..

"It was your name?"

Hours of different words and combinations later and the final password was Weldon Walden—all lowercase, all one word.

"You have got to be kidding me?" Dray ran her hands over her face and rubbed her eyes to try and regain the normal eyesight that blurred from staring at a bright computer screen for too long.

Wells ignored her and dove straight into the drive. He scrolled through the documents, scanning the titles and previews. "It looks like it's just filled with digital copies of what we found in the chest."

She peered over his shoulder, holding her hair back from falling in his face. "But there were pictures in the chest. This is just a bunch of PDFs."

"We'll worry about that later." He met her eyes. "We need to go through this again."

Dray scrunched her forehead, but stood behind patiently reading along with him. He brushed off the most viable part of the evidence like he already had a plan and that in itself worried her. Such quick decisions usually led to reckless outcomes.

The documents listed brief outlines of what Ivory had discovered about the neighborhood watch as an organization. First off, it was officially called The Watch. A snide comment on the page about the lack of cleverness had Dray wishing she could have met Ivory in person.

Another page listed that most of their endeavors involved money schemes, explaining their insane wealthiness, but other illegal possibilities were robbery, murder, and embezzlement. The second one had to be true.

All the files centered around the same core group of people on top. Sheriff Heron—or Tieg, as Ivory listed him—the new Mayor of Hero, and the President of The Watch in Lockton were into something big.

"How did she get all of this information? How do we know if anything is even true?" Dray walked away from the computer. She grabbed her hair off her neck and rested her hands on top of her head, the hair in a messy pile underneath her palms.

Wells shook his head before leaning his chin on his clasped hands. "However she did, it could have gotten her killed."

The information sunk deep in Dray's mind, settling into an uneasy reality. She closed her eyes and realized how much sense it made that Wells had so little information after all this time. Death became quite an obstacle to avoid.

Her hands fell to her sides and her curls tumbled around her arms. "Maybe we should end for tonight," she said softly.

The computer clicked shut and Wells sighed, still staring straight ahead.

Dray put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. She had no idea what step to take next and let that be enough. "I'll see you tomorrow." Her voice hung in the air a lot quieter than she intended. Something felt weak in the room and it swallowed her whole.

She left his house without another word. She needed to get out. All of the things they learned weighed heavy on her heart. Better late than never, she thought.

The walk turned into a blur that continued into her home where she mindlessly made dinner and put on a movie to sit down and eat. It felt strangely similar to the night before, although something was missing, something warm.

#

A light mind greeted Dray in the morning. After a fitful first few hours of sleep, her brain gave in and she slept like a deadweight for the rest of the night, surprisingly refreshed when the sun hit her eyelids.

While going through her morning routine, Dray quickly realized if she didn't keep busy, the calm atmosphere would be stripped away in an instant, so to keep her thoughts at bay, she deemed a photoshoot the best distraction.

Dray drove her jeep, something she hadn't done much since moving to Hero, but the plan to spend time at the lake required a bit more equipment than she could carry. The sun burned hot on her skin for the early morning and she wanted to take advantage of it.

With a now waterproofed camera and her paddle board set stacked in the back of her open jeep, she took off towards the water. A few minutes later, she arrived and pulled into a gravel parking lot right on the beach—a commute she could handle.

She slung her camera over her shoulder, making sure the lens faced inwards toward her body, and pulled out her board and paddle. The board stood larger than her petite frame, so she let the end drag across the grass and sand. It was old and marked up from years of use anyway. Of course, it worked either way.

For the next couple of hours, Dray paddled around the south side of the lake, staying closer to shore because she didn't have a life jacket on and lacked the skill of a swimmer. It wasn't that she couldn't swim—she could—but would rather have something to hold onto while out in the water.

She sat on the board with her legs swishing in the subtle waves and captured the liveliness of the lake. She discovered people swam and played water games and sports on the south side, whereas the north part of the lake was more calm and consequently, a place where people like to fish. The body of water was large enough to accommodate both without disturbing each other. It was a perfect set up.

Pictures of the townspeople far outnumber those of nature and Dray couldn't deny the feeling of happiness that she got from watching others.

Unfortunately, nothing lasted forever and soon Dray felt the heat rising from her shoulders. She leisurely paddled back and once on shore, struggled to gather her things in one trip, but certainly too stubborn to take two.

"You need some help?"

Dray bobbled her paddle board and it nearly landed on her foot. She looked over her shoulder, brushing hair out of her face.

"Yes." She smiled, nodding.

Peter Middleton lifted the board from the ground and carried it to her jeep. He, of course, made it look easy and the rest of her things found their place in the back in no time.

Dray leaned over the center console and placed her camera in the passenger's seat. She jumped back out and straightened her shirt.

"Thank you, Peter," she said, when he came into view from the backside of the vehicle.

He stepped forward and brushed his hands together, ridding them of sand and dirt. "Hey, it's no problem, Dray."

"How have you been?" It was nice seeing him, a friend. It made this town a bit more normal.

Peter chuckled. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" His eyes shined bright. "I'm great, though. Thanks for asking!"

Dray's good mood swelled.

She grinned. "I'm glad and I'm doing well, too."

"Good." He nodded, a crooked smile turning up his mouth. "You know what would make you do even better?" His eyebrow raised towards his hairline. "A barbecue tonight at my house."

"Oh," Dray stumbled on her words, "yeah, sure."

"You should bring Wells, too," he added with a very obnoxious wink.

She laughed. This side of Peter she could get used to. "Not sure how your brother will take that."

Peter waved her off. "Not his house."

A large smile drew across Dray's face. His carefree attitude was enough to make her want to go, but the disregard for his brother was icing on the cake.

She agreed and asked for details, quickly parting ways afterwards. A couple hours stood between Dray and the party and she wanted to get some work done.

Once home, Dray edited her photos from the morning, making a small lunch to help her though. The photos would make for an excellent blog, making her website a bit brighter for the upcoming season. It showed too many dark tones at the moment.

Those couple hours sped by and Dray still sat at her computer, but after one final save and a click of the publish button, she finished. A short cheer echoed through the hallway as she darted into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Running late, but all clean and ready for more food, she jogged to Wells house and knocked on his door, feeling a bit cautious of barging in. Although they were getting closer, it occurred to her that she didn't know what he did in his spare time and did not want to walk in unannounced.

With no answer, she called his name as she rapped her knuckles on the door. Granted, she wasn't as patient as the first time and walked in soon after the name left her lips. She found Wells asleep on the couch with his computer on his lap.

"Wells." Dray stood a couple feet from his head.

He didn't move.

Wells," she said again with a bit more force.

Again, he was still.

"Weldon!"

"No! What!" Wells jumped up, his computer nearly sliding off his legs in the process. He shut it, placing it on the coffee table and ran his hands through his hair and over his eyes. "Don't call me that."

Dray snorted. "It is your name," she said with a hand on her hip.

"Whatever." He groaned and fell back into the couch.

She frowned and crossed her arms. "You have twenty minutes to cheer up because we are going to a barbecue."

Wells lifted his arm, rolling on his side, and opened his mouth.

"Nope, you need a break. We are going, despite the possible disaster awaiting us," she mumbled through the end.

His attention zeroed in on her and he popped up.

Dray shrugged and looked everywhere but him. "It's at Peter Middleton's place."

A loud groan filled the room even though muffled from the pillow Wells threw against his face.

She yanked the pillow out of his grasp, wrapping her arms securely around it, and sat down next to him. "At least it'll get your mind off things." With no response from the other side of the couch, Dray kicked his legs off the cushions. "Go get presentable."

Wells moped as he dragged his limbs to his bedroom.

A soft smile popped on Dray's face watching his retreating figure—one victory for her. She plucked out the remote that hid in-between couch cushions and turned on the television to a random show while she waited.

..

[EDITED OCTOBER 9, 2021]

Twelve chapters done and lots more to go! 

Thank you so much for reading. :)