River’s End

and son are getting our luggage.”
    “Yes, Mrs. Brady, we’re happy to have you.” While she spoke, the clerk tapped her fingers over the keyboard below the counter. “I hope you had a pleasant trip.”
    “Very.” Celia noted the name tag pinned to the vest. “Thank you, Sharon.”
    “And you’ll be staying with us for five nights. You have our family package, which includes breakfast for three every morning, any one of our guided tours . . .”
    Olivia tuned out Sharon’s welcome address and explanation and looked toward the door. Her stomach began to flutter again as Frank came in with Noah behind him. They were loaded down with luggage and backpacks.
    “I can help you with that. Sharon, I can show the Bradys to their rooms and tell them where everything is.”
    “Thanks, Livvy. You can’t do better than with a MacBride as your guide, Mrs. Brady. Enjoy your stay.”
    “It’s this way.” Struggling not to hurry, Olivia led the way down a hallway off the lobby, turned right. “The health club is to the left and complimentary to guests. You can reach the pool through there or by going out the south entrance.”
    She rattled off information, meal service times, room service availability, lounge hours, rental information for canoes, fishing gear, bikes.
    At the door to their rooms, she stood back, and despite nerves found herself pleased when Celia let out a little gasp of pleasure.
    “It’s great! Just great! Oh, Frank, look at that view. It’s like being in the middle of the forest.” She moved immediately to the patio doors and flung them open. “Why do we live in the city?”
    “It has something to do with employment,” Frank said dryly.
    “The master bedroom is in here, and the second bedroom there.”
    “I’ll go dump my stuff.” Noah headed off to the other end of the sitting room.
    “You’ll want to unpack, get settled in.” Olivia linked her hands together, pulled them apart. “Is there anything I can get you, or any questions . . . I—there are some short, easy trails if you want to do any exploring this afternoon.”
    “Frank, why don’t you play scout?” Celia smiled, unable to resist the plea in Olivia’s eyes. “Noah and I will probably laze by the pool for a bit. Livvy can show you around now and you can stretch your legs.”
    “Good idea. Do you mind, Livvy?”
    “No. No, I don’t mind. We can go right out this way.” She gestured to the patio doors. “There’s an easy half-mile loop; you don’t even need any gear.”
    “Sounds perfect.” He kissed Celia, ran a hand down her arm. “See you in a bit.”
    “Take your time.” She walked to the door after them, watched the girl lead the man toward the trees.
    “Mom?”
    She didn’t turn, kept watching until the two figures slipped into the shadows of the forest. “Hmmm?”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    “Tell you what, Noah?”
    “That’s Julie MacBride’s kid, isn’t it?”
    Celia turned now to where Noah stood in the doorway of his room, his shoulder nonchalantly propped against the frame, his eyes alert and just a bit annoyed.
    “Yes. Why?”
    “We didn’t come up here to play in the woods and go fishing. Dad hates fishing, and his idea of a vacation is lying in the hammock in the backyard.”
    She nearly laughed. It was exactly true. “What’s your point?”
    “He came up to see the kid. Does that mean something new’s come up on the Julie MacBride murder?”
    “No. It’s nothing like that. I didn’t know you had any interest in that business, Noah.”
    “Why wouldn’t I?” He pushed away from the doorway and picked up one of the bright red apples in a blue bowl on the table. “It was Dad’s case, and a big one. People still talk about it. And he thinks about it.” Noah jerked his chin in the direction his father had taken. “Even if he doesn’t talk about it. What’s the deal, Mom?”
    Celia lifted her shoulders, let them fall. “The girl—Olivia—wrote to him. She has some questions. I don’t think her grandparents have told her very much, and I don’t think they know she wrote your father. So, let’s give the two of them a little room.”
    “Sure.” Noah bit into the apple, and his gaze drifted toward the window where the tall young girl had led the man toward the trees. “I was just wondering.”

Eight
    The trees closed them in, like giant bars in an ancient prison. Frank had expected a kind of openness and charm, and instead found himself uneasily walking