Page 2

The boy covered his face with his hands. He should’ve helped her. But he’d been so afraid. And after seeing the look in his dad’s eyes, he knew there was no way he could’ve overpowered him. But it didn’t lessen his shame.
The sound of twigs snapping caused the boy to leap to his feet. He turned and ran for the car, tripping as the forest turned to gravel but catching himself before he fell. He didn’t dare turn back as he scrambled toward the faded blue car. He got in and closed the passenger door harder than he intended.
The boy slumped into the backseat and tried to catch his breath as his dad emerged from the trees—alone. He crossed the gravel parking area toward the car, his expression stoic, the insane look gone.
His dad reached the car and opened the driver’s door. He held something square and blue in his hand, and the boy’s heart sank when he recognized it. His father held it out for him.
With a shaking hand, the boy took his Walkman.
“I told you to stay in the car, John,” his dad said, his voice strangely calm.
John swallowed. “Sorry.” The word came out in a croak.
His dad took a deep breath and put both hands on the steering wheel. John was desperate to ask about Sally. What happened to her? But, after what he’d seen, he didn’t dare.
His father turned and put his hand on John’s leg. John looked beyond the wet spot around the crotch of his pants to his father’s hand. He was sure his father could feel his knee trembling.
“How about pancakes for dinner?” His father’s expression had softened, his demeanor restored to the man he’d known all his life. “It is Christmas, after all.”
John nodded, afraid if he spoke, he would break out in sobs. His father patted his leg and turned forward in his seat. With trembling hands, John connected his Walkman to the headphones that still hung around his neck and pulled them over his ears.
As he stared out the window and turned up the volume, tears blurred his vision. Almost certainly, Sally was dead. His father threw the gearshift into drive and sped out of the empty gravel parking area onto the winding, paved road—leaving Sally alone in the woods.
PART 1
Chapter 1
HOLLY
January 1985
In her empty apartment, Holly blew out the six dotted-blue birthday candles in one breath. “Happy birthday,” she said.
She looked out her second-story window at Mount Rainier’s snow-capped peak, barely visible in the waning daylight, wondering if the parents who’d adopted her sister’s child loved him as much as she did. She’d never laid eyes on her nephew, and probably never would.
Holly tore her gaze from the window before slicing herself a piece of chocolate-frosted yellow cake, licking the frosting off her finger before taking a bite. The lock on her apartment door released with aclickbefore swinging open. Holly turned, mouth full of cake, to see her fiancé step into her apartment.
Holly placed a hand over her heart. “You scared me. I didn’t think you’d be off work for another few hours.”
Jared peeled off his coat and flung it over the back of her couch. “Yeah, neither did I. I got sent home early. My asshole sergeant told me to take the rest of the night off.” He put his hands on his hips and began to pace back and forth in her small living room.
Holly set down her fork. “What? Why?”
Jared paused. “I gave him a piece of my mind about what’s wrong with the Green River Killer investigation.” Jared shook his head and resumed his pacing. “I spentall weekchasing a lead only to find out a detective from SPD had already ruled it out. We’ve got to have better communication on the task force. It’s no wonder they haven’t caught this asshole by now.” He spun toward her, jabbing a finger at the middle of his chest.“Ishould be the one running the task force.”
Holly’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion. “So, why aren’t you still at work?”
“Because I ran my mouth off,” he shouted. “I was pissed.” His chest heaved with a sigh as he tilted his head toward the ceiling.
Now, Holly understood. Jared could be a loose cannon when his temper flared. She pictured Jared in his superior’s office, voice raised and profanities flying, laying out every flaw in the investigation with the confidence of someone who’d been on the case for years—never mind that he'd been on the task force for less than a month.
“It’s so damn frustrating. This is what I get for doing my job?” His fist impacted with her wall, making Holly jump in her seat.
Her mouth fell open at the sight of the hole in her drywall as her fiancé shook out his fist. “Jared!”
She stood as he spun toward her. The anger on his face faded, replaced with a softer, apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry.” He gestured to the hole. “I’ll fix that tomorrow.”