She pointed to the final series of dots. “But if this is an intentional dot and not a spot of decay on the wood, that would turn this final e into an o.”
“Right,” he agreed. “But if the two is the slot canyon, and the F is which crevasse we turn into, then the next four letters are directional turns deeper into the Maze, an o wouldn’t make sense.”
“The way you’ve drawn it looks right to me.” She looked up, hyperaware of every sound.
“Do we really think the first code was a decoy? Is that something Duke would do?”
“It is absolutely something he would do. I almost feel stupid for not anticipating it.”
He gazed down at the dirt and up at the log, back and forth, confirming. “If the photo of Duke is a mirror image, then this is definitely the right tree stump.”
“Let’s roll with it,” Lily said, tugging on his sleeve. She looked back up the path toward the slot canyons, paranoid and unable to shake the feeling that they weren’t alone. “Those two idiots might not be the brightest stars in the sky, but assuming we’re right about the tree, it’s only a matter of time before they realize that the earlier directions were wrong. And if they find us, I don’t think they’ll just zip-tie us again.”
Feet crunched through leaves behind them and this time Lily knew she hadn’t imagined it. She whipped around, knife in hand, and saw a man backlit in the low-hanging sun, standing about ten yards away. They both pushed to their feet, Leo shoving her behind him, shielding her.
Lily moved to shove him behind her when she heard Leo’s relieved voice: “Dude.”
“Bradley?”
“Goddamn, there you are.” Laughing as he took in their expressions, Bradley shook his head. “You both look so panicked. It’s just me.”
Leo and Lily exchanged a brief, confused look.
“How—what are you doing here?” Leo asked. “Nicole said you’d gone back to New York.”
Bradley looked momentarily surprised. “You spoke to— Oh, right. I told her I was flying home, but really I just couldn’t handle knowing you two were going on without me.” He winced self-deprecatingly. “This was the most fun I’ve had in my life, and I couldn’t miss it. So tell me what’s happened! I bet it’s been insane.” He gave a wild Bradley-mountain-man shout and grinned at them.
Lily imagined that in any other circumstance Leo would walk over and embrace his friend. But he didn’t move from her side—and she didn’t lower her knife. She also couldn’t shake the weird feeling that coiled in her gut like a rattlesnake. Why would Bradley risk coming into the canyon alone? Why, if he trusted Leo, wouldn’t he meet them back in Hester, as planned?
Oblivious to the vibe, Bradley approached and gestured down to the stump. “Is it the same tree as in the photo? Holy shit, you guys. You found it!”
Lily noticed Leo use his foot to subtly wipe the code clear in the dirt, and her stomach dropped. Something was definitely off. When did Bradley leave Nicole, and how did he find them so fast?
Unfortunately, Bradley noticed, too, and a shadow moved over his features. “What? Don’t be like that, man.”
“It’s weird,” Leo said quietly. “You showing up here? I’m just thinking it through.”
Bradley’s laugh was forced. “Come on. What’s weird? It’s me. Here to help. Teamwork, right? Isn’t that what Lily told us this is all about? What’s the code?”
Leo scratched his jaw and looked away, wincing.
“Seriously?” Bradley said, wounded. “It’s me. What’s there to think about?” He reached out to jovially smack Leo’s arm. “Already this treasure has messed with your head.”
“It isn’t that.” Leo looked back over his shoulder, toward the direction the other men had disappeared earlier. “The guys who held us at gunpoint today weren’t surprised that there were only two of us down here. I’m trying to figure that out.”
“What guys?” Bradley asked, shaking his head.
Leo ignored this. “We knew they wouldn’t be surprised to hear that Terry bailed, because we read his text messages. But how did they know we split up if Terry hadn’t answered them since? Who told them we split up?”
“Sorry, what are you talking about?” Bradley leaned down to catch Leo’s eyes. “Someone held you at gunpoint? Was it the guys from town?” He wrinkled his brow. “Lily’s bartender boyfriend?”