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He was ready, too.
As she sat beside him in the passenger seat, her knees bounced, jiggling the plastic bag on her lap.
He knew not to ask questions. Better to pretend everything was normal. Better to make her believe he hadn’t noticed that text had turned her world upside down. Maybe Denny and Ashley had a change of heart and were ready to spill some secrets.
The drive took less than five minutes, and he pulled up in front of the lobby. “Walk you up?”
“No. I’m sorry. I really need to get busy and finish this report tonight. Thanks for dinner.” She patted the plastic bag. “And now I have a midnight snack.”
“Let’s touch base tomorrow. I can have a look at the card section at the student store, as I’ll be on campus anyway.”
“That would be great.”
She couldn’t get out of his car fast enough and slammed the door so hard it made the vehicle shudder. Holding up one hand in a wave, she disappeared into the hotel.
He put the car in gear and rolled around to the side of the hotel, facing the water. This gave him a clear view of the guest parking lot, and he’d already spotted her Subaru. He couldn’t listen in on any phone calls she might make or see any texts, but if she planned a late-night rendezvous with Denny and Ashley, he’d see her leave.
He cut the lights and slumped in his seat. He felt as if he were on a stakeout again. Too bad he hadn’t taken a coffee for the road. Finn turned on the radio and watched a few people come and go from dinner, headlights training in and out of the parking lot.
When a lone figure darted from the hotel into theparking lot, he sat up. The lights on Jessica’s car flashed as she scurried toward it.
Finn started his engine but left his headlights off. If stopped, he knew enough officers on the force that they might let him get away without a ticket. There wasn’t enough traffic on the road for Jessica not to notice a single car following her. He’d have to use all his forgotten surveillance skills for this one.
As she pulled out of the parking lot, he trailed after her, allowing another car to get between them. Hanging back, he duplicated her turns away from the pier toward the university. For a minute, he expected her to turn into the campus. Maybe she’d just decided to check out the student store on her own.
Then she turned left onto the road that bordered the university—and led to the forest trail. Was she actually going there? And why?
He made the same turn but slowed down, as he’d lost the car in the middle blocking her view of his vehicle. She couldn’t turn off many places along this route. This road eventually led to the coast, but she wouldn’t have taken the long way around to get there.
When her brake lights flashed ahead, he hung back even more. Had she spotted him in her rearview? Not that she shouldn’t be watching her back after that tire stunt.
Finn let out a breath when she picked up speed, and he accelerated to follow. His Jeep sat too high to be overlooked, and even with his lights out, a watchful eye would be able to detect his approach. He’d have to slow down, let her get well ahead and just hope he’d see her car parked at the side or in a pullout.
He also hoped he’d get there in time to save her—from what, he didn’t know, maybe just from herself.
* * *
JESSICA STEERED HERcar into the pullout that would give her access to the trail leading to Morgan’s memorial site. Is this where her killer had parked? Or had he been stealthier, coming from a direction where no one would notice him?
The CSIs on the scene had checked this pullout for tire tracks, but there had been too many to distinguish one set. They hadn’t had any better luck with the area across the river. Too many people used this trail, although nobody had witnessed a man in the area. One couple had passed Morgan on the trail, probably less than fifteen minutes before she’d been murdered.
Jessica gave a little shiver and slid her Sig into her pocket. She might be taking her life in her hands by agreeing to meet a stranger at the site of two murders, but she was going to have a gun in at least one of those hands while she did it. The texter had said come alone, not come unarmed and defenseless.
She eased from her car and snapped the door closed. She’d leave it unlocked in case she needed to make a quick getaway. Before diving into the woods, Jessica glanced over her shoulder. A few sets of headlights had been behind her up until the university, and she thought she’d seen a shadow behind her on the road out here, but that didn’t make sense.
Whoever had invited her was probably already in place waiting for her. She dipped her hand into her pocket and wrapped her fingers around the handle of her weapon. The hiking boots she’d swapped in for the low heels she’d worn at dinner crunched through the forest floor. She didn’t try to conceal her presence. She didn’t want to startle the guy.
This could be another prank, but she couldn’t risk not knowing. If someone had information about her sister’s murder, well, that’s what she was looking for. A little danger wasn’t going to deter her.
She strode toward Morgan’s memorial, which had grown since the last time she and Finn had found the rag doll here. Her classmates wanted to pay their respects, maybe even pressure the police, who didn’t seem to have much to go on right now—and she should know given that paltry evidence list. Something else was going to have to crack this case—and she just might hold the key.
She called out. “Hello? It’s Jessica Eller. Tell me what you know. Show your face.”
A rustling noise beyond the trees answered her, and she spun toward it. “This is your meeting. I’m here. Tell me what you got. What do you know about Tiffany?”
Whispering filtered through the cedars and the red alders, their branches still full from summer and bulking up for the winter, but Jessica couldn’t tell if it was a human voice or the sound of the leaves playing tricks on her willing mind. “Hello?”
A crunch of sticks and a crackle of twigs vibrated through the air, the rhythmic sound an echoing of footsteps on the trail. Was he running away from her? Had she scared him away with her bold approach?