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“Why? Why not just tell the story to them in a note or something?”
I lean forward. “The mind is a fragile and delicate thing,” I repeat. “Hearing it from a letter or from a killer has less of an impact than hearing it from someone who has been dying on the inside from holding in the secret. Several people know the story, Hadley. Find one to tell it. Not to mention, I need that town to feel haunted. The longer it takes for the story to be told, the more questions you and your team will ask. And the more people will start to tremble in fear.”
“You want that fear,” she states, studying me.
“I can’t kill them all,” I say with a shrug. “But terrorizing them will remind them to never hold their silence again when the innocent are screaming for help.”
She nods once, trying not to show how uneasy that thought makes her. She’ll change her mind when they finally get to Delaney Grove.
“I convinced Logan to ask you to come to Delaney Grove with us,” she says, shocking me.
“What?”
“You can’t just walk around a town and not be noticed by our team. Your face was all over the news after the brush with the Boogeyman. People will know you, and it’ll be suspicious if you’re in town and you’re not with him.”
I had thought of that, but was just going to show up and surprise Logan.
“He’ll be out a lot, working on the case. We’re apparently staying in cabins the sheriff rents out.”
My stomach twists. “Those cabins are at the edge of the town, right against the woods. If he thinks you’re getting too close to uncovering all they did, he’ll come after one of you and try to pin it on me. Well, on the other me,” I tell her.
“We’re smarter than that. We’ll know if it’s the Scarlett Slayer. And no one from our team will die. I’ll make sure of it somehow, even if I have to hack all the feeds from the town cameras and watch continuously, living on coffee to stay awake.”
“There aren’t any cameras.”
She shakes her head. “There has to be some.”
“You’re right. There are some. They all face parking lots and the insides of stores. There are no cameras any
where else. The streets have zero visibility from those few camera angles. Trust me. I’ve studied this town since I decided what I had to do.”
She slinks back.
“Why no cameras?”
“Because the mind is a fragile thing,” I say once again. “It’s easier to pretend the words you hear are just rumors or lies. It’s not so easy to ignore something you can see. And the sheriff has plenty he doesn’t want anyone to see.”
She releases a shaky breath.
“Was the sheriff the man who killed those women? The ones your father was framed for?” she asks me, and my stomach clenches.
Before I can answer, Logan steps in, pausing when he sees us. “You already told her?” he asks, narrowing his eyes at Hadley.
Unlike the last time we were in this situation, Hadley doesn’t turn into a babbling fool. She flashes him a taunting grin. “Maybe.”
Logan rolls his eyes, then he faces me, and a look softens his gaze.
“I’m on my way to deal with a few things, but you’re okay with going? You’d have to stay in at night. You’ll feel more like a prisoner, but I’ll be able to come see you more.”
Why does he look like he’s so worried about me?
I flash a look to Hadley, but she blinks innocently at me. My gaze returns to Logan.
“I’d rather be with you than be here without you. You could be gone a while, or so Hadley says.”
He nods grimly, and I stand as he starts walking toward me. As soon as he reaches me, he wraps his arms around me, holding me as though he feels I need comfort. I hug him back, glancing past his bicep to see Hadley smirking at me.
What’s going on?
