“Miss Marla said she saw you here two hours ago, and you were brooding so she left you, but when she came back to check the progress on the community center foundations, which in case you haven’t noticed have been laid to your right, she thought that maybe you had a deeper problem than just brooding. She was worried about you enough to call me, as you’re public enemy number one right now with the Trainers.”

Dylan stood upright, and his muscles protested after being hunched in the same position for so long. He then looked at the park ranger. Fin wore a knitted cap, and Dylan wished he’d taken the time to put one on.

“I put two sugars in that sucker, thought you may need them?”

Dylan took the cup, even though it was tea, and sipped. “Thanks.”

“If I’d known the jaw was that bad I would have brought a steak.”

Dylan grunted.

“Joe has always had a good right hook.”

“If I say thanks for the tea, now leave, will you be offended?”

“No, but then I’m not going anywhere until we have a chat.”

“I don’t want to ‘chat.’”

“Now that’s too bad, as I’m in the mood.”

“Look, I get it, okay. She’s one of yours, and I-I accused her....” His words fell away.

“She didn’t do it, Dylan, and you know that for the truth now, don’t you?”

“I don’t know anything.”

He turned to lean on the railing again, away from Fin Hudson’s knowing eyes.

“Okay, I’m gonna talk and you listen.”

He said nothing.

“First off, have you given some thought to the fact that whoever poisoned your mother is the same person who is coming after you?”

He had... a great deal of thought since Joe mentioned it. Before that all he could think about was that Piper had let him down badly.

“If they knew you liked Pip, then she’d be another target just like your family. Another way to hurt you, Dylan.”

“She baked those donuts.”

“Got that, but also got that she did so early in the day, and those donuts would have been sitting out back for a while—two hours in fact—to rise. Plenty of time for someone to put poison in.”

“A dozen of them? Come on, Fin, that’s not feasible.”

“Neither is someone targeting every member of your family. You told me at the lodge that whoever is coming after you is someone with smarts. This would take that.”

It would, Dylan knew that too. He’d stood in this exact spot and tried to work through this and come up blank.

“The staff at Phil’s, Piper included, would never let a stranger walk out back and into the kitchens.”

“Which is messing with my head, because that means that someone we know is doing this shit to you.”