Page 18 of A Sea of Unspoken Things

“Just wondering. I didn’t know if he was working this area with anyone else.”

“I mean, just Josie.”

“Josie?”

“Another researcher out at the coast. Fort Bragg, I think. She was Johnny’s counterpart, kind of overseeing his work for CAS.”

I couldn’t remember Johnny ever talking about her, but the name still felt familiar. I made a mental note to take a closer look at Johnny’s records for any mention of her. If she was Johnny’s counterpart, they’d probably worked together in person. She could even be the owner of the backpack.

“James?” A woman’s voice called out from down the bar, and I looked up to see Amelia Travis.

It took a few seconds to place the forest ranger. She wore a long-sleeve denim shirt dress, her hair down and long, swept to one side. She looked almost a decade younger out of her uniform.

I waved in reply and she stood, making her way toward us, drink in hand. When Olivia’s shoulders drew back, her lips pursing a little, I immediately clocked the change in her demeanor. She was watching Amelia’s approach from the corner of her eye.

“I thought that was you.” Amelia leaned in close, trying to raise her voice over the noise of the bar. “You settling in all right?”

“I am.”

“Good. Heard you made it over to the school today.”

Beside me, Olivia was pointedly staring in the opposite direction.

“Sorry, small town.” Amelia laughed. “Just about everything is news around here. Wanted to make sure you hadn’t run into any problems.”

The way she phrased the non-question made me a little uneasy. “No. No problems.”

She waited a beat. “Well, you just let me know if there’s anything I can help with. Anything at all.”

“I will. Thanks.”

“You look after this one.” Amelia was talking to Olivia now, gesturing toward me.

Olivia’s placid smile was dismissive at best, but I couldn’t tell if Amelia had picked up on it.

“You two have a good night.” Amelia disappeared into the crowd, leaving an empty space between us.

“What’s that look about?” I asked.

She shrugged. “Nothing. She’s nice enough. Just a bit meddlesome.”

“What does that mean?”

“Travis takes her job very seriously. She keeps a close eye on things, and you know how people around here are. They don’t really like that.”

I knew what she meant. With the exception of the loggers who moved through town periodically, new residents were few and far between. Even after decades, Timothy Branson, who’d had the office before Amelia, had been kept at arm’s length. Especially after Griffin Walker died. People were devastated by what happened, but the moment Branson raised more questions about Griffin’s death than could be answered, the town was quick to cut him out. Like if there was a lie to be unearthed, a truth to be discovered, it wasn’t an outsider’s job to do it. That’s what had made Rhett Walker knock on my door that day.

“She said she was a friend of Johnny’s,” I said, meaning it as a question.

Olivia snorted. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“Yeah, I thought that didn’t sound right.”

What I was really thinking was that it seemed careless, considering the fact that he had secrets that wouldn’t be safe in the hands of someone like Amelia. It wouldn’t take much digging to begin putting pieces together that we’d worked hard to bury. But why would Amelia lie about her and Johnny being friends?

I took in the way Olivia shifted on the stool. She reached up, tucking the hair behind her ear. All at once, it dawned on me.

“Were you and Johnny…?” I didn’t finish.