“Even his own daughter?”
“He’s a killer, Dean.” Mel flicked a hand at the rugged terrain surrounding them. “Look around. It’s not like he’d have any trouble hiding the body.”
The aggravation in her voice was a weird sort of comfort. Affirming, really, because she never held him to an impossible standard of being chill and unaffected about the things that mattered. Her obvious frustration also helped him focus on how best to mitigate the immediate dangers. “I’m not exactly comfortable with you landing in the middle of this weird Spalding and Atwell friendship, but I agree, she didn’t show any signs of recognizing you.”
“It will stay that way. It has too.” Mel cleaned her sunglasses with the hem of her shirt, but Dean wasn’t fooled. She was starting to worry. “The women in his household had a few friendlier interactions with me in the market, but I never left the base without my full disguise.”
Dean wished for a picture of her back then so he could verify the effectiveness of that disguise for himself. Reaching across the console for her hand, he said, “We’ll sort it out. I promise we’ll both get through this week in one piece.”
Her mouth drooped down at the corner, a sure sign she was struggling with some internal debate. “If you think my being here is a problem, I’ll exit stage left,” she said. “We can fake a family emergency or something and you can call in someone to cover for me.”
“You keep telling me Atwell won’t figure out who you really are,” Dean said. “If that’s true, why would I call in Logan or Roman to replace you?”
“It’s true.” She fiddled with the snaps on her jacket.
The chat with Atwell had been unsettling. The man was way too curious about Mel. The reasons for that curiosity didn’t concern Dean nearly as much as the actions Atwell might take to resolve it.
“Talk to me, Mel.”
“I don’t want anyone to get hurt. Not you or me or anyone else from my past or present.” She took a deep breath. “Let’s just agree that I’m overtired and it’s good to have options.”
He wasn’t fooled by the breezy tone. If he let Mel bow out, she’d probably go searching Lattice Creek Ranch for evidence against Atwell. No way would he let her do that solo. The Athena Project success record came down to the effective partnerships. He was counting on her to remember that.
“Fine. Options are good.” He pulled to a stop, in line with the other vehicles. “Together we’ll make sure no one gets hurt.” Especially not Mel.
Taking a deep breath, he dug deep for his content, drone-flying newlywed husband persona and climbed out of the truck. He wished he hadn’t told Atwell he’d be the one flying this morning. It left Mel vulnerable. Dean couldn’t exactly cover her six to his usual standards while he kept the drone airborne.
Spalding’s team was spreading out, consulting their phones, tablets, and spiral notebooks while directing all questions to Lacy. The film director used binoculars and sized up their surroundings. The rising sun poured over the ridge, soaking the mountain in warm, golden light.
“Atwell’s not here,” Mel murmured at the tailgate.
Dean wasn’t sure how to interpret that news. On the one hand, the man couldn’t harass Mel, and yet it could be that getting everyone away from the ranch gave him time to conduct less than legal business. “Let’s assume that’s a plus.”
Spalding turned and headed straight for them. “This will be perfect.” He hovered while Dean readied the drone for the first flight. Bouncing on his toes, the director called Kent over and they spread out the map to show Dean the terrain they wanted him to cover. The route stayed well away from Atwell’s home, but he might be able to work with the wind and take a peek at the undeveloped areas of the dude ranch.
If all this acreage belonged to Atwell, he had plenty of places to stash contraband or conduct other criminal activity.
With Mel holding the monitor, hemmed in by Lacy and Spalding, Dean got the drone up into the air. He circled directly over them, making sure the camera and controls worked properly before starting the recording.
In a cluster nearby, Spalding and the others talked about several scenes, various lighting options, and something called the second unit as the drone swept back and forth over the area. Dean had positioned himself near the truck, as close to Mel as possible. He heard her muttering and, glancing over, he caught her scowling over the monitor.
“Everything okay?” he asked, eyeing the position of the drone in the sky. No one seemed too interested in his progress, so he guided the device closer to the ranch for a quick sweep.
“We’re all good,” Mel confirmed. After several minutes, she called over the director. “Mr. Spalding, how much should we cover here?”
He pushed up his sunglasses and leaned over Mel’s shoulder, squinting at her monitor. “No, no. That’s wrong. I want the mountain slopes. Lacy.” He snapped his fingers and his assistant rushed over. “Tell them what I need.”
Lacy soothed her boss and murmured to Mel. Mel, in turn, relayed suggestions to Dean.
He guided the drone in the requested direction, gathering video while the sun climbed higher. After more than two of hours of flying in the changing light, he brought the drone in and Mel sent the raw video file to the studio’s cloud storage account as Lacy requested.
Spalding’s voice boomed through the clear air, shattering the serenity of the morning. “To the Garden of the Gods. If we work swiftly, we can get in all the views I’m after today.”
Dale hustled forward, peering into the bed of the truck. “You two have hiking gear, right?”
“Never leave home without it.” Mel patted the equipment box mounted to the truck bed. “The right equipment is a big help when you go off the beaten path around here.”
“Right, good. Okay.” Dale smiled sheepishly, his gaze skimming the area. “To cover what Neil needs we’ll divide and conquer once we get to the park.” He pulled out his phone and a moment later, both Dean and Mel’s phones chimed. “We’ll split up and take two routes according to our drone permits,” he explained. “Lacy will be in touch when she finishes making arrangements for lunch. Does that work for you two?”
Dean didn’t like it, but he couldn’t come up with a good argument to change the plan. “You hired us,” he said. “We’re on board for whatever you need.”
“Great. Thanks, man.” Dale jogged off.
Dean avoided Mel’s gaze while they secured the drones in the bed of the pickup. He had too many questions he wouldn’t ask in front of an audience. “You need to stop by the cabin for anything?”
“No. I’m good. You?”