Inside the diner, Angela ran through the opening routine with a speed that was daunting. She kept up a cheerful chatter all the while, and when she spotted Tulia standing awkwardly near a table, unsure what to do, she said, “There’s a couple aprons in the kitchen, and the drawer next to them are full of name tags. We don’t have Tulia, but feel free to pin one on and be someone else for the day if you want. We’ve got a lot of regulars, and they’ll want a name to call you by.”

  Tulia found a mostly unstained apron and affixed a nametag that read Kim onto it, then scrounged a notepad and pen and poured over the menu, trying to memorize as much of it as she could. It wasn’t a very big menu, thankfully; besides the breakfast pasty, the breakfast menu was pretty average. They didn’t start serving lunch until eleven, though for all Tulia knew, she’d be there well into the afternoon. She was reliant on Angela for a ride into Marquette if she wanted to go anywhere, and from the sound of it, the other woman spent most of her time at the diner.

  The morning started out slow, but as time wore on, the little diner got moderately busy. As Angela had said, most of the customers seemed to be regulars, and they all had friendly questions for her. She didn’t mention the missing RV or the body she and Angela had found but was happy to chat with people other than that. It was a lot more laid back than her last job had been, though the tips weren’t nearly as good. At least she had some cash to her name again, though Angela insisted on giving her free food for lunch, so she didn’t get to spend it.

  Just before lunch, a shiny black SUV pulled into the diner’s parking lot. Angela watched as two men got out. The shorter of the two was wearing black slacks; the taller had khaki ones, but they were both wearing nice button-up shirts and had matching sunglasses. They drew her eyes because they looked so out of place in this run-down diner, and her eyes weren’t the only ones they drew as they came in.

  The taller one, who had medium-length dark hair that was slicked back, spotted her and made a beeline for her. For a second, she wondered if he was a cop who wanted to talk about Tom, but he just said, “Can you get us a booth for two?”

  “Of course. Right this way.” She led them to a booth against the back wall and prepared to take their drink orders, but before she could, the man introduced himself. “Samuel Noble,” he said, holding his hand out. She shook it bemusedly, wondering if he introduced himself to every waitress who served him. She’d met weirder people in her time in the service industry. “And this is Marc. We’re from Ohio. Are you a local here?”

  He didn’t sound like he was from Ohio. If she had to guess, she’d put his accent somewhere along the northern part of the east coast. Still, if they were tourists, it explained a lot.

  “Nope,” she said, only belatedly realizing how odd that question was. She was working here. Shouldn’t they assume she was a local?

  “I see. Then I suppose I can’t ask you to recommend your favorite dish on the menu.”

  She gave him a tight smile. She hated that question. Taste in food was such a personal thing, and she didn’t want to feel like it was her fault if a customer tried what she recommended and didn’t like it. Still, if they were tourists, they were probably after the same thing she had been.

  “The original pasty is pretty good. It’s the only one I’ve tried.”

  “I think we’ll both get one,” he said without consulting his companion, who looked vaguely irritated at the whole exchange. He handed the menu she had given him back to her, then hesitated. “Just one more thing. If you’re not a local, how’d you end up serving tables here?”

  “I ran into some transportation issues, and the owner was nice enough to let me stay with her last night and work it off today,” she answered, taking the menu back. “Your order will be right out.”

  She felt a bit bad about her short response but was relieved to walk away and not be called back. Samuel asked strange questions, and after finding a man’s body, she was a bit more on edge than normal.

  Thankfully, they didn’t ask her any more odd questions, though they did stay for quite a while, and she caught both Samuel’s and Marc’s eyes on her more than once. It was after noon when two other employees showed up. A woman in her forties made Tulia give up her Kim name tag, and an elderly man took over for Angela in the kitchen. Angela chatted with them both for a few minutes, shooting furtive looks toward the side of the building where the dumpster was and where the body had been found. Finally, she came to find Tulia, and the two of them went out to the parking lot together. To Tulia’s surprise, Angela’s car was waiting for them there.

  The other woman laughed at the confusion she must have been wearing on her face as they got into the car. “Yeah, Benny dropped it off about half an hour ago and walked home. Do you want to head into town? I know you wanted to talk to the police about your RV, but I was thinking maybe we could do some touristy stuff too since you’re missing out on all of that. Maybe go to the beach? Have you ever been to Lake Superior?”

  “No. I know it’s the deepest of the Great Lakes, but that’s all. I’ve been to Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, though. I’d definitely like to see it.”

  “Sweet. I know a nice beach that’s usually not too busy, even with all the tourists in summer. We can swing by—” She broke off to frown at the diner, where the woman who had taken Tulia’s Kim name tag and pinned it to her own chest was waving at them with a phone in her hand. Angela opened the car door and undid her seatbelt. “I’d better go see what Kim wants.”

  Tulia watched as Angela hurried over to the woman whose name tag she had stolen and accepted the phone. A moment later, she turned to face the car and started waving frantically at Tulia. She scrambled to get out, her heart in her throat. Was it the police? Did they have more information?

  She jogged the short distance to Angela, who had the phone pressed to her ear like she was afraid it would escape. “Yeah, I know where that is,” she was saying. “We can be there in about twenty minutes. She’s with me now. Great, thank you so much, officer. That’s great news.” She said a quick goodbye, hung up, and handed the phone back to Kim before turning to Tulia.

  “What is it? What happened?”

  “They found your RV! The officer I spoke to said it’s in good condition, nothing seems to be damaged or anything. They tried calling my cell first, I guess, but called the diner when they couldn’t get through. No one gets good service out here, not until you reach Marquette.”

  “Oh, my goodness.” Tulia had to take a step back, feeling almost faint from relief. She’d hoped they’d find her RV but hadn’t really thought it would happen this soon. Part of her had been certain that whoever had stolen it would have wrecked it somehow before abandoning it. “I can’t believe it.”

  “It’s parked along an access road near Ishpeming. I know roughly where it is. Are you ready to go?”

  “Definitely.” Tulia barely kept herself from sprinting back to the car. She wouldn’t be able to truly relax until she saw the RV and verified for herself that it was in good shape. Angela hadn’t said anything about her purse or other personal belongings, but if she had to, she could get all of that replaced, even though it would be a huge chore to do.

  Having the RV back meant one very important thing to her. Her trip wasn’t over yet.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Angela drove the twisting roads away from Marquette while Tulia looked out the window, eager and anxious in equal measure. She’d half convinced herself that she would never see the RV again, and part of her still couldn’t believe this was real.

  When the other woman pulled off onto a bumpy dirt road that either didn’t have a road sign or had one that was so overgrown Tulia hadn’t spotted it, she sat up straighter. It seemed crazy to her that someone had taken her RV out here and just left it. Where would they have gone? Had they just walked into the woods on foot?

  She voiced the thought aloud, and Angela responded, saying, “Ishpeming is only a mile or two further down the main road. Whoever dumped your RV here probably just walked to town. That RV would draw a lot more eyes than someone walking along the shoulder would.”

  “So, they stole it from the diner just to dump it twenty miles away?” Tulia asked, frustrated.

  “Don’t forget that whoever stole it probably killed Tom.” Angela shot her a look. “It was an escape vehicle. I doubt they were ever going to take it to a chop shop, or whatever it is you’re envisioning people usually do with stolen vehicles.”

  She frowned but had to admit that Angela was right. The RV had probably just been a convenient way for the killer to escape the scene of the crime. Now that she had the chance to think about it more, it did make sense that they would want to dump it as soon as possible. She’d nearly driven herself crazy imagining that the thief would be galivanting around the country in her RV, but in retrospect, that would have been a good way for them to get caught.

  Angela rounded a corner, and suddenly, there it was. The RV had been pulled off slightly to the side of the road, but it wasn’t for enough over to be in the ditch. Her car was still attached to the back, looking dusty but not any worse for wear other than that. There were two police vehicles, one parked in front of the RV and the other parked behind it, both with their lights flashing. Angela pulled off the road behind the first police vehicle, and as the two of them got out, an officer came over to greet them.

  “Is one of you the owner of these vehicles?” he asked, gesturing at the RV and the car.

  “I am,” Tulia said, stepping forward. “I’m Tulia Blake.”

  “I’m Officer Willis. Can I see some ID, ma’am?”

  She faltered since she didn’t even have her purse, then brightened. “I don’t have it on me, but if my purse is in there, then my driver’s license will be inside.”

  She described her purse for him and waited with bated breath while he went to speak with a police officer who was in the RV. A moment later, he came out holding her purse in one hand and a rush of pure relief went through her. Somehow, miraculously, the thief hadn’t taken her valuables with him when he dumped the RV.

  After comparing her face to the picture on her ID, Officer Willis handed over her purse, then led the way to the front of the RV. “I’m sure you’ll be relieved to hear that there doesn’t appear to be any obvious damage to the vehicle or your belongings. Since the person who stole it is wanted for questioning for a homicide in addition to theft of a motor vehicle, we obtained a warrant to search the RV for evidence that could help us track them down. We’re nearly done with that, but I’d like you to take a look through it as well and tell us if anything seems to be missing or out of place.”

  “Of course. Will I be able to get it back when you’re done, or will you guys impound it or something?” She had no idea how this sort of thing worked.

  “Depends on if we find anything,” he replied with a shrug. “If it’s clean, you’ll be good to go. If we find forensic evidence, we may need to impound it. Like I said, though, we’re nearly done, and we haven’t found anything yet. Whoever stole this thing was either very careful or wasn’t in it long enough to leave anything behind.”

  Tulia nodded, unable to take her eyes off the RV. She hadn’t had it long, but already, it felt like she was greeting an old friend. She really, really hoped this nightmare would be over soon.

  It was the sound of tires on gravel that made her finally tear her eyes away from the RV and look back down the road the way they’d come. A vaguely familiar SUV came around the corner with two men seated in the front, but she didn’t fully place it until the driver slowed to a stop across from where she, Angela, and Officer Willis were standing and rolled down his window.

  “Samuel?”

  “You know them?” Angela said in confusion.

  “He was at the diner earlier today,” she explained as Sam looked between them.

  “Is everything all right?” he called out, his eyes focused on her even though he was talking to their entire group.

  “We’ve got it handled, sir. You can move along,” Officer Willis responded. His tone was brusque, but not unfriendly.

  “I see.” Sam gave Tulia another long look, then glanced at her RV. A furrow formed between his brows, but his expression was quick to clear. “I’m glad you found your RV. I hope the rest of your trip is enjoyable.”

  “Thanks,” she said, a bit awkwardly. All three of them watched as Sam rolled his window up and continued down the road. She was staring after his car as it disappeared around a curve in the road when Officer Willis cleared his throat.

  “A friend of yours?”

  “Not at all,” she said. “I met him at the diner earlier. He asked all sorts of weird questions. He seemed very nosy, but nice enough, I guess.”

  “I’ve never seen him before in my life,” Angela said. “He’s obviously a tourist, of course, with that accent. How did he know we were out here, though?”

  “Do you know his full name?” Officer Willis asked.

  “Samuel Noble,” Tulia said. “He introduced himself, and we chatted a bit at the diner. He left hours ago, though. I have no idea how he knew we were on this road. The other one’s name is Marc, but I didn’t get his last name, and he didn’t say much.”

  “I’ll look into it,” Officer Willis said, frowning. Tulia could guess what he was thinking. How suspicious was it that this guy none of them knew happened to drive past them down this little dirt road that led nowhere?

  They didn’t have time to talk about it further. The police officer who had been looking through the RV came out, and Officer Willis gave Tulia the all clear to reclaim her vehicle. He wished her luck, and she promised to report it if she later discovered that anything was missing. Then, the police left, and she and Angela were alone on the quiet road with no sound but the drone of insects around them.

  “Thanks for the ride out here,” Tulia said, leaning against the side of the RV. “I’ll stop by your house and get Cicero, if that’s okay, then I can get out of your hair.”

  “Are you going to head out already?” Angela asked, sounding disappointed. “You haven’t even gone to the lake yet.”

  “I haven’t really decided yet,” Tulia admitted. “I had a campground reservation for three nights, but I didn’t show up yesterday, and they might have cancelled it. I do still want to explore the area, though.”

  “Why don’t you just park your RV at my place?” Angela suggested. “I don’t have hookups for it, but it would probably be a lot quieter than a campground, and I can show you around Marquette if you feel up to it this evening.”

  “Really? I don’t want to intrude…”

  “I mean it,” Angela said firmly. “You are more than welcome to stay.”

  Tulia bit her lip. “Yeah, all right. I’ll camp out on your property for at least tonight. As long as your brother doesn’t mind.”

  Angela shrugged. “It’s not his house. Besides, he and Devon are good guys. I know, maybe we can do a cookout tonight. We can pick up some food when we go into town.”

  Tulia laughed. “All right, that does sound fun. But I’m buying, no arguments.” She already felt in debt to Angela, and now that she had her purse back, she could begin paying the other woman back for her kindness.

  They said goodbye and promised to meet up again at Angela’s house. Tulia climbed into the RV with a light heart. She’d gotten all of her possessions back and could finally move on and start enjoying her trip. As she started the engine and carefully pulled onto the road, she hit the button to turn the radio on and hummed along to the song that played. She had almost completely forgotten that the person who had killed Tom was still out there somewhere.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  They stopped off at Angela’s house to move Cicero over from the converted rabbit cage to his own cage and give him some actual parrot food instead of questionably healthy human food. She set her laptop up to play music for him while they were gone, then plugged in her cell phone, which had died sometime between yesterday and now. Next, she sent a text message to her very concerned parents, promising them she was okay and would call them later. Then she went outside in time to see Angela toss Benny, who was sitting on the porch, her car keys.

  “Where’d Devon go?” she asked after he caught them.

  “He took a walk out in the woods,” Benny said. “You know how he gets.”

  “Did you guys argue or something?” Angela asked, raising an eyebrow. Her brother just shrugged, and she sighed. “Right, well, Tulia and I are going into town. We’re going to pick some stuff up for a bonfire this evening, so if you don’t have anything pressing to do, maybe you could stack some wood for us. How’d your job hunt go?”

  He shrugged again, and Angela grumbled all the way to Tulia’s car, which they unhooked from the back of the RV together. “You’d think he was still fourteen with the way he acts. He’s twenty, and he’s never held a job longer than a few months! He drives me absolutely insane.”

  Tulia kept her mouth shut, not sure what to say. She didn’t have any siblings and didn’t feel qualified to give advice, not that she had any.

  “I love him, of course,” Angela continued as she got into the passenger seat next to Tulia. “I mean, he’s my little bro. I’d do anything for him. I want him to do better for his own good, you know?”

  “I’m sure he’ll come around eventually,” Tulia said. She backed up and turned around, then glanced over at the other woman. “Where are we going?”

  “That’s up to you. You’re the tourist. What do you want to see?”

  “I kinda wanted to swing by the Northern Michigan University campus, just to see it. My dad almost went there when he went to college. And of course, I’d like to go to Lake Superior, and I’d like to see Marquette’s downtown district. Other than that … I’m happy to do anything.”

 

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