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Chapter Forty-One

Logan rode his motorcycle up to the front door of the school. He and Adam had talked about this part. He’d have to break in. Adam was dealing with security and heading off any potential problems. But for Logan to look like he was being unaided, he would need to pick the lock on the front door and find whatever locker that combination opened. He’d tossed around a few ideas with the others, and they decided it had to be one of three lockers: Logan’s, AJ’s, or Miles’s. AJ had only gone to public school for her last three years before graduating. So since this all revolved around her, that narrowed it down to probably nine lockers to check.

But that required him to remember which lockers they all had more than fifteen years ago. He was pretty sure he remembered his and AJ’s lockers, but Miles … he had no idea. AJ’s seemed like the most obvious choice, so he’d start with those three.

He knelt in front of the door and inserted the lock picks. This was not something he ever thought he’d do. As kids, Will, AJ, and he had done plenty of goofy stuff but breaking and entering was not on their lists. Logan and Will had both wanted to be cops, so they had been intentional not to do things that would tarnish their records … well, other than trespassing at the old asylum.

The adrenaline and exhaustion made his hands unsteady, but eventually he was able to get the bolt to slide into the unlocked position.

One hurdle down.

After glancing over his shoulder, he slipped inside the building. It looked almost exactly the same as he remembered it.

An alarm sounded. He jumped. At least he knew Adam was taking care of it.

Now think. Where were AJ’s lockers? He went to the first one he remembered, which wasn’t too far from the front door.

It was a bust. The combination didn’t work.

He checked the time. Two forty-eight … he had ten minutes.

Her locker from sophomore year was on the other end of the building, but that was the one she’d had when she went to homecoming with Miles. That was probably it.

He sprinted through the halls, illuminated by very few lights. This locker had seemed so much farther away when he’d had to walk to it through a sea of other students.

Grabbing the lock, he spun the dial to the first number, but he passed the second number and had to start over. He grunted.

A voice softly said in his ear, “Slow down.”

Amelia was right. He took a deep breath and focused on getting the combination correct.

The lock popped open.

His heart thudded harder against his chest, nervous about what he might find inside.

He opened the locker and clicked on his flashlight. The walls inside were covered with photographs of AJ, a bunch from high school—including a larger one of AJ and Miles from homecoming—and many from the last month or so.

Taped to the locker shelf was a note written in bold ink:

The game is on. Madness it is.

Capture the clue hidden with the dead,

but don’t tarry long or too deep she will be.

Logan smacked his palm against the neighboring locker. Another riddle. He hated riddles.

He wanted to talk to the team about it, but the camera in the top of the locker told him Miles was watching.

He glared straight into the camera but opted not to say anything. If only he knew whether AJ was right there too.

Logan jerked the clue off the shelf and slammed the locker shut. He needed to get out of this building before the cops showed up, even if they knew he was there. Logan had no clue where else Miles might have hidden cameras. If he was watching, it was best for Logan to be gone and the police to actually show up in a reasonable amount of time.

He ran out of the building and hopped on his bike. He sped away just as the sirens approached.

Pulling into a parking lot, Logan stopped and removed his helmet. He needed to breathe. What did this riddle mean?

God, give me wisdom and direction.

Out loud he said, “You guys have any idea what this could mean?” He read the riddle.

Amelia asked him to read it again a little slower. She was probably writing it down on their end, which was in a car only a mile away.

Zara spoke up, “‘With the dead.’ Could that mean the cemetery?”

“Maybe. I have no idea if he knows about Bree. I’ve never talked to him about her.”

Adam said, “Most people in Hazel Hill know what happened.”

“But he had no clue AJ and I were even married.” He put on his helmet again. “I can go and look. It’s not that far away.”

Will said, “Go. We’ll keep working on the riddle.”

“Thanks, guys.” Logan drove off toward the cemetery where his daughter was buried.

AJ’s jaw quivered. Seeing Logan look so intense as he stared at whatever clue Miles had left in that locker had broken her heart. She wanted to hold Logan so bad and be held by him. But Miles was set on killing Logan and stealing her away forever.

There had to be some way out of this. Miles was strong; it didn’t matter that AJ could carry a hundred pounds of gear and a full-grown man on her shoulders. She hadn’t been able to get out of Miles’s grip. He was taller, bigger, stronger. He seemed to be able to counter every defense she tried. She didn’t want to give up hope, but at this moment in time, it seemed impossible to get away. She needed an act of God or at least for Miles to slip up.

Miles had closed his laptop and exited the room after Logan had left the school. Miles seemed quite satisfied by Logan’s reaction. If only she could tell Logan she was fine and she’d find a way out. But she didn’t know if she’d be able to get away.

Miles came back into the room and opened his knife in front of her.

Her chest tightened. “What are you going to do with that?”

“Cut you free, pumpkin.” He paused and glanced to the side. “No, I don’t like that one. I’ll stick with dear. It’s better.” He looked at her again. “Time for us to leave. If Logan is smarter than he looks, the fastest he could get here is about forty-five minutes. But I need to be ready for him. Although I do doubt he’ll get here that fast.”

“He’s coming here?”

“Eventually. But you won’t be here.”

“You’re going to kill him at some stranger’s house?”

“And dump his body in the river where no one will find it. It’s perfect. I’ll clean up, don’t worry. They won’t even know we were here.”

She grimaced at the thought. Lord, please protect Logan. Don’t let this vile man hurt him.

Miles cut the tape around her body and freed her from the chair. It pulled at her skin, but she couldn’t rip her arms away from the tape still attached to her.

He pushed her body forward and yanked her arms back behind her, releasing them from the tape.

She yelped at the pain as her skin and arm hair went with the adhesive.

“Sorry, dear, but you are proving to be too combatant. When you learn to behave, I won’t have to be so rough.” He leaned near her ear. “Or do you like it rough?”

She flung her head into his. Pain radiated through her skull, but she’d do it again, even if his noggin was harder than a soccer ball.

“You little …” He slapped the back of her sore head.

If she made it through tonight, she was going to have a doozy of a headache tomorrow. Nope, she had a doozy of one now. Pain surged and ebbed. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment. She needed to stay alert and actively fighting against Miles.

He let her sit back and then cut her legs free. When they were, she tried to kick Miles, but he stepped too close for her to be able to hit him with any power.

“Would you stop already? Have you not figured out you can’t beat me?” He gripped her arm and yanked her to her feet.

Her legs didn’t want to work, and she stumbled.

“Pull yourself together. I will throw you over my shoulder if I have to.” He turned to her stopping only inches from her nose. “And who knows where I might have to touch you.”

She spit in his face.

With his free hand he punched her in the gut.

She doubled over. She’d been ready for another slap, but the punch sent her stomach into a tizzy.

Before she could recover, he dragged her forward and out the back door onto a large deck. He pulled her down the steps and across a stone patio. She was barely able to keep her feet beneath her.

Where was he taking her now?

He continued to tug her through the back yard, down a tall set of stairs that led to the river, and into a motorboat docked at a small pier.

The river. The same river in which Bree had drowned.