LITMIR.BIZ

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      She waited until the hikers departed, then approached the registration desk. “Hi. I see you’re busy working again today.”

      The girl rolled her eyes in mute protest. “Always. You need something?”

      If she wanted to prolong the conversation, she’d better think of something. “I’m going into Lakemont this afternoon. Can you recommend a place for lunch?”

      The girl pulled a brochure from a rack and spread it on the counter. With a dark purple nail she tapped the sketch map it contained. “This shows the main drag. Kids say the sandwiches are good at the Fresh Bread Café. I haven’t tried them myself.”

      Susannah lifted her brows questioningly. “You haven’t?”

      Jen shrugged. “I’ve only been staying at the lodge a couple weeks.” She caught a flash of vulnerability in the girl’s heavily mascaraed eyes. “I probably won’t be here much longer.”

      “Going back home, are you?”

      As soon as the question was out, she knew she’d made a mistake. Jen’s face stiffened, and she shrugged thin shoulders. She shoved the brochure toward Susannah without a word.

      This was not going as well as she’d hoped. Jen probably needed a friend, but she obviously didn’t consider Susannah a candidate.

      “Well, I’ll try that café for lunch. Thanks.”

      “At least you’ll get lunch.” The girl seemed to give in to the urge to complain. “I’ve been working on the desk all morning, but does anyone give me a break so I can have something to eat? Oh, no.”

      Opportunity opened a door, and Susannah stepped through without a second thought. “That’s really a shame. I’d be glad to watch the desk for a few minutes so you can run and grab a sandwich.”

      Jen wavered. “I shouldn’t.”

      “Wouldn’t Nathan like it?” She should be ashamed of herself, jumping to the conclusion that Nathan’s autocratic ways would be a source of friction.

      “Nathan’s not the boss of me,” Jen flared instantly. She motioned to Susannah to come behind the counter. “Probably nobody will show up while I’m gone, but if they do, the reservations are right here in this file, and guests just sign the book and fill out one of these cards.”

      It was an old-fashioned register with names and dates. She just needed a few minutes alone to take a look.

      Jen rounded the counter, then paused. “You sure you don’t mind?”

      “Not at all.” She had grace enough to feel guilty, but the girl had vanished in an instant through a swinging door at the rear of the hallway.

      The hall was still and empty. She couldn’t hear anything but a muted clatter of china from somewhere in the back. She wouldn’t have a better opportunity than this.

      She swiveled the register toward her, noting dates as she flipped the pages back. The lodge had been busy over the summer, less so in the spring. She found the right page. Her stomach clenched as she identified Trevor’s neat writing at the bottom of the page.

      Nearly a week. He’d been at the lodge for nearly a week, which meant he’d never gone to Boston at all. The faint hope that he’d just stopped at the lodge on the way home from Boston vanished.

      She glanced up the page and felt a wave of nausea. There was another entry.

      Trevor had been here two weeks earlier than the trip she knew about, for two days that time. Hands shaking, she tried to turn the page back to seek any earlier listings.

      “What are you doing?” Nathan’s voice, resounding from the stairwell above her, hit her like a blow.

      She heard his footsteps approach as her mind scrambled for an explanation, any explanation that might satisfy him. She arranged a smile on her face and turned toward him.

      “I was just…” The words died in her throat as she caught sight of Nathan.

      A khaki uniform. A dark tie, worn with a badge and official emblem. She read the words emblazoned on the uniform, stomach twisting.

      Nathan Sloane was Lakemont’s chief of police. The scribbled signature at the bottom of the accident report crystallized in her mind. She hadn’t made the connection, and she should have. Nathan was the man who’d investigated Trevor’s accident.

      Nathan couldn’t mistake the expression in Susannah’s eyes. He moved slowly to the counter, weighing it. Perfectly innocent people sometimes looked guilty when surprised by a police officer. He wouldn’t have thought twice about that.

      But Susannah had reflected more than just guilt. She’d been totally dismayed at the sight of him, and he wanted to know why.

      “What are you doing?” he repeated.

      He could hardly cross-examine one of his father’s guests, but he had a right to know why she was behind the registration counter. And why she’d been looking at the guest register. She’d quickly put it down at the sound of his approach, but not before he’d seen her searching through the listings.

      “Here, you mean?” She straightened the register, aligning it with the edge of the desk. “Jen hadn’t had a chance to get her lunch yet, so I said I’d keep an eye on the desk while she went to get something to eat.” Her smile failed to reach her eyes.

      Frustration with his stepsister nearly outweighed his curiosity about Susannah. The least Jen could do was help out while she was here.

      “Someone would have come to relieve her in a few minutes. She certainly shouldn’t have imposed on a guest.”

      “It’s not an imposition. I offered.” Susannah started around the counter, the loose russet jacket she wore swinging against her body. “Now that you’re here, I suppose you want to take over.” She eyed his uniform. “Or are you off to a different job?”

      “I do have to go on duty before long.” He took a casual step so that he boxed her in between the counter, the stairwell and his body. “I guess you didn’t know I’m a police officer.”

      She’d regained most of her composure, but her hands were still clenched tightly. As if aware of that, she shoved them into her pockets.

      “Not just any officer.” She nodded toward his insignia. “I see you’re the chief of police. I’m impressed.”

      For the first time, he felt like smiling naturally at her. “Don’t be too impressed. In a town like Lakemont, that just means I have two patrolmen and a dispatcher working for me. If any police business actually happens, we all have to get involved.”

      For some reason, that upped her tension. He could feel it, but he didn’t understand.

      “I see.” She seemed to be talking at random, as if to cover something else. “I suppose that means you don’t spend much time at the lodge.”

      “I’m here as much as possible. After all, I do live here.” He leaned closer, letting that movement intimidate. “I notice you’re interested in our guest register.”

      If he hadn’t been so close, he might have missed the way her lips tightened.

      She managed an unconvincing smile. “I’m afraid I was just curious as to how busy the lodge is.”

      Neither of them believed that, but he wasn’t ready to contest her statement. Yet.

      “Busy enough,” he said. “We don’t do the business of some of the larger resorts in the Poconos, but Dad likes it that way.”

      “Speaking of busy, I see Jen is back from lunch.” She took advantage of his turning to look to slip past him. “I’m running into town this afternoon, so I’ll be on my way.”

      Someone less suspicious than he was might not have noticed how quickly she scurried toward the front

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