Page 32 of Crime Lab Cold Case (Pacific Northwest Forensics #2)

For the second time that day, Michael scrolled through his photos. “What was wrong with her? Was she injured?”

“No, she was ill—stomach flu, I think.” The woman’s face paled when she met Michael’s gaze. “I—I offered to call an ambulance, but her friend seemed to have a handle on the situation.”

“This friend?” Michael thrust his phone in front of the hotel clerk’s face.

“I think so. She had a hood pulled over her head. I told her about the urgent care down the street, so close. You should be able to find them there.”

“Thank you.” Michael staggered through the lobby. They wouldn’t be at the urgent care. What did Nicole plan to do with Natalie? If she just wanted to kill her, why not poison her and leave her in the hotel room? She didn’t want anyone to find Natalie before the poison killed her.

He pressed a fist to his mouth. Think. Where would Nicole take her? The most likely place would be Devil’s Edge Trail. That’s where she’d lured her before, or at least to the parking lot.

This time he needed a weapon to confront her, especially if Natalie was in a debilitated state. He got on the phone to his sister. “Molly, you still have that gun you brought with you?”

“Why do you need a gun?”

“I think, no, I know, Nicole took Natalie.”

“What?” Molly squeaked. “The crazy scone lady? Should I call the police?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m on my way back. Get that gun loaded and ready for me. Tell the sheriff’s patrol that you’re concerned about Nicole Meloan and you’d like a wellness check. They’ll know her address. At least they can look there while I try the woods.”

“I’m on it, Michael.”

Ten minutes later, Michael screamed to a stop in front of his house. Before he could even get out of the car, Molly was running down the steps with her gun in her hand.

“I got it from the safe, along with the ammo. I didn’t want to load it in the house with Ivy there.” She held the gun out to him, barrel down, and pressed a box of ammo into his hand. “Why would Nicole be taking Natalie to the woods? What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you about it later. I need to start looking for them.”

“You’re going to search the whole forest around here? How’s that going to work out?”

“I don’t have a choice.” Michael grabbed his hair as the task at hand overwhelmed him. He’d start in the parking lot, near the playground equipment, and then hike down the trail. It’s the only place that made sense. But Nicole didn’t make sense. None of it did.

“Michael, Michael.” Molly dragged on his arm. “Does Nicole still have Peaches?”

“I have no clue. I’m a little more concerned about Natalie.”

Her grip on him tightened. “If that witch still has Peaches, you can find out exactly where she is.”

“Peaches is no bloodhound, Molly. She’s a pug.”

“I bought Peaches a new collar this morning, and I put a GPS tracking tag on her.” She tapped on her phone’s screen and waved the device in his face. “She’s on the move, Michael.”

He took the phone from his sister, grabbed her face with his hands and kissed her on the forehead. “You’re a genius.”

* * *

The car jostled along the unpaved road, and Natalie clutched her stomach. The sharp pains seemed to be receding, but every few minutes her gut would cramp, and she’d let out a low moan.

Peaches had climbed from the back seat to the front and huddled in Natalie’s lap. Did the dog remember her from the other day? Why did Nicole have Peaches? Where were they going?

The car stopped so abruptly, Natalie lurched forward, pulling against her shoulder strap. She grabbed the little dog to keep her from sliding to the floor.

If she had the strength, she’d take Peaches, escape from the car and start running.

But she had very little strength. Whatever Nicole had slipped into those scones had done a number on her stomach.

Arsenic, she’d guess. If she hadn’t ingested enough to kill her, the symptoms should dissipate.

She’d already vomited twice, which helped clear the poison from her body.

Before she had any more time to contemplate her predicament, Nicole yanked open the passenger side, leaned across her and unhitched her seat belt. “Get out.”

Natalie held on to Peaches, tucking her beneath one arm, as she lurched out of the car.

Nicole shoved her, and she tripped, almost falling. Peaches squirmed out of her arms but didn’t run away.

“Start walking, Nat.” Nicole flashed a knife as she gestured to the path.

Natalie knew this path. It led to the abandoned sawmill. The county had thrown a chain-link fence around it, but people over the years had cut through and trampled the fence so that she and Nicole walked across it now.

The dilapidated chip loader and tower stood like old companions, sentries outlined against the gray sky as the sun began to sink. A chill permeated her skin, giving rise to goose bumps, and she sank to her knees and retched. She didn’t want to be here.

“Let’s go, Natalie. I think you must’ve been searching for this place for a long time.”

Shaking her head, Natalie wiped the hand across her mouth. “What is John Westfall to you?”

“He’s my father. I had to do whatever I could to protect my father…up to a point.”

“So…you what? Destroyed evidence of his crimes? He was a serial killer. He murdered three young women. How could you protect someone like that?”

“Four, but who’s counting, really? Not the King County Sheriff’s Department.” She brandished the knife. “Keep walking toward the chip tower.”

Natalie swayed to her feet and judged the distance between her and the knife, aimed at her chest. “How did you find out?”

“About my father? After the very first killing, which was before Katie’s.

She was a sex worker, though. Nobody cared much about her.

He should’ve stuck with those. I kept protecting him while I worked as an intern at the forensics lab, but he kept getting sloppier and sloppier.

Thought he was so clever with the jewelry.

I knew those would connect his victims, so I made them disappear. ”

“Why did he stop? It must’ve happened about the time he had his accident.” Natalie’s trembling legs couldn’t carry her much farther, so she plopped down on a rotting log, which creaked beneath her.

“Accident.” Nicole let out a nasty laugh. “That was no accident. I pushed him out of the boat. Unfortunately, there was a boat nearby, and some guy saved him…sort of. Well, you saw him. Worthless now.”

Bile filled Natalie’s mouth, and she spit to the side. “You tried to kill your own father to stop him from murdering people. Why not just turn him in?”

“And pay for lawyers, and have my reputation ruined?” Nicole glanced down. “Where’d that dog go?”

“What happened to your husband, Nicole?” Natalie clenched her teeth. She might as well find out everything now, and Nicole might as well tell her.

“He killed himself with a little help from me. He’d discovered my secrets. He was going to turn me in. Can you believe that?”

“You tried to kill your father and killed your husband to protect yourself.” Natalie heard a rustle in the bushes and caught the gleam of Peaches’s eyes. She also saw the toe of a boot. She dragged her gaze away quickly. Was there someone out there? She just hoped it wasn’t someone helping Nicole.

“No, I was trying to protect my father. I’m always doing things for other people.”

“Michael’s wife?”

“Protecting Michael.” Nicole raised her chin, her nostrils flaring.

“She was a slut who didn’t deserve him. She was making his life hell with the custody battle over Ivy.

I just thought the jewelry would be a nice tribute to dear old dad.

He still had that piece-of-junk bracelet he’d taken from that last girl. ”

Natalie caught her breath. “You’re in love with Michael.”

“And he’s in love with me.” She swung the knife at Natalie. “You coming in here trying to destroy his lab, his reputation. I’m not going to allow that.”

Natalie laughed until a sharp pain in her side made her gasp.

“There you go again. You’re not killing me to protect Michael.

It’s all for yourself. Just like you killed Rachelle, so she wouldn’t tell anyone that you were visiting Shady View.

Is that the only reason? Had Rachelle discovered something about you at the lab? ”

“Shut up, Natalie. I’m tired of this.”

As Nicole turned her attention to the wood-chip tower, Natalie glanced toward the opening where she’d seen the boots. If Nicole had someone waiting in the wings to help her, he hadn’t made his presence known yet. And if she did have an assistant in the woods, why didn’t Peaches bark at him?

Her heart leaped with a shot of optimism but soon sunk. Who would be out here? Who would know where she was? Michael didn’t even know about the connection between Nicole and John Westfall. Maybe if she hadn’t lashed out at him, they could’ve stayed together and worked things through—everything.

Nicole narrowed her eyes at her. “Are you feeling well enough to climb to the top of the tower?”

“I’m not climbing up there.” Natalie laughed. “If you want to dump my dead body in that wood-chip tower, you’re going to have to lug me up there yourself. Good luck with that.

“I would’ve thought you’d want to go up there after all this time.”

“What are you…?” Natalie swallowed as her gaze shifted to the rickety structure. “Wh-why would I want to go there?”

“C’mon, Natalie. You’ve done such a good job of figuring out everything else. You can’t put the last piece of the puzzle in place? You don’t see the poetic justice of coming back here to find your missing friend only to join her?”

Natalie dragged herself to her feet, the adrenaline of anger and fear replacing the poison in her body, making her strong. “No!”

“Yes.” Nicole held the knife aloft.

Natalie sobbed, tears streaming down her face, her throat thick with them. “No, no, no. Katie’s not in there.”

Nicole clicked her tongue. “She’s been in there for fourteen years while you left and went on with your life.”

A scream tore from Natalie’s throat as she hurled herself at Nicole, at the blade pointing straight at her broken heart. Before she could tackle Nicole, before the blade made contact with her skin, a loud pop came from behind her, the sound deafening.

Nicole crumpled in front of her, a surprised look on her face, blood pumping from the carotid artery in her neck.

Natalie flattened her body on the ground and twisted her head around as Peaches waddled toward her and licked the tears from her cheek. Pulling Peaches against her chest, Natalie rolled onto her back.

Michael emerged from the tree line, a gun in his hand, now pointing at the prone figure of Nicole on the ground, the blood from her throat no longer pumping.

“She’s dead.” Natalie clambered to her knees, and Michael dropped beside her, taking her in his arms.

“Scared the hell out of me when you charged her.” He buried his face in her curls.

“How did you know where to find us?”

He reached down to Peaches and flicked her collar. “Molly put a GPS tag on her this morning. I was praying all the way here that she hadn’t just dumped the dog somewhere.”

“Michael.” Natalie sniffed as she pointed to the stark, ugly chip tower. “Katie’s in there.”

He stroked her back. “I know, my love. You found her.”