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It took twenty seconds for reality to set in.
Cassie was sure she had found the killer on her own, but she didn’t know what to do about it.
If it wasn’t him and she was instead following some poor medical courier, that would make for an awkward encounter if she called the cops on the innocent man while the real killer had plenty of time to take his next victim.
But if it was him and she waited too long to do something, she would never be able to live with herself. However, she reminded herself that she was dealing with a serial killer. If she managed to save his next victim, she might end up in the poor woman’s place instead.
Against her better instincts, Cassie didn’t reach for her phone. Instead, she trailed behind the transport van at a safe distance, hoping to God that her car looked inconspicuous enough to not draw attention. All those action movies she had watched taught her a thing or two about how to tail a suspect. The time she had spent with actual police helped, too.
Cassie’s palms started sweating when she realized they were driving further from Savannah. A sign for Lake Mayer caught her attention, and she slowed down enough to put more space between her and the van.
She knew where he was going.
Cassie looked down at her phone again. She could call Harris. Or David. She would have more luck with him. But something made her hesitate. What if she was wrong? What if she was wasting time? What if she pulled resources for a false alarm and another body showed up the next day?
Cassie followed at a distance until the van pulled off the parkway and onto East Montgomery Cross Road. She kept her distance and drove straight until he pulled into the park. She took the next right, pulled off the side of the road, and cut her engine. She would be slower on foot, but whoever was driving that van had to find a place to park, pull the girl out, and walk her to the woods to kill her.
Unless she was already dead.
Cassie pulled out her phone and texted David. She wrote out whatever came to mind.
Found the van. Followed it to Lake Mayer. Don’t know if it’s him. If you don’t hear from me in 15, send the entire department.
Cassie knew it would give David an aneurysm, but she made sure her phone was on silent and tucked it into her back pocket. It was 12:24 a.m. She had until 12:40 to figure out what was going on and either call off the dogs or pray they got there in time to save her and the next victim.
On the upside, it took her about fifteen minutes to drive out there. It would take the cops less than ten once they were made aware of the situation.
Cassie jumped out of her car without a second thought and ran toward the lake. Once she hit the path, she jogged until she reached the entrance, then stuck to the shadows as she walked along the parking lot. She reached the end of it and found the van.
At this point, her heart was pounding out of her chest. She didn’t see any movement inside but hesitated to approach it. She slipped behind a tree and pulled out her phone, dimming the light enough to not give her away.
She had a barrage of missed calls and texts from David.
TELL ME YOU’RE JOKING.
CASSIE.
CASSIE YOU CAN’T BE SERIOUS.
I SWEAR TO GOD, QUINN, YOU BETTER ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE.
Cassie already had run a half mile. Ten of her fifteen minutes passed.
I’m fine, she texted back. I’m following him. Staying at a distance. Will be safe. Text you in 10.
No sooner had she hit send did David call her, but Cassie hit ignore and put her phone back in her pocket. She felt terrible for putting David in this situation, but she needed to do something. This was life and death. She was sure she was on the right track, but she needed evidence to prove this was the killer.
Cassie sprinted from tree to tree until she got close enough to the van to be sure no one was inside. When she peered through the windows, she didn’t see anything of significance, and she didn’t want to alert anyone by opening the door and risking the overhead light giving her away.
The whisper of a voice was carried on the wind. In the dead of night on the edge of a lake, everything carried, and while the traffic from the highway echoed across the open water, so did something else.
Cassie followed her instincts.
She took off at a dead sprint, staying on her toes and keeping to the paved path where the crunch of sticks and dead leaves and loose stones wouldn’t give her away. She slowed down as she hit the first turn in the path and spotted two figures in the distance. She blinked and they disappeared into the trees.
They were too solid to be anything other than living, breathing people, and as brief a glimpse as it was, Cassie noticed one of the figures was half-carrying the other. Had he drugged her?
Cassie took off again, this time sticking to t
