When Devils Sing(89)

CHAPTER 36ISAIAH




45 HOURS


For all of Isaiah’s strengths, patience was low on his list of exemplary qualities. He was entranced by the path toward knowledge, but waiting to learn something, when it was just out of reach, was enough to drive him mad.

Later that night, after the party had long since ended, he sat in the passenger seat of Reid’s Land Rover while Reid filled in Neera and Sam on the findings of Leblanc’s boat. Isaiah remained quiet, lost in his own thoughts, as he considered how he was meant to learn Leblanc’s computer password.

I’m so close.

“What do you think, Isaiah?” Neera asked.

Isaiah returned to the present. “Sorry?”

“What Sam just said about Dawson—what do you think?”

Isaiah angled in the seat, turning to look back at her. The four of them were awash in artificial light from the Rover’s dashboard, casting stark shadows across their faces. Storm clouds blotted dark against the night sky, blocking out any light from the moon. “Would you mind repeating it?”

“I was saying,” Sam began, “that I think Dawson’s disappearance is related to his new job. The one working for my daddy, and by extension, for Russ Langley.”

Isaiah looked pointedly at Reid. “Did you know—?”

“No,” Reid said quickly. “He never told me what the job was. Only that it paid well and could lead to something better down the line. This is news to me.”

Isaiah was reminded of his interview with Andrea. The blood Neera had found in Dawson’s motel room. The email. Dawson’s awareness that something bad was going to happen to him. All the little puzzle pieces began to assemble before him. “If he was working with Wiley, what if that job was making him do things that he wasn’t willing to do? Something related to all these people that go missing around town?” He glanced at Reid, then at Neera. “What if the job has something to do with all the people who’ve died around here in strange ways?”

Neera visibly bristled as the question settled over them, her gaze lingering on Sam. It was a strange sensation to be aware of their individual crisscrossing histories and motivations leading to this moment.

“Dawson got a new place when he started working … right, Reid?” Sam asked, breaking the heavy silence. “Did you ever see it? Do you know where it is?”

“No.” Reid cleared his throat. “It was another secret.”

“Great,” Sam sighed, rolling her green eyes. “I’m willing to bet whatever’s out there is something Dawson had to hide. Something that could finally give us some real answers.”

“How’re we supposed to find it?” Isaiah asked, frustration growing in the edges of his voice.

“One thing I know is that Russ never paid my daddy off the books,” Sam said. “He washed the money through his family’s various businesses, including the Tavern. Maybe Dawson was paid the same way? Maybe his new address can be found in the restaurant’s office?”

Reid nodded in agreement. “My father does like a paper trail. He says it helps keep all parties involved accountable.”

“Okay,” Isaiah conceded. “The Tavern it is. Are we doing this now?” He looked between Sam and Neera. “Please tell me one of you has a key.”

“No, but I know where to find one,” Sam answered.

Ten minutes later, the four of them stood outside the Tavern’s back door, as Sam knelt on the ground, unlocking a tiny lockbox attached to the wall. She unlocked it with ease, then led them inside and into the pitch-black kitchen. An EXIT sign shone above them, sending shades of red glinting off the steel, sharp surfaces.

Once they were through the kitchen and the alarm was turned off, Sam and Neera led them to the back of the restaurant and to the Tavern’s office door.

Neera said, “So, the plan is that Sam will stand watch, Reid will be outside the door, and you and I will look around the office. Should give us enough opportunity to split if anyone shows up unannounced.”

Once Isaiah and Neera were inside, Sam shut the door gently behind them, cloaking them in near darkness.

“Should we turn on the lights?” Neera asked.

Isaiah pointed to the windows across the room. “The windows face the water. It may look suspicious if the office lights are on in the middle of the night.”

“Fair enough,” Neera said. “Flashlights?”

Isaiah turned his on by way of response. He moved the light around the room, taking in the space. There were the usual office features: a desk with a computer, a bookshelf, filing cabinets. On the far side of the room, beside the windows, was a chair and a guitar.

“I’ll take the filing cabinet if you’ll take the desk,” Isaiah suggested.

Neera nodded in agreement. Isaiah began opening the filing cabinet drawers, while Neera riffled through the desk. “We’re looking for what, exactly?” she asked.

“Any paperwork on Dawson,” Isaiah said. “Or anything suspicious.”

“Suspicious,” Neera repeated. “All right.”





SAM


IN THE HALLWAY, Sam studied Reid Langley. She was standing at the far end, with one eye on the Tavern’s front door, and the other on Reid kneeling outside Grant’s office. Her gaze kept flitting back to him as if he might disappear if she wasn’t looking. He’d kept his own eyes trained downward for the past few minutes, likely not brave enough to face her.