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Putting her head down, she used her arms to swim through the foliage at the edge of the clearing, stumbling on the path next to the creek. She tipped her nose to the sky like an animal catching a scent from the breeze and held her breath. Beyond her thundering heart, she heard the footsteps traipsing through the forest, the littered ground beneath his feet pinpointing his direction.
She veered to the right, and clutched a stitch in her side as she took the path to her sister’s murder site. Was he playing some cruel game with her? Did he want her to follow him? He didn’t seem to be doing anything to conceal his tread.
“I’m coming. I’m following you.” She panted the words, more out of apprehension than any physical exhaustion.
Still, he remained ahead of her, teasing her, goading her, leading her to the one place in the world that had the power to break her. And he knew it.
She stumbled to a stop at a place where the creek gurgled louder and where a twisted branch reached out from the water to grab her. She dropped to her knees, the pebbles gouging the flesh beneath her jeans.
A sob bubbled in her throat. She choked out, “I’m here. Is this where you want me? Tell me what you know.”
Sitting back on her heels, she ran her arm beneath her nose, her gaze scanning the area. What did he want? The footsteps, louder now to compensate for the rushing water, stomped ahead. He wasn’t finished with her yet.
She scrambled to her feet and lurched forward, like a drunk craving one more drink, even though he knew he’d had enough. Even though he knew nothing good lay ahead.
Adrenaline raced through her body now, and her legs pumped faster and with more assurance. She’d catch him. She’d catch him if it was the last thing she did this night. She plowed ahead with purpose, her jaw clamped, her breathing heavy through her nose.
When she heard the laugh, she froze. The high-pitched sound sent rivers of ice down her back. She pulled the gun from her pocket, her itching finger on the trigger.
She crept forward more slowly. “What’s so funny? Why don’t you show me what’s so funny?”
She took a few steps, stopped and listened. Took a few more steps, stopped and listened. Nothing. The owner of that hair-raising laugh had stopped moving, stopped communicating with her.
“Jesssssica.”
Had that been the breeze breathing her name? She cranked her head toward the creek and jerked back. Hunching forward, Jessica inched close to the water’s edge.
Then she clapped a hand to her mouth, but it didn’t do any good. A scream ripped through her throat as the eyes of a dead girl stared back at her.
Chapter Eight
Finn dug the heels of his tennis shoes into the dirt and eyed the pile of stuffed animals, candles and flowers, balloons floating above it all. From his position, he did a three-sixty but didn’t see any sign of Jessica.
The location of her car on the road indicated she’d come to Morgan’s memorial, as they’d parked there when they were here together. Why would she go anywhere else? Unless someone took her against her will.
Crouching down, he used the flashlight from his phone to scan the ground, looking for a disturbance or signs of a struggle. But he was no professional tracker, and the sticks, leaves, pebbles and other detritus from the forest littered the ground in the haphazard pattern he’d expect.
He glanced up, taking in the trail that led through the trees to the edge of the creek. She didn’t get it in her head to take a stroll past her sister’s murder site, did she? What would possess her to do that? Unless it wasn’t her idea.
His heart thumped as he pushed to his feet and strode toward the path to the creek. Before he even got there, a woman’s scream ripped through the night air.
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, and his feet started moving in the direction of the sound. Theshriek had set the whole forest in motion. Creatures scurried around him under cover of the darkness and underbrush, and birds took flight, twittering and flapping.
Once he swallowed his shock and got his breath back, he shouted. “Jessica! Jessica!”
The critters responded to his intrusion with more chirping and rustling, but humans had other ways of communicating. Without missing a step, Finn pulled out his phone and called Jessica.
His chest heaved and his vision blurred as her phone rang. When he finally heard her voice on the other end, he staggered to a stop. “Jessica?”
Her reply, breathless and hoarse, almost took him to his knees in relief. “Oh my God. Finn, there’s another one. There’s another dead woman.”
Goose bumps marched across his flesh as he clutched the phone, trying to keep Jessica close. “I’m here in the forest. I heard your scream. I’m by the creek, just past the crime scene.”
“Keep following the waterline. Go past Tiffany’s murder site for several more yards. I-I’m here. There’s a body by the water.”
He started jogging, phone plastered to his ear. “Stay on the line with me. I’m almost there. We’ll call 911 when I reach you. Are you safe?”
“The killer’s gone, if that’s what you mean, and I have my Sig Sauer by my side.”