“They’re trying to hang the theft on you, aren’t they?”

“The museum is closing, Mr. Sullivan.” Dr. Hancock pivoted and walked to the hall. “I’ll see you out.”

Great. His brother had asked him to one simple thing, and Conor had blown it by pissing off the one person who could help him.

Guess he was spending the night in Bangor. He certainly wasn’t leaving without that list of stolen artifacts.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and leaned on the counter. Outside the window, thanks to the approaching storm, the darkness that dropped on the yard was more blackout than twilight.

Lieutenant Lang stood by the kitchen island taking notes from the Boston girls’ registration cards. His lips were clamped in a grim frown. “Do you know where they were headed?”

Mandy opened the inn’s logbook on the countertop. “They were hiking the river trail today.”

Danny wondered how far that trail was from the spot where Mandy and he had been. Had it really just been a few hours since he’d made love to her in the sunshine? Seemed like much, much longer.

Doug held up a card. “Did you try the cell numbers listed here?”

“I did.” Mandy sighed. “The calls wouldn’t go through.”

“If they took the river trail, they’re way out of cell range. Did they have provisions?” Lang asked. Maybe Reed was right, and Lang had nothing to do with Nathan’s activities.

Mandy shook her head. Exhaustion and worry deepened the circles under her eyes. “I don’t know. I didn’t see them leave this morning.”

“When they went out the other day, they had full packs,” Danny offered. “They told me they always carried enough for an overnight.”

“Good.” Lang shut his notebook. “Most likely, they either got lost or one of them is injured. I’ll contact the rescue squad and put them on notice. I’ll drive out to the trailhead now and verify their vehicle is parked there. If the girls don’t show up in the next two hours, we’ll start a preliminary search. At least we know where to start looking for them.”

Danny’s gut clenched. This felt wrong. “I don’t like this.”

“None of us like this, but hundreds of hikers go missing every year.” Lang frowned. “Temperature’s dropping, and the weather’s going to get nasty. Hope they find a place to hole up and stay dry.”

As much as it pained Danny to agree with the cop, he couldn’t argue with his logic. Lang seemed genuinely concerned and was acting like less of an asshole than usual.

“I don’t understand. What makes three chicks want to go out in the woods alone?” Lang tucked his notebook into his pocket. “Why can’t they stick to spa days?”

And the asshole was back.