Page 90 of Line of Sight

DAN STAREDthrough the car window. Since they’d taken the exit off the I-95E, Reed Road was nothing but trees and houses, with occasional glimpses of a body of water off to the right.

“Why does he want to meet us here?” he mused. His senses were on the alert: They had been ever since the text from Greg, and right then they were telling him to keep going.

And what’s waiting for me?

Apparently something important that he needed to see.

In the passenger seat, Riley stared at his phone. “Not much farther now.” He paused. “Seriously?”

Gary didn’t take his eyes off the road ahead. “What is it?”

“The names of these roads. They’re weird. Roller Coaster Way. Ferris Wheel Lane. Cotton Candy Lane. Candy Apple Drive. Carousel Terrace.”

Dan was on Google in a heartbeat. “Might have something to do with the fact that there was an amusement park here back in the late eighties.”

Gary turned onto Roller Coaster Way. “I’ve got a newsflash for you. There still is.” He drove a short way before he came to a stop.

Riley gazed at the landscape. “Okay, this is spooky as hell.”

On the right was a patch of waste ground covered in snow, but beyond it was the remnants of a fairground. A wooden roller coaster dominated the scene, most of it in a state of collapse. Around it stood the remains of rides and stalls, and on the leftwas the wreck of a Ferris Wheel. Colorful signs were hanging or lay on the ground.

Dan had the impression the snow hid the worst parts.

Riley shivered. “It’s like an amusement park graveyard. Why hasn’t anybody torn these down before now?”

In the middle of the lonely, dead fairground was a lake, overgrown and full of algae, with an island in the center of it.

“Why have we stopped?” Except Dan already knew the answer, and he didn’t like it.

Gary pointed to the island. “Because the coordinates are for out there.” He squinted. “What’s that I can see?”

Dan stared at the broken structure. “I think it was once an ice-cream stand or a café. It’s lost its roof, by the look of it.”

Riley snorted. “It’s lost most of its walls too. Glad I brought my thickest coat.” He frowned. “I don’t see Greg, though.”

Gary walked across the snow-covered wasteland, his gaze trained on the ground, scanning. “Well,someonewas here recently. There are tire marks in the snow.” He walked on a little farther, following them. The tracks went between the dilapidated rides and what remained of the stalls until at last they stopped at the lake. Broken rowboats lined its banks. It was a desolate scene.

Dan shuddered. He half expected to gaze into the water and see long-dead bodies float to the surface, their skin a mottled green, their eyes white, staring up at the sky.

Gary pointed. “There. Footprints leading from the tire tracks to the lake.”

Riley crouched beside them. “Pretty deep prints too.” He called out, “Greg Collins, are you here?”

Silence.

“Call him,” Dan demanded.

Gary got his phone out and dialed. A moment later, a faint ringing could be heard.

It came from the island.

Riley glanced at them. “Is anyone else getting a bad feeling about this? You know, like we’re gonna get over there and find the bad guy waiting for us?”

Dan shook his head. “I may not have your experience, but somehow I don’t think this guy would be that obvious. It isn’t his style.”

Gary removed his gun from its holster, and Riley did the same. “Dan, go back to the car. We’ll see if there’s a boat that doesn’t appear as if it’s about to sink the moment we step into it.”

Dan pointed. “There’s one. It isn’t in too bad a shape. It even has oars.” He peered closer. “Oars in remarkably good condition.” He raised his head to meet Riley’s gaze. “I think your bad feeling is catching. And I also think you’re crazy if you believe I’m going to stay here. I’m going over there with you.” He gave Gary a look he hoped his partner could read.