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“He wants us to know where he’s going.”
Mills frowned.
"Eagle River..."
His expression hardened.
“I haven't heard that name in years.”
“It’s a small town on the river.”
I looked back through the bedroom doorway.
The victim’s smile was aimed directly at me.
The Keeper had made this personal.
“We need to identify her,” I said.
“And then?”
“Then I’m going to Eagle River.”
“You aren’t going alone.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.”
“You’re still not going alone. Take Carson with you, and Will.”
Before I could answer, Will called from the bedroom.
“You both need to come back in here.”
I returned to the bedroom with Mills behind me. Will stood beside the open closet, holding an evidence bag.
Inside it was a photograph.
The picture had faded around the edges, but I recognized the wooden sign immediately. A painted tree stood above a winding blue river.
WELCOME TO EAGLE RIVER.
Nine women stood beneath it.
Someone had drawn a black line through eight of their faces.
Only one remained untouched.
Mills moved closer. “Do you know her?”
I stared at the woman in the center of the photograph.
Eighteen years had passed since I had seen her, but I knew exactly who she was.
“Rylie Tate.”
“The college friend you mentioned?”
I nodded.