Page 19 of Outlaw Ridge: Shaw (Hard Justice: Outlaw Ridge #5)

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Shaw had to fight the overwhelming dread that crawled through him. Dread not just because there was likely another victim out there but also because there seemed to be no end in sight for this nightmare.

If the killer stuck to a pattern, then there’d soon be another riddle. Another frantic hunt to find someone and try to save them before he or she died a gruesome death.

Another round of hell for everyone but the killer.

The killer had to be enjoying this warped game. Had to be having fun sending them on these races against time.

Shaw texted Owen to let him know what was going on and so he could start gathering backup. His boss immediately replied that someone would be at Shaw’s house within minutes.

“Dell had at least thirty-six hours in between the riddles,” Ava muttered, yanking him out of his thoughts.

Shaw looked at her and realized she was right. There’d been none of this breakneck speed.

“If Valerie is following Dell’s orders, she probably would have stuck to his original timelines. Well, maybe,” Shaw had to amend. “This hurried pace could have been designed to throw us off her scent.”

“Yes,” Ava agreed. “Throw us off her scent while she could still be the one behind the murders.”

Shaw had to give a quick nod about that.

Valerie would stay on their suspect list. So would Lorelei, and they knew it wasn’t a coincidence that she’d just called the station and ended the call with that scream.

Again, that could have been a ploy to make her look like a victim and not the perpetrator.

And then there was Grant.

They’d worked with him to get Dell’s conviction, but what if the DA had cut some corners and now wanted to cover his tracks? Would he go so far as to kill people?

Shaw had to go with a maybe on that, too.

Of the three suspects, Grant was the one who could have had the best chance of destroying that physical evidence against Dell. Ditto for having the access to Molly. All of that could have been designed to keep his name unsullied during his political campaign for state senate.

And with all three suspects having means, motive, and opportunity, that meant Ava and he would be forced to play another round in this vile game.

He only hoped that this time they stood a chance of actually saving the victim and that once and for all, they could put an end to this.

Shaw looked at his phone, at that gut-twisting text from the unknown number. At the invitation to play a game where someone could end up dead.

Including Ava and him.

And he thought of something. Something that could be a huge risk, but he had a top profiler right here who could tell him if this idea was reckless and dangerous. Or if it stood a chance of rattling the killer’s cage.

“How do you think the killer would react if I responded to that text?” Shaw threw out there. “What if we play our own game?”

She stared at him, and without taking her gaze off him, she sank down on the edge of the desk next to him. “I’m listening.”

“I want to send a text,” he said, hoping this made sense. “A taunt. A bluff.”

“What kind of bluff?” she asked. Not with doubt in her voice or expression. But rather some hope.

Shaw picked up his phone and started a text reply to the unknown number.

“ The game’s over. Ava and I aren’t going to play any longer.

Instead, we’ll give the names of all of our suspects to the press, spelling out their motives.

All that media attention. All that scrutiny .

” He stopped typing and looked at her again.

“What do you think will happen if we do release the names right now?”

She gathered her breath. “If Valerie’s the killer and if Dell is calling the shots, she’d likely try to get in touch with him. This isn’t part of the game. She’d need guidance.”

Shaw made a sound of agreement. “What about Lorelei?”

“Of the three, she’s the one driven by rage and not some plan to cover up evidence or get Dell out of jail. She’s the most dangerous,” Ava admitted. “She could skip the riddles and try to kill anyone on her hit list. Or anyone who gets in her way.”

Yeah, Shaw could see that happening. “What about Grant?”

“If he’s the killer, then he’ll likely jump into an immediate tirade and threaten a lawsuit for defamation of character. He’ll try to deflect his guilt any way he can, probably by coming up with something to suggest that you and I were the ones who set up Dell.”

So, dangerous in a different kind of way. “But if Grant is doing all of that, he won’t have time to kill anyone.”

“True, but it’s possible the victim is already in the process of being killed.” She stopped, and Shaw looked for any signs that she was dealing with flashbacks or the start of that blasted panic.

But she wasn’t.

“We could make ourselves the target,” she continued.

“No,” he was quick to say.

Then, he had to throttle back when Ava added, “We’re already targets.”

They were, and worse, the new riddle will almost certainly still come in. They’d have to solve it and try to save the person. But there was a way to ensure the killer might be on scene along with the victim.

“How about this text?” Shaw asked, deleting the other and typing out a new message. “ Molly said something before she died. Will exchange our silence if the game ends now and no one else is killed .”

Ava studied the text. “The killer will still come after us,” she reminded him.

Yes, nothing he could do to stop that. “You and I were always the endgame for this bastard. For Lorelei, she’ll have her vengeance once Grant, you, and me are dead.”

She took up the explanation. “For Valerie, our deaths would bolster Dell’s appeal with no one to speak out about his guilt. For Grant, we’re the last people alive who could challenge that he doctored evidence to get Dell’s conviction.”

Ava reached over and took hold of his hand. “Instead of a backup cruiser, have Owen send out an ambulance. Lots of lights and noise. Have some chatter about it on the police radios.” She paused. “I attempted suicide and nearly succeeded.”

Even with the “fake” in there, that felt like a throat punch.

“The stress and guilt were too much for me,” she went on. “You’ll lose your otherwise cool composure and rant about revenge, about sharing every bit of the case files with the media. No holding back. You’ll even tell the media that Molly said something before she died.”

Shaw wanted to nix this plan in the bud. Because he could see how this would play out. “The killer will try to finish you off in the hospital. Me, too.”

“Probably,” Ava conceded. “Or else try to finish us off in the ambulance since you’ll be in there with me.”

He wished he had more time to work out the kinks in this plan, time to think it through, but it wouldn’t be long before that riddle arrived. So, he called Owen.

The sheriff answered on the first ring, obviously expecting bad news. “We have a plan,” Shaw told him. “Ava’s going to fake a suicide attempt. Could you get an ambulance out here right away?”

Owen didn’t jump right on that, but after a few seconds, he finally said, “Yes.” And Shaw heard him use another phone line to make the request. “This is to draw out the killer?”

“It is, and hopefully it’ll work. We need backup to be close by the ambulance. Oh, and I don’t want the ambulance to leave here until the killer’s had a little time to get into place.”

“Will do,” Owen assured him. “You know the risks,” he added. Not a question. “Does Ava?”

“She knows,” Shaw said, and he ended the call just as Ava’s and his phones sounded with texts.

Ava’s hand trembled a little when she picked up her phone and read it aloud.

“ Two hearts once fought, yet couldn’t prevail, seven years of guilt now tips the scale.

The past unburied, truths untold, to find the victim, the clock takes hold.

Where the sun sets, the answer lies. Solve the riddle, or another dies. ”

“A poem and riddle in one,” he spat out, knowing that this had to end now.

Shaw deleted the last text he’d composed and went with what he hoped would be the start of the end to this ordeal.

“Game over, you sick sonofabitch,” he typed out. “Ava just tried to kill herself. Ambulance is here, but she might not make it. Not sure if I’m texting Lorelei, Valerie or Grant, but if Ava dies, all of you do, too, because I’ll come after you and end every damn one of you.”

Shaw hit send. And he followed it up with the taunts, the threats. The lure that would hopefully draw out one of these bastards.

“ Grant, I’ll convince everyone that you planted evidence to get Dell’s conviction .” That would no doubt stir the man to action if he was indeed the killer.

“ Lorelei, I’ll tell everyone that your sister was the Riddle Killer and got exactly what she deserved. Her name will be dragged through the mud and people will spit on her fucking grave. ” That might provoke Lorelei into coming after them.

Shaw composed the last part of the text.

“ Valerie, I’ll call Dell and tell him you just provided the cops with info that will keep him behind bars.

Trust me when I say he’ll believe it’s the truth because I’ll make him believe it.

Then, I’ll come gunning for all three of you. You’ll all be dead by morning .”

He hit send and waited for the firestorm.

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