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Dominic pointed toward the north, but Theo’s interest was to the east.
“Dominic?” Theo stopped short as he stared off into the distance. Had they still been in the dense part of the woods, he never would have noticed the faint smoke billowing into the air. “What is that?”
By the time that Dominic had turned around, the hazy smolder had faded into nothing. Theo figured they were a quarter of a mile away from whoever had obviously burned something, and he couldn’t just leave well enough alone.
“I want to head in that direction.”
“Are you sure?” Dominic asked as he adjusted the bill of his ballcap once more. “This detour took a good hour off our day as it is, but to veer off on a course that will take us an additional hour or two might mean we don’t clear some of these cabins you wanted to check out.”
“I’ll come back up here tomorrow if necessary.”
Theo would take full responsibility for them not being able to clear as many sites as possible, but he didn’t want to risk missing something because such a deviation from the schedule might be a waste of time. Granted, there were only so many hours of daylight left, but he wouldn’t risk missing something pertinent just because he might have to drag his ass up this mountain tomorrow.
“You’d have to come up here with Jace, Riggs, or Erica,” Dominic said as he fell into step beside Theo. He kept an eye on the sky for any sign of more smoke while they walked, mindful that they were about to enter another area of thick vegetation. “I’m supposed to interview Chad Thompson tomorrow for my blog.”
“Chad Thompson?”
Dominic shot Theo a sideways look of disbelief before carefully stepping over a fallen log. They were once again walking over rough terrain, and Theo began to pay more attention to where he was stepping than Dominic’s facial expressions.
“A legendary climber, though he retired a few years ago.”
“You climb?”
“Nah,” Dominic said as he continued forward. His voice was a bit muffled, but Theo could still hear him clear enough. “I’m not an adrenaline junky.”
“You volunteer for search parties when a hiker goes missing,” Theo pointed out as he followed behind. Every now and then he would scan the area around them, as was his habit in any setting. “I’ve had adrenaline pumping through my veins all day at the thought of crossing paths with a black bear.”
“Didn’t you say your injury was from a case involving a serial killer?”
Theo shrugged, not that Dominic caught the movement considering he was focused on the path in front of them. Both fell silent as they navigated over some rocky landscape. Once they were back on solid soil, Theo explained the main difference between a human and a wild animal.
“I can read the body language of an individual. Granted, I was a little too late in reacting to the man who we’d closed in on, but that error was mine and mine alone. A black bear? Coyote? Snake? They’re unpredictable.”
“Hiking comes second nature to me, I guess. I grew up in Moonshine Valley, as did Riggs and Jace. We weren’t in the same class or anything. Riggs is three years older than me, and I’m two years older than Jace.” Dominic came to a stop so that he could take a drink from his water bottle. It wasn’t a canteen, but instead one of those travel bottles that could easily be hooked to his backpack. “We all know the trails well enough, but I got lost when I was young. Spent a night roaming these mountains, wondering if I would ever see my parents again.”
Theo could see where this conversation was heading, and he now understood Dominic a bit better than before. Getting lost in the mall as a child could leave a lasting impression, but to be lost in the Smoky Mountains without water, food, or other supplies could be a death sentence.
“I give back when I can, but hiking isn’t about the adrenaline rush. It’s connecting with nature, although there’s no denying that she can be brutal at times.” Dominic grimaced, as if he’d heard his own words. “Sorry. What happened to Luna Breen was awful. Like I said, I want to help. How far away do you think that smoke was located? I caught the tail end of it, so it’s difficult to calculate the distance.”
“Maybe a quarter of a mile.”
They continued to walk with Dominic asking questions about the investigation. Theo wanted to believe the man regarding his claims of wanting to help, but it was challenging to separate the man from his job. Regardless that Dominic mostly concentrated on a hiking blog, it would be best for everyone on the team to remember that Dominic freelanced for a local paper. Anything said could be taken out of context, and Theo refused to be responsible for details being leaked to the public. Brook had been mindful of that very fact during this morning’s briefing.
At least twenty minutes had passed before Theo and Dominic stopped in front of a slight incline. Dominic studied the terrain before pointing at something in the distance.
“We can access higher ground from those rocks, or we can take the long way around.” Dominic took off his cap and ran a hand down his face. There had been some perspiration on his forehead, but Theo doubted the man was too hot. There was a slight chill in the air. Their exertion from the hike kept their body temperatures raised to the point of comfort. “The longer way around would probably only add five to ten minutes.”
Theo figured that he would be hiking these mountains tomorrow given the detour, so a little more time added for safety wouldn’t matter in the long run.
“Better safe than sorry,” Theo replied as he fell behind Dominic. The blogger set his cap back on his head. “When we reach the top of this peak, we’ll take a small break so that I can touch base with Bit.”
“Wasn’t your boss supposed to meet with Luna Breen’s family members today?”
Seeing as Dominic already knew the answer to his own question, Theo didn’t bother to respond. He’d prefer not to talk about the case in specifics. He also recognized when someone was trying to dig for information. Dominic should probably spend more of his free time blogging than freelance writing for the newspaper. He wasn’t experienced enough to pull one over on someone who had dealt with the press numerous times over the years.
“I’m curious,” Dominic said with an intense interest, causing tension to settle into Theo’s shoulders. Dominic was going to try for the direct route. He was a nice enough guy, but he’d been slowly doing his best to work Brook into the conversation all morning. Not only wasn’t Theo going to discuss the case in specifics, he sure as hell wasn’t going to talk about Brook. “Does your boss ever talk about her brother?”
“Dominic, you seem like a good guy,” Theo stated as they went into the final stretch of the angled terrain. They’d avoided the rocks, but there was no avoiding the steep landscape. “I really don’t want to find out otherwise. Do you understand me?”
