Title: Just Another Day in Paradise
Author: Jadzibelle
Rating: Gen
Wordcount: 1276
“Wow,” Duke said, blinking.
“Is that-”
“Yeah,” he said, already reaching for his phone. “Yeah, that, that definitely is.”
“I- what- why-”
“It’s Haven,” Duke said, the words laden with too-familiar meaning. Because really, that was all the explanation anyone could really need. Or offer. The phone rang once, before Nathan’s familiar gruff growl- not as hostile as it would have been, even a few weeks ago- asked him what he needed. “Uh, hey, yeah. I’d like to report a body, you- may want to get down here. Now. You and Audrey. And, y’know. Whichever of your cops don’t ask too many questions.”
“...Tell me you didn’t-”
“Jesus, Nate, no, not those kinds of questions,” Duke replied, not sure if he should be irked or reassured- he’d thought they were past the whole ‘random accusations of murder’ thing, really, after the mess with Lester and the misunderstanding after what had happened to Geoff and the whole regrettable discussion after Hansen, but that had at least sounded less like a ‘do I get to arrest you’ and more like a ‘do I have to arrest you’, and those were very, very different questions in the complex balance that was their relationship. “Haven questions.”
Nathan sighed, and even over the phone Duke could tell just how much eyebrow he was putting into the scowl audible in the sound.
“Tell me where you are.”
“Down near- y’know what, off of the coast road, six miles south of town, just- drive until you see Evi, she’ll be waiting.”
“Oh, that’s fair,” Evi muttered, and Duke scowled at her.
“If you’d rather stay here with the body-” he started, because honestly, he’d be just as happy making the hike back to the road.
“No, no, I- you stay, I’ll walk back up,” Evi said, and Duke turned his attention back to his phone.
“Evi will be waiting,” he repeated, so that Nathan knew the matter was settled.
“We’ll be there in twenty,” Nathan said, and hung up.
“What is wrong with this town,” Evi commented, shaking her head. “And since when do you call things in?”
“Since shit like this started turning up on the beach,” Duke said, motioning, and he tilted his head back toward the road. “Be careful.”
“...Right,” Evi said, lips pursing, and Duke reconsidered the wisdom of sending her off on her own- but someone should stay there, and someone needed to flag Nathan down, and there were only the two of them. It sucked, but it would have to do.
And better to have Evi headed back toward the road than stationary and isolated.
Evi didn’t say anything else, just headed back up the trail, and Duke took a few steps back, trying not to step on anything that might be important for Nathan and Audrey to look at.
So much for taking a day off and doing something normal.
***
Nathan slowed when he spotted Evi, standing impatiently by the side of the road in a windbreaker and hiking boots; a quick check to make sure there wasn’t any oncoming traffic, and he swung around and parked on the shoulder.
Audrey was out of the truck before he was, greeting Evi with a polite and unconvincing smile.
“Evi,” she said, managing to make it sound like a greeting, “going to walk us back?”
“Oh, no,” Evi replied, shaking her head. “I think I’m just going to start heading back. Tell Duke I’ll wait for him at home-” Audrey tensed, just slightly, at that, and Nathan wasn’t sure he could blame her, “-and he can make it up to me then.”
“Sure,” Audrey said, her expression going carefully bland. “Just- what are we looking for, here?”
“Follow the left fork of the trail a mile and a half,” Evi said. “Over the bridge, take a right, there’s the body.”
“Great. Thanks,” Audrey said, and Evi shook her head.
“Good luck,” she said, and she started back up the road.
Nathan circled around to Audrey’s side, and considered the path.
“Least it’s a nice day,” he observed, as Audrey frowned at the trail.
“Because you can tell?” she asked, the question a little sharp.
“Don’t need to,” he replied, a hint of reproach in his tone. “Small town small talk, heard how nice it is from six people so far.”
“...Right,” Audrey said, and she looked down, some of the tension in her shoulders shifting. “Sorry.”
“‘S fine,” he said, shrugging. Audrey got tense around Evi; Nathan didn’t exactly blame her. He wasn’t particularly impressed by her choosing to leave instead of at least waiting for them to send Duke back up- she’d sounded like she was taking this whole thing personally, and Nathan was at least pretty sure none of this was Duke’s fault.
Not that he had any intention of getting involved in Duke’s marital issues.
“C’mon,” he said, motioning to the trail. “Let’s just get this done.”
Audrey nodded, and started down the path; she glanced over at him after a moment, and tilted her head, expression pensive. “Do you really think he found-”
“I hope not,” Nathan said, but he doubted even Duke would make up something like this.
***
Duke was waiting, as promised, just past the bridge. He looked anxious, shifting from foot to foot, and he looked up as soon as he heard them coming- Audrey saw the moment he realized it was just the two of them, saw the alarm enter his expression, and she held up a hand before he could ask.
“Evi said she was going to head back into town,” she said, and Duke’s expression went pinched for an instant, before it leveled out into a marginally annoyed frown. “Said she’d meet you back at the Rouge. She’s fine.”
“Yeah, this- definitely wasn’t in the plan for today,” Duke said, shrugging, and Audrey paused deliberately, hesitating over a patch of uneven ground. It wasn’t actually difficult enough to really give her pause, but the moment of visible uncertainty was enough to make Duke reach out and offer a hand. She curled her fingers around his wrist and used him to aid her balance as she stepped closer, flicking a warm smile up at him as she did, and the furrow between his brows evened out.
“Never is,” Nathan grunted, taking a wider step and scowling at the path. “Where’s-”
“Right here,” Duke said, pushing a clump of branches back, and clearing the view, and Audrey felt her breath catch in her throat; a tingle of alarm and disbelief swept over her, and her hand went to her gun out of instinct.
“Wow,” she said, after a moment, and Nathan scowled more fiercely, stepping around her to get closer.
“Yeah,” Duke said. “Like I said... Haven questions.”
“You’re not kidding,” Audrey said, taking a cautious step forward in Nathan’s wake. “That’s-”
“Yeah,” Duke said.
“Had a report... two, three months back,” Nathan said. “Thought it was somebody seeing things- thought it might’a been Jackie’s Trouble.”
“This... is definitely not any kind of illusion,” Audrey said, pushing down the pang of distress that rose up at the reminder of what had happened with Jackie and Ian. “I, I can see this, so it’s got to be here.”
“We’re, we’re still thinking Trouble, though, right?” Duke asked, with a wide, uneasy smile. “This- somebody made it, or- or turned into it? We don’t actually- Bigfoot isn’t real, right?”
“...Right,” Audrey said, considering the hulking, furry figure sprawled inelegantly over almost ten feet of trail. It could almost have looked human- if not for the size, and the fur, and the strange shape to the hands and over-large feet. “Totally not real.”
