“The FBI? Why—someone want to fill me in on what the hell is going on?” Gant asked, his gaze swiveling from Megan to Taylor’s face on the screen to checking the area behind him as if expecting an ambush.
“Does this have something to do with Chief Hayden cancelling the crime scene unit?” He lowered his light so they could now look each other in the eye. “It wasn’t just budgetary concerns, was it?”
“Did you ever call the sheriff for help?” Megan asked.
His lips tightened and she was sure he was going to tell her it was none of her business or ask what right a kid had to be questioning a cop’s authority. But Gant surprised her. “I did. Found out later the chief cancelled them as well.”
“Like she also shut down the cell tower and left the drawbridge up so no one could leave Harbinger Cove?”
He pulled out his cell phone with his other hand—meaning he wasn’t about to shoot her, Megan noted with relief. “Did Chief Hayden send you here to hurt my mother? Stop her from talking?”
Confusion crossed his features before he blanked them. “Why would the chief—talking about what?”
“About how that crime scene was staged by Pastor Fleming. About how he was faking his own death, and how he kidnapped Mateo to frame him, or how the chief and Mrs. Fleming are helping to cover it all up.”
“Megan—” Taylor’s voice cut through hers, a warning. Right, never give away too much. But he wasn’t the one here with a guy three times her size carrying a gun.
Gant must have had his doubts already. Or he’d seen enough behind the scenes to put it all together as well. Because his shoulders sagged and he blew his breath out as if surrendering. “It was those damn church loans, wasn’t it? I knew it was too good to be true, but the chief put her own money in and Fleming was her brother-in-law—”
“Do you know where the chief is now?” Taylor asked.
Gant shook his head. “She left me to cover any calls, said she was going to inspect the crime scene again.”
“There was no one there when we drove by,” Megan said. “Just an empty patrol car.”
“She’s probably with Fleming and her sister,” Taylor said. “The sheriff’s emergency response team is still half an hour out.”
“You found Fleming’s boat?” Gant asked.
“My mom’s on her way there now.”
“She left you here alone?”
“Thought I’d be safe from the chief and any cops working with her. I would have been if I stayed out front where I was supposed to.”
“She had the right idea. Stay here and I’ll go watch your mom’s back. Tell me where she is.”
Megan wanted to go with him, make sure her mom was okay. But she realized she was a liability—not because she was a kid or because she couldn’t handle herself in a crisis. Because if things went wrong, she could be used as a hostage against her mother.
And the fact that Gant wanted her to stay behind proved that he was one of the good guys. Didn’t it?
She glanced at Taylor. He looked uncertain as well.
“If the chief’s there already, Lucy will need back up,” Gant said, obviously impatient. “If I was in on it, I’d already know where they are, wouldn’t I?”
“Unless they doubled crossed you and left, taking the money,” Megan argued.
“Your choice. You want your mom outnumbered three-to-one or you want to trust me?”
Megan scrutinized him and decided to do what Lucy would do: trust her gut. “Tell him,” she instructed Taylor.
Taylor nodded his agreement and the screen switched to a map with the GPS location flagged.
“Skeleton Marsh,” Gant said.
“Skeleton Marsh?” Megan echoed, not liking the sound of that.
“Yep. Got its name because it’s where pirates used to dump bodies—between the crabs and the alligators, if you ever found anything left, it was only bits and pieces of—”
“Their skeleton. How far is it?”
“Ten minutes.” He hesitated. “Are you okay here?”
“I’ll stay with her,” Taylor said. “And inform the sheriff and state police that you’ll also be on the scene.” It was a thinly veiled warning but Gant simply jerked his chin in a nod, turned, and jogged back to his car.
The night grew silent once more, even the hypnotic pounding of the surf seemed muted. Megan took a deep breath and sat down with the computer.
“Thanks, Taylor.”
“You’re welcome. I’m texting your mom to let her know Gant is on the way and I’ll update your dad and Walden. Be back in a jiff.”
Nothing to do now but wait. And Megan was quickly learning waiting was the hardest job of all.
Chapter 22