Page 56 of Guess Again

Nekoosa, Wisconsin Thursday, July 31, 2025

SHE PULLED THE BLOND WIG OVER HER HEAD BEFORE LEAVING THE house on Thursday morning.

She walked out the back door and across the street behind the home, clicking her key fob as she went.

The Range Rover chirped as the doors unlocked and she climbed behind the wheel.

She pulled away and doubled back through the neighborhood just to be sure.

As she drove past the house, she offered no indication that she was aware of the unmarked police car parked down the street. It was the older gentleman with a limp again. The name Eugenia Morgan had appeared in Francis’s visitor’s log, and there was no doubt the DCI was working hard to figure things out. She needed to be careful. There were just a few days left.

On Tuesday, she had allowed the undercover officer to follow her to Milwaukee, where she made stops at the gun shop and tactical store.

There was no harm in allowing him to see her purchase a gun and Kevlar vest.

In fact, Francis wanted the authorities to know about those purchases.

But for the final details she had been tasked with, she couldn’t be followed.

Hence, the blond wig and the second vehicle. They were looking for a tall, lanky woman with jet-black hair who drove a Ford Focus. The man behind the wheel of the unmarked DCI car was wholly uninterested in the blond woman driving past Eugenia Morgan’s home in a Range Rover.

She slipped on her sunglasses as she passed the unmarked car without offering so much as a sideways glance.

A peek in the rearview mirror confirmed that Special Agent Kramer was not interested in her.

His car did not move.

She drove toward Milwaukee and sped up and down Interstate 794 until she was convinced no one was following her, then took the exit and found Veteran’s Park.

She pulled into a spot in the north lot, a considerable distance from her destination. The walking path that meandered through the woods on the north edge eventually led to the lakefront. Lake Michigan offered a gentle breeze across her face, a delightful contrast to the torrid afternoon.

She found a bench near the water, took a seat, and pretended to scroll through her phone while she looked for anyone who might have followed her.

She saw no one.

Finally, she stepped back onto the walking path and made her way to a Little Free Library.

The stand looked like a large birdhouse.

The triangular structure was perched on an oak pole and housed a variety of free books for anyone to take.

She walked to the library stand and opened the door.

From her purse she retrieved a paperback novel and set it on the shelf.

In one swift motion she removed the envelope she had placed between the book’s pages and secured it with tape to the inside of the library, fastening it to the ceiling.

She perused the collection of books, finally settling on a Danielle Steel novel.

She made sure the envelope was flat and secure against the ceiling.

Satisfied, she closed the door to the Little Free Library and walked back to the bench with her romance novel.

She read the first three chapters while watching the park.

When she was sure no one had followed her, she headed back through the woods to her Range Rover.

She put the address into the GPS and settled in for the five and a half-hour drive north to Ashland.

The town was near Lake Superior and the Wisconsin-Minnesota border.

There, just east of town, she’d find Lake Morikawa.

Francis told her there were only eight homes on the expansive lake.

One of them belonged to an elderly couple named Hugh and Ruth Winchester.

She was due to visit the Winchesters later that night.

Although, they weren’t expecting her.

It was better for everyone that she arrive unannounced.