“Leaving the station now.” Thankfully, heading in the opposite direction.
“I see him,” Boone said unexpectedly.
Charlie gripped the door tightly as the tense conversation continued.
“He’s turned around and is heading back toward Pine Haven. He just passed me. I don’t recognize the driver. I’m going to light him up.”
“I’m heading back to assist,” Will responded.
Ryan floored the gas and flew through town toward the winding road that would take him and Charlie on the opposite side of the mountain and to the small cabin in the middle of the woods.
“The driver’s pulling over.” Boone had managed to intercept the person following Will and he appeared to be cooperating. Something about that seemed too easy in Ryan’s mind. It felt like a distraction.
Chapter Fifteen
Foolish, foolish, people. They thought they’d tricked me. What they didn’t realize was I could get to her any time I wanted. But first I needed to know who Pete might have told about me.
The journals came close to revealing the truth. The one hidden in the barn was useless so it didn’t matter that they’d found it. I read it long ago and left it there to be found after his death. Let them go chasing their tails.
The journals from Pete’s house were dated months before I killed him, which meant there was one missing. It had to be because Pete was the type of man who had to see the details written down on paper to untangle the puzzle in his head. He’d kept notes throughout his investigation. Something was missing.
I studied the old guy’s behavior through the years looking for that moment when he found the truth. Keeping him close without him ever realizing he had a killer in his midst until it was too late.
The cabin appeared through the dense woods surrounding it. The police had been hovering around it for days. Today, they were occupied with my little game. It would give me the time needed to search Pete’s house more thoroughly for the missingjournal. I know they hadn’t found it yet because if they had, I’d be arrested.
I’d left my vehicle down at the bottom of the mountain and hidden by woods. The walk here through the storm was invigorating. I loved the snow. Everything about it. The cold. The blanket of white that muted the world and its ugliness.
The house came into view. Dark now. When I’d left in a hurry before, after hearing approaching vehicles I’d made a mistake and left the lights on.
I stepped up on the porch and imagined one of the last times I’d been here with Pete. Back then, he didn’t suspect a thing. We sat on the porch and talked about boring things. No matter how many times I tried to steer the conversation back to Abby, he wouldn’t bite and so I’d been forced to listen to him ramble on about Charlie and her parents. He had no idea I’d taken out his brother and sister-in-law because they were the first to figure out the truth.
The chairs on the porch rocked in the fierce wind kicking up.
Stepping from my boots, I go inside the house in socks alone. The easy chair where Pete died had been moved. That final visit was still as fresh as if it had happened today. I smiled as I remembered our conversation. He’d been edgy that day. I knew immediately that he was close to the truth. But I’d come prepared. Before he could ask the question, he needed to know, I stuck the syringe into his neck. Once the medicine was administered, he’d struggled with me. It didn't matter.
Foolish man. He should have done something else with his retirement.
I stood in the middle of the living room and tried to think like Pete. Like a cop. He wouldn’t have hidden the journal somewhere too easy to find. He and I had gotten to know each other through those final months. I believe I had a grasp on how his mind worked.
Pete’s favorite chair was always positioned toward the fireplace and the two windows that looked out on the mountainside. I stared at the fireplace where my warning to Charlie still was scrawled.
“Where’d you hide it, Pete?”
There was something a little off about one of the bricks in the fireplace. The mortar was darker.
I tug hard. It pulled free. The gap revealed an item inside. A smile spread across my face. “Got you, Pete.”
“The weather’s getting worse.” Charlie spoke into the tension filled cab of the SUV. So far, there was no word from Boone and Will since they’d stopped the car. “What do you think is happening?”
Ryan shook his head. “Hopefully, they’re arresting the person responsible for everything.”
But there was just enough doubt in Ryan’s tone to convince her he didn’t believe it. She certainly didn’t. It couldn’t be this easy. After all these years of getting away with Abby’s disappearance, why would the person responsible allow themselves to be captured so easily now?
“Ryan, are you two still there?” Boone’s voice came onto the line again.
“We’re here,” Ryan told him. “What’s going on there?”
“Nothing but a bust.” Boone’s sigh spoke volumes. “This guy’s a ruse. He said someone dared him to follow a police vehicle. He had no idea who. It happened last night at one of the bars. There were lots of people around. A person—a man he believes—placed a hundred-dollar bill on the bar and dared someone to follow the police cruiser.”
