AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“There’s no evidence.”
“There’s plenty of evidence.”
“It’s all speculation.”
Cal slid into the passenger seat, and Dante, the sheriff’s big black German Shepherd, poked his nose between the seats in greeting.
“Hi, boy,” Cal said, patting Dante’s massive head.
Ash started the Tahoe, and they headed out of town toward Veronica’s house on Bluff Road. The tension in the car was palpable. Ash kept his gaze on the road, but his knuckles were white on the steering wheel. The silence was only interrupted by the occasional squawk of his radio from dispatch.
“Look,” Cal began, “I get it. You’re a stick-to-the-facts, evidence-based kind of guy. That’s why you’re a good sheriff.”
“I appreciate your support,” Ash replied dryly. “But, yeah, show me physical evidence. Until then, I’m not entertaining fairy tales.”
“You’re chasing a killer who is recreating scenes from a horror novel,” Cal reminded, trying to poke a hole in the sheriff’s impenetrable pragmatism. “And you don’t want to entertain fairy tales? Little late for that.”
Ash rumbled something unflattering under his breath, which Cal chose to ignore. “Connelly’s book is based on local legends, and The Shadow Stalker is the heart of it all.”
“There’s no such thing as The Shadow Stalker,” Ash said through clenched teeth, staring straight ahead at the dark road. “The FBI looked at all the cold cases and agreed they’re unconnected. You’re grasping at straws, Holden.”
“You’re too focused on the legend. You can’t see past the fiction to the facts underneath.”
Ash was silent for a moment. “Fine,” he said abruptly. “Then lay it out for me.”
And so Cal did, starting with Jennifer Anderson in 1987 and Stephanie Walsh in 1990. “He seems to have taken an eight-year break, then killed Maria Socktish in 1998. By then, he’d dialed in his M.O., and the kills became more frequent. One or two victims a year that we know of, but there have been a lot of other disappearances—like Alexis and Ellie’s sister, Hope—that could also be attributed to him. And it can’t be a coincidence that we have the author who wrote the book on the Shadow Stalker in town, and there have been three new victims in as many months.”
Cal let the silence stretch, broken only by Dante’s soft, questioning whine from the back seat.
“I’m listening,” Ash said finally.
“The Shadow Stalker in Connelly’s book was a creature of the night, an amalgamation of fear. But what we’re seeing from our research is a very calculated, very disturbed man who knows our town’s lore and uses it as his cover.”
“Okay. And how does the super fan fit in?”
Cal shrugged. “I think it’s pretty obvious. There are two killers. One methodical, and one fanatical.”
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Ash muttered as he turned onto Veronica’s road.
chapter thirty-two
Veronica had more fun than she imagined she would. The women were all smart, funny, and, most of all, kind. Every one of them checked in with her at various times throughout the night, ensuring she wasn’t overwhelmed. By the time the party began to break up, she had all their numbers saved in her phone.
She’d never had a girl tribe before.
She kind of liked it.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much.
Sasha was the first to leave, claiming exhaustion and calling Donovan to come pick her up.
“Well, of course you’re exhausted,” Anna had said somewhat tipsily. “You’re making a whole-ass human!”
Rose was next, saying she wanted to check in with her new hire before closing time at The Mad Dog, and Anna caught a ride with her to go home and relieve the babysitter. Shortly after they left, Ellie fell asleep on the couch, leaving just Veronica and Alexis to clean up. She didn’t mind, though. She’d had fun with the others but enjoyed Alexis’s company the most.
Alexis had a sharp wit, and her laughter was infectious. She was surprisingly easy to talk to. She had a way of making you feel like what you were saying was the most interesting thing in the world. Despite the horrors she had gone through just a few months ago, there was a light in her eyes that Veronica found both comforting and inspiring.
“I hope this wasn’t too much,” Alexis said as they cleared the empty wine glasses and discarded paper plates stained with pizza grease.
