! Nothing fits together. We keep getting new information, but it just leads to more questions.”
“Has anyone been reported missing?” Rory asked Chris, who shook his head.
Ellie made a pained sound. “Just my dad.”
Daisy stared at her. “Your dad’s missing?”
As Ellie nodded, close to tears, George released her hands so he could rub her back. “Anderson King was hunting him—hunting both of us—and I don’t know where either my dad or Anderson is.”
Although she leaned into George’s touch, Ellie still looked miserable. Daisy had to glance away. It had been one thing to speculate on whether she’d seen an actual body or not, but thinking that there was even a possibility it could be sweet Ellie’s father made her stomach curdle. She was glad she’d been too nervous to eat much. Otherwise, she’d have been sprinting for the bathroom.
“El.” George’s voice was low. “Remember.”
She sighed, the exhale shivering with imminent tears. “I know. Dad can take care of himself. It’s just hard not to imagine the worst.”
“It probably wasn’t even a body,” Daisy blurted, needing to say something to make Ellie’s lost look go away. “Even if it was, there’d be no way Anderson King would be driving around in a sheriff’s squad. I’m sure it wasn’t your dad—if it was someone, I mean, and not a tarp full of scraps.” She stopped talking abruptly, aware that her words were just getting more and more muddled.
Ellie didn’t seem to mind the convoluted logic, though. She gave Daisy a shaky smile. “Thank you.”
“Your dad will be calling soon,” Lou assured her. “He’s safe in Mexico or Canada or Cleveland or somewhere.” The rest of the group added their reassurances, until Ellie looked, if not completely convinced, at least a little farther from tears than she had a few minutes earlier.
Ian glanced at his watch and stood. “Shift tonight. I’d better get home and shower first, or no one’s going to want to ride in the truck with me.”
As if that was a signal, everyone else started to rise, gathering the remains of the improvised feast and bringing it to the kitchen.
“You can just leave it,” Daisy protested. “I’ll clean it up later.”
Everyone just ignored her, though, and the kitchen and dining room were spotless less than ten minutes later.
“What are you doing Monday morning?” Lou asked Daisy.
“Nothing special. Why?”
“I still want to talk to you about the Gray case. Are you up for it?”
“Sure.”
“Wait.” Rory frowned at them. “I want to be in on that, but the shop’s open until six. Can we meet here Monday evening, instead?”
“At eight?” Lou suggested, looking at Daisy for confirmation.
“Can I come, too?” Ellie asked, then laughed. “That made me sound like a preschooler, but I really would like to join you guys, if that’s okay?”
“Of course,” Daisy said, answering all their questions at once.
“Sure?” Lou asked. “That won’t be too late?”