“At this point,” Bram said, “I’ve gotten about as far as I can here. I need the computer and internet back at my office. If you’ll let me take the employee records with me, I’ll do a background check and get the water over to the lab.”

Roy nodded.

Bram placed the records in his messenger bag and stood.

Wyatt poked his head through the doorway. “Cookie said you’d be here. I’ve rounded up most of the horses. I’m going out after the three I haven’t found. The gate’s been repaired.”

Roy turned to Bram. “Let me see if anyone else wants to go to town with you. Dee Dee may want to be checked for giardia by a doctor.” He walked to the door, his shoulders slumped, and left.

Before Wyatt followed him, he gave me a wink and tipped his cowboy hat.

My face grew warm. I charged from the room before Bram could see me blush, again wishing Cookie hadn’t mentioned Bram’s and Wyatt’s interest.

Roy aimed toward the art room and Wyatt sauntered to the lobby. I followed Roy.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Roy said to Angie and the art students. “The supply wagon will be heading to Targhee Falls within the hour. If any of you would like to leave today, let me know and we’ll bring your luggage over.” His voice trembled slightly.

I slowly walked to the lobby. The air was pungent with lemon wax cleaner. One of the female staffers was just leaving the room with a plastic bin of cleaning supplies. Sunlight streamed in the windows on one side, and the ginger tabby cat had moved from the barn and now sprawled in the sunbeam lighting the floor. The distant clatter of dishes came from the closed dining room.

I stopped. Everything seemed so ordinary and calm. It was hard to believe that not long ago, a young man clinging to life had to be airlifted out. Things could have been going wrong here for months, and the remote beauty of the place would have lured people to doubt their conclusions.

With the contaminated water, I now had actual physical evidence that someone was actively working against Roy. Or it could have been Riccardo’s plan to head home. I wished Bram had been able to recover something from the barn.

Maybe it was time to head back to town and make my report to Clan Firinn.

I still had to dig into the paperwork in the packet. At this point, did it matter?

I was scheduled to be here for five days, and it was hard to believe less than twenty-four hours had passed. If I stayed, maybe I’d see Bram again. Maybe . . . “Shut up!”

“Are you okay, Darby?” Cookie had entered the room, a handful of stamped envelopes in her hand.