Page 131 of Statler

Statler arose from the couch and stretched his limbs, looking around as things wound down. Mason and SWAT had actually left a half hour earlier, and it was now just the FBI agents, Cruz Livingston in particular, who were saying goodbye and making their way to their cars.

Statler’s team remained, milling about putting chairs to right.

And Eliza was…?

Where?

Huh. She’d disappeared to head for the bathroom—he glanced at the clock—over an hour ago?

He raised a brow.

“Anyone seen Eliza?” he asked loudly.

Blue came out of the kitchen waving a note, a shit-eating grin on her face.

“This is for you, and it says you’ll know where to find her.”

“I’ll…?”

He looked at the note.

Of course he would.

There were only two places Eliza would go to recharge her batteries and affirm her integrity after such a hellish night, and one of those was a nighttime excursion. Which left…

“Talk to you guys later,” Statler barked out to his team as he jogged down the hall. “Get some sleep,” he also yelled back.

“You, too,” Blue’s amused voice rang out.

There were additional whistles and catcalls behind him as he walked out the door, and for a moment he felt bad about leaving.

There was a lot more to do, logistically, but…

Screw it.

They’d talk about the timeline to dismantle their equipment from the now defunct jobsite as soon as he caught up with Eliza and admitted to her that he’d fallen, hard. And once everyone back at the cottages had a chance to rest.

Feeling more invigorated than he had a right to—after being up all night and having been faced with several, massive adrenaline dumps—Statler dropped into the steady, uphill run to which he’d become accustomed over the past few weeks.

His heartrate rose slightly, but it wasn’t from the physical effort of propelling himself faster, it was with anticipation over what he’d be met with when he got to Eliza’s rock-gallery.

Would she be watching the sunrise? Painting something new? Or would she simply be…waiting for him?

All of those scenarios were acceptable.

As long as he finally got to be alone with her.

He spotted the entrance to the side trail up ahead, and slowed his pace, wiping the small amount of sweat from his brow that he’d generated.

Silently, he strode forward and up the hidden path.

When the clearing finally appeared ahead of him, he stopped and listened.

Not a sound permeated the air other than the morning birds awakening in a familiar cacophony.

Had he gotten it wrong? Had Eliza, perhaps, gone to Granny’s?

Quietly moving forward, he looked around the clearing and…