Page 43

Chapter Forty-Three

Logan sped down the driveway to the asylum and skidded to a stop in front of the large building. He’d passed the unmarked car where Will, Zara, Adam, and Amelia were keeping their distance but ready to come in as soon as needed. They’d followed him to the entrance to the dilapidated institution and drove past. Although they wouldn’t be far away.

He hated having to do this on his own, however, playing by Miles’s rules was the best for keeping AJ safe.

Maybe it was the adrenaline or the immense quantities of caffeine pulsing through his veins, but his sense of urgency was mounting.

He ran up the front steps and shined his flashlight across the front of the building. One of Miles’s stupid little cameras stared back at him. He was in the right place.

Logan yanked open the ancient doors that hadn’t been locked in twenty years. He dashed down the stairs. As teens, they’d mostly avoided the morgue because it freaked him out. Except that one time he’d let AJ convince him it would make a good make-out spot. She hadn’t been wrong until a rat scurried across the room, sending them both into a screaming fit. He chuckled at the memory, despite the current situation.

Down the hallway, he slowed in front of a pair of swinging doors, one of which was only half on its hinges. He hesitated for half a second before pushing through the intact door.

He swept the flashlight beam across the room in slow incremental passes. It had to be here somewhere.

Logan spotted a couple of Miles’s cameras. He hadn’t tried to hide them here.

But where was the next clue? And how many of these would he have to go through before he found Miles and AJ?

“Where is it?” he voiced out loud. He needed ideas of where to look but knew better than to ask his friends directly.

Zara’s voice came into his ear. “Did you look in the pull-out thingies?”

He grunted. He had hoped to avoid that. When they were in high school, the kids had joked about bodies having been left in the coolers.

He shook the thought away. He’d risk random skulls staring back at him for AJ.

He gripped the handle of the first one. For AJ. And he hauled it open. Nothing. He tried another. Finally, in the sixth one, a little camera stared back at him along with two sheets of paper.

Logan pointed his flashlight at them.

One had a riddle, the second had a bunch of seemingly random numbers. They meant something, but what?

He read the riddle:

A beautiful view but not for you

Watery grave is your fate but hopefully not hers

Don’t be late .

Logan picked up the little camera and chucked it at the ground, then stomped on it for good measure. He was tired of this ridiculous game. He wanted his wife home and safe. If it took killing Miles, he would. He hoped he wouldn’t have to, but if it came down to it …

Logan swiped the papers from the tray and bolted back out of the building.

Same drill as before. He left the site of the clues and drove down the road, but this time he pulled into the same parking lot where Adam had parked in front of an old gas station.

As he got off his bike, the four others exited the car.

Logan slapped the papers down on the trunk of the car. “What does it mean? My brain is done. I can’t figure out what he’s talking about. I need to get AJ. But I don’t know where she is. How can I save her if I can’t find her? I can’t do this.”

Amelia came to him and rubbed his arm. “First, you have to calm down. I get how you’re feeling, but you have to breathe. We’re all here to help you figure this out. You are not alone. You will find her.”

He nodded at her motherly reprimand, rubbed his eyes, and looked back at the numbers.

35

41 14.6

80

58 55.2

He laid a hand on the bottom of the page. “What on earth does this jumble of numbers mean?”

Everyone stood around the trunk staring at the pages. Silence reigned for at least two minutes; to Logan it felt like two hours.

“I don’t know. I don’t get it.” A sob shook Zara’s voice.

Will pulled her against his chest.

Logan watched the two of them. Zara had lost too many people. She needed her friend back. Determination swelled within him. This wasn’t just about getting his wife home.

He read the riddle again. “Watery grave. There are plenty of bodies of water around here. View … the river has beautiful views.”

Adam said, “Both previous clues pointed to a specific location. This has to be doing that too.”

“That’s it.” Amelia tapped the numbers on the page. “Yep. I bet it is.” She looked at Logan. “I think they are coordinates.”

“Really?” He didn’t know enough about navigating to see it.

She took out a pen and wrote it out with degrees, feet, and directions. “Makes sense to me. Where is it?”

Adam grabbed his phone and entered the coordinates into a map app. “It’s right in the middle of the Catawba River.”

Dread filled Logan. “It fits. How far from here?” The Catawba River stretched from the mountains all the way into South Carolina.

“Only about twenty minutes away.”

Logan entered the coordinates into his phone. “But where does he want me to go? Other than the middle of the river—no doubt that’s where he wants me to end up.”

“Maybe try the house closest to the coordinates?” Zara suggested. She looked at his phone with him. “This one.” She tapped his screen.

He nodded. “It’s worth a shot.” He turned toward his bike.

“Wait,” Amelia said. “Let’s pray together first.”

“Please.” He put his arm across Zara’s shoulders.

Amelia, Adam, and Will all placed their hands on Logan, and Amelia led. “Heavenly Father, we implore you for help saving our sister, friend, loved one from the grips of a madman. Strengthen her and keep her hoping in You. Go with Logan now as he faces the unknown. Give him peace and wisdom and strength to face and defeat the evil in front of him. Guard both Logan and AJ with Your supernatural protection. And please bring Miles to justice. We pray this in Jesus’s holy and powerful name. Amen.”

Peace and fresh energy surged through Logan, no doubt courtesy of the Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord .

To Amelia he said, “Thank you. I have to go now.”

They all nodded, and he started to walk away.

“Logan.” Zara’s voice held heavy emotion.

He spun back to her. She embraced him. He held her, and Will came over and wrapped his arms around both of them.

They stood there for a moment before Zara let go and said, “Bring her home. And bring yourself home too.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Without looking back at any of them for fear the emotions would become too heavy, he slid his helmet on and straddled his bike.

“We’ll be right behind you,” Adam said before Logan started the engine.

Logan gave them a salute and drove off, following the directions on his phone. He had to get there as soon as possible, especially if he had to search more than one location to find Miles and whatever trap he had set.

The riddle had said not to be late, but what did that even mean? With no time set, he was working against a clock with an unknown amount of time.