Evie’s brow furrowed. “I don’t remember. Rick was always rather quiet. He wasn’t one of the loud ones who drew attention to himself.”
“Yeah, I can’t remember if he was there either.” He sighed as the air conditioning finally kicked in. Evie put Bruno in the back, then came around to slip into the passenger seat. “I know Rick came to some of our bonfires, but I don’t think he was at all of them.”
Evie shrugged. “Even if he was there, he could have left the bonfire to meet with Skye. Rick wasn’t dating Marcie back then, was he?”
“Not that I recall.” He hadn’t paid much attention to Rick, Marcie, or any of the other kids at the bonfire that night. He’d felt bad about his argument with Skye, but at the same time, he’d been relieved she hadn’t come to the bonfire. He hadn’t wanted Skye to start up again with her plan of moving to Grand Rapids to find jobs.
And if he were honest, he’d admit he’d been keenly aware of Evie’s presence that night. Of her sunburned nose and her wavy red hair that she’d worn loose around her shoulders. Even then, he’d liked and admired her. More than he should have.
But he’d never acted on his attraction. Not only had she been off-limits as Skye’s best friend, but he had already started counting down the days until he was scheduled to report in for army basic training.
He’d left Grand Haven without looking back.
“Cam? Do you see the squad?” Evie asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
He glanced over in time to see Kyle Abernathy’s face behind the wheel of the police car as it passed them. Keeping an eye on the rearview mirror, he was somewhat relieved Kyle didn’t immediately turn around to follow them again.
“He’s gone now,” Evie said, settling back in her seat. “I guess he’s taking his role of patrolling the city seriously.”
“As he should. Two women are dead.”Along with who knows how many others, he thought grimly as he navigated through town to head back to the riverfront parking lot. He found a shady spot beneath some trees and pulled in. Then he glanced at Evie. “Keep Bruno close, okay? The killer hasn’t tried anything in a while, which is good, but I don’t like the thought of you being vulnerable and alone.”
“Bruno will protect me.” She pushed open her car door and slid out. “And maybe we’ll search the area a bit while you swim.”
His gut clenched as he joined her outside of the SUV. “Please don’t. This guy could be in the area, waiting for the chance to strike.”
“Staying here in broad daylight while the police are digging up Jasmine’s body? Not likely.”
“I mean it. Stick close to other people.”
She searched his gaze for a minute, then reluctantly nodded. “Okay, fine. We’ll stroll the path along the river until you return.”
“Thanks.” He felt guilty enough leaving her and Bruno while he searched for Skye’s car. He trusted Bruno would protect Evie, but the dog couldn’t stop a bullet.
And this guy had tried to shoot at her several times already. She might have had a point about the killer being smart enough to avoid the nature preserve in the daytime, but he didn’t want to take any chances.
He stripped off his T-shirt and toed off his shoes, then reached into the back seat for the snorkel gear. Evie and Bruno stood back as he walked barefoot to the edge of the parking lot that overlooked the river.
It was easy to imagine the killer shoving the VW bug over the side and down into the water. Right in this exact spot. He tried to remember what the riverfront looked like back then but couldn’t. He’d spent his free time as a lakefront lifeguard. Now he saw there were several large rocks separating the edge of the parking lot from the riverbank. He carefully stepped down the rocks, making his way to the point he could easily lower himself into the murky water.
The spring-fed river water was cold, which felt wonderful against his overheated skin. He sat for a moment, noticing the river current wasn’t that strong. He wasn’t an expert, but he had to believe the recent drought and bright sunlight overhead had caused the water levels to drop significantly. Fourteen years ago, Skye had gone missing in June, when the water levels would have likely been higher with the spring rains. Would the river’s current have taken the VW bug downstream for several yards before the vehicle filled with water and sank to the bottom?
Maybe. He slipped the rest of the way into the river. Then he lowered the face mask into place and adjusted the snorkel apparatus to fit into his mouth.
Glancing behind him, he saw Evie and Bruno standing up on the riverbank, watching him. He flashed a quick thumbs-up sign, then lowered his face into the water and pushed away from the river’s edge with his feet.
At first, he couldn’t see much of anything. Even though nobody else was swimming in this area, the murky water wasn’t as clear as he’d hoped. After all these years, he doubted he’d see the yellow color of the Volkswagen, so he decided to look for unusual shapes along the bottom.
When he understood the water was too deep for him to see the bottom, he drew in a long, slow deep breath through the snorkel air valve, then dove deep, doing his best not to stir up the muck. Ignoring the fish, he went as deep as possible until he could see what appeared to be algae sticking up from the river bottom.
After about thirty seconds of scanning the bottom, he was forced to head back up to the surface to breathe. As he blew the water out of the snorkel gear, it occurred to him that this process of looking for the car could take a lot longer than he anticipated.
With renewed determination, he drew in another deep breath and dove back down to the bottom of the river. This time, he kicked his feet, propelling himself forward.
Still nothing. He headed up to the surface to take another breath, wishing he had scuba diving gear rather than a snorkel mask. He cast his gaze to the riverbank, reassured to see Evie and Bruno standing there.
He didn’t want to admit his idea was a total and complete failure. He breathed deeply for a long minute, then went back down. He went a few feet farther every time, determined not to miss it.
On his fifth time down, he caught a glimpse of an odd shape along the murky river bottom. Could be a rock or some other debris that had been dropped into the water over the years. With a powerful kick, he moved closer.
