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“I still care about you and what happens to you. I just knew I could not build a future with a man who kept so many secrets. Now I know why you held yourself back. You feared I would discover this, did you not?”
He inclined his head and shrugged again. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Anu. So kind, so caring about other people. So good.Goodis a word I don’t use lightly. Few people have that goodness you seem to radiate.”
“That is not me, Max. That is God. And even now, he loves you.”
He waved his hand. “Don’t talk to me about your religion, Anu. You came here for a reason, so you might as well get it off your chest.”
“I wish to know where to find the bodies of your victims.”
His answering smile held no real mirth. “Annie put you up to it, didn’t she?” He stared toward the two-way mirror and waved. “Nice going, Annie. Hit me where it hurts.”
Annie reached for Jon’s hand and clutched it. “Whatever works, Max,” she whispered.
Jon moved his chair closer to hers and slipped his arm around her. “Steady, Annie. Maybe he’ll spill it.”
“I don’t think he will. He’s so hard.” Her eyes filled at the thought of the families without answers.
Jon brushed his lips across her cheek, and she leaned her headagainst his and prayed for Max to do the right thing. Just this one time.
“Please, Max. Where can we find them? Their families need to know.”
He sighed. “The lake keeps its dead. I didn’t handle any of the cleanup.”
“The names?” she coaxed. “That would help at least.”
The door opened and Mason entered. Anu frowned, but he put his hand on her shoulder. “There’s no need for you to have to beg this man for anything, Anu. Eric Bell told us everything. He gave us a list of the victims. Seventeen in all. There were three hunters: Max, Bell, and West.”
Annie gasped at the number. Seventeen people had perished in these twisted hunts. It seemed impossible.
In the interrogation room Anu stood and moved toward the door. “I will pray for you, Max.” Her voice was choked as she was let out and the door closed behind her.
Mason crossed his arms over his chest. “The list Eric gave me of the hunters included Glenn Hussert. What role did he play?”
“Ask Eric.”
“I did. I wanted to see if you’d tell me the same thing he did.”
Max shrugged. “Then you already know he saw us one night and insisted on joining the group. He was a weak link though, and I was sure he would blab once he was able to talk. I hoped he’d pass on his own in the cabin, and I wouldn’t have to deal with him.”
He sounded morose, and Annie shuddered at the regret in his face. It wasn’t regret for what he’d done but sorrow that his hunting spree had come to an end.
She brushed her lips across Jon’s neck. “Let’s get out of here.I need to shed the slime of all this off me. I can’t listen to any more.”
“Want to go see our new house?” He pulled keys from his pocket and jangled them in front of her.
She gasped. “How’d you get the keys?”
“Dad’s got the title company working extra hard on it, and he promised the Daltons a five-thousand-dollar bonus if we can close in two weeks.”
She glanced at the clock. “It’s two. Bree should be back with Kylie. Let’s take them all over to have a look. I’ll tell Kylie about the wedding.”
His smile went even more tender. “I love to see you smile like that. It’s been a long, hard road but we’ve made it, Annie.”
She stood and drew him into a tight embrace. “You’re never getting away again, mister.”
“I wouldn’t think of it,” he said before he kissed her.
Forty-Two
