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DOWNTOWN SEATTLE MARCH

Y ou won’t see danger coming ... until it’s too late.”

Those words, shared by her mother moments before her death, had defined Jo Cattrel’s life for the last three years, since she’d fled Michigan.

And maybe the life of every dead or missing person whose case she’d ever worked as a forensic artist. As for suspects, she lived to take them down with nothing more than a pencil.

But there was a downside to it. A morbidity.

So much time spent with the dead and the missing or drawing criminal faces meant that she couldn’t trust people. It meant that she glanced over her shoulder more than the average person. Like right now. If anyone cared to notice, she might appear downright paranoid.

Was someone watching? Following?

She couldn’t escape the fear that she’d made a mistake in leaving her hiding place in Hidden Bay along the Washington coast.

But Pop had left her a cryptic note.

Don’t worry about me , Jo. I didn’t mean to lead trouble to you. Please forgive me.

That message had compelled her across Puget Sound to the city, of all places, to search for her father. She’d only just found him three years ago. She wasn’t about to lose him now.

And this note felt like ... goodbye .

No way would she let him disappear on her. Was she a fool to chase after him? Yet another person to leave her? Didn’t matter. She was here.

I’m doing this.

After living in the misty rainforest, she was overwhelmed by the city sights and sounds.

Nothing like a lungful of concentrated exhaust. The towering skyscrapers impeded fresh air.

Having parked two blocks away, she dragged in too many breaths of pollution as she ascended the slick uphill sidewalk on a cold, rainy day, hiking toward the tallest building in Seattle.

If Pop hadn’t wanted her to follow, he should have responded to her many texts demanding an explanation. So she’d used a locator app they shared. Fortunately for her, he’d probably forgotten about it.

She couldn’t picture Pop in the big city.

Back in Forestview—part of the Hidden Bay region of the Washington coast—he owned and operated the R&D Auto Repair Shop, got his hands dirty, and was always in his coveralls, fiddling with tools and covered in grime.

He called himself a grease monkey, so what was he doing in downtown Seattle at the Columbia Center?

Finally arriving at her destination, she peered up at the seventy-six-story building. Dizziness swept over her, so she stared at her feet instead. Got her bearings. Then pushed through the glass door.

The sleek lobby intimidated, but she pressed forward. She needed to act like she belonged. The locator app told her that Pop was here. Or at least he had been. But now when she looked at the app, she got nothing. Was he still here?

She started toward the bank and nodded with a friendly smile at the security guard, though she feared the “I don’t belong here” look on her face would give her away.

Jo’s sling bag snagged on a brass stanchion, and she knocked the whole thing over.

Of course, it banged on the floor and echoed. A few people glanced her way.

Her heart pounded as the security guard approached. He set the stanchion back in place.

“I’m so sorry. I’m just clumsy. I’m just ...” She pointed. “I’m going now.”

She hurried toward the directory. How in the world would she find Pop?

He could be literally anywhere. Numerous businesses took up space.

Tenants too. She could take the elevator and look around the Sky View Observatory.

But she’d need to purchase a ticket first. Jo retrieved her cell and texted Pop again.

I’m at the Columbia Center. Where are you?

Then she took a picture of the directory. Jo should really get out more often because right now, she couldn’t feel more out of place.

I just want to go home.

But ... Pop.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” The security guard stood next to her at the directory.

Yeah, she had a feeling she was giving off the wrong vibes.

“Actually, maybe. I’m looking for this man.” She pulled up an image of her father on her cell and showed it to the guy. “He’s my father. His name is Raymond Dodge. I was supposed to meet him here.”

A little white lie. But the security guard didn’t need to know everything.

“A lot of people come and go, but you’re lucky. I remember seeing him. He left about an hour ago.”

What? “Weird. Okay, I’ll just wait at the Starbucks. I can text him that I’ll be there.” Now that she thought about it, the security guard might wonder why she hadn’t texted Pop to begin with. Well, she had but never got a response. “Thanks.”

Acid rose in her throat. Jo rushed through the exit without looking back. But there was nothing more she could do.

I never should have come.

She stepped out into the rain and hurried down the hill.

Glancing over her shoulder, she happened to catch someone leaving the building .

.. and stopping to watch her. She turned to get a better look.

The watcher ducked out of sight. Frowning, Jo blew out a shaky breath. She was just seeing things.

Jo rushed forward, speed-walking her way around the pedestrian traffic until she got to the corner.

Another glance back confirmed that no one followed her.

Still, the sounds, the rush of people, would give her an anxiety attack.

She didn’t wait for the light to signal but dashed across the street, receiving honks and a few choice words.

At the parking garage, she raced to her vehicle in the corner.

Another glance over her shoulder—because there could never be too many—told her others entered the garage, heading to their vehicles, oblivious to her.

Sayonara , Seattle .

Jo scrambled into her red Land Rover Defender, which Pop had customized. Starting it, she appreciated the deep rumble. Nobody was going to mess with her while she was in this beast. She paid at the gate and sped out of the parking lot.

Jo was done with the city. And ... done with her father? The thought sent a pang through her heart. She wasn’t done with him. This couldn’t be the end.

Downtown traffic was maddening, and Jo didn’t relax until she was on the ferry, crossing Puget Sound to Bremerton, where she could drive the rest of the way to Hidden Bay.

Sitting in cold silence, Jo remained in her beast where it was safe, fighting the nausea erupting from the rocking motion of the ferry. The water was surprisingly rough today.

Jo glanced up from her cell and couldn’t believe her eyes.

Waves crashed onto the deck with the cars, moving them around a little too much for comfort.

She couldn’t imagine this was a normal happening.

Maybe she should get out. Another wave, and then the Toyota Camry in front of her nearly knocked into the Lexus next to it. Getting out now might be dangerous.

I should have stayed in Hidden Bay. She’d been hiding away for the last three years, and now venturing out into the world was giving her a panic attack.

The waves calmed. If she was getting out of her vehicle, now was her chance. She’d head up to the top deck. Grab some vending machine food. Jo weaved between the parked cars, noticing that she’d been the only one to remain inside her vehicle.

“What are you doing?” A muffled, fear-filled voice drew her attention.

The question hadn’t been for her. She glanced around the shadowed car deck filled with vehicles.

Hearing nothing more, she headed toward the steps, where she could make her way up.

Pressing forward between the cars, she couldn’t ignore the grunts that came with a struggle, and in the reflection of a truck window, she watched as someone slid down the side of a car.

Someone else holding a knife appeared in the reflection and looked down at the body, then slinked away.

The killer wore a heavy overcoat with the hood pulled forward.

Jo should scream.

But she couldn’t breathe.

He hadn’t looked in her direction, but he was aware she was there and watching—she knew that to her bones. Looking at her would send him to prison—whoever he was—because then she would see his face. She hoped security cameras caught him.

Jo hurried toward the stairs. She had to get out of here.

Get away. He was still here somewhere, hiding behind or in a vehicle, she didn’t know.

Another wave crashed, sending water onto the loading deck.

If she could just escape before he saw her.

The intrusive waves rushed around her ankles, soaking her shoes in ice-cold water.

The cars were moving with the waves again, and she could end up crushed.

She eyed the stairwell. Where were the two ferry crew members she’d seen earlier? Maybe someone would come down to check on the vehicles and see what was happening. She had no choice, really. Jo rushed between the cars and sloshed through the water, slipping a few times as another wave crashed.

A chill crawled over her. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck lifted. Her breaths quickened.

She sensed someone near and—

A hand covered her mouth as a strong arm seized her.

She fought and kicked, but he treated her as if she was as weightless as a small plastic toy.

He dragged her between the vehicles, then, at the last car, opened the door.

Horror filled her when she saw a body in the back seat.

The man he’d killed. A scream erupted in her throat, but he punched her in the face, stunning her.

Pain shot through her head as it lolled.

She struggled to find her way out of the growing darkness and failed.

Blinking, she suddenly realized she was in the driver’s seat of a sedan. He’d knocked her out, but she was awake now. She scrambled to get out, but the car was already in motion, rolling over the edge. He must have removed the net barriers and forced the vehicle over.

Heart hammering, Jo screamed as the sedan plunged into the water. The man stared down at her from the deck, his face shrouded in darkness.

Except his eyes.

She’d never forget them.

And that’s why he was killing her now, destroying the only witness.

I’m going to die.

The car slammed into the water, then bobbed and rocked on the rough, stormy waters.

Icy cold seawater filled the cab as it sank faster than she would have thought.

But she could escape. She could do this.

She tried to open the door, but it wouldn’t budge against the pressure of the water, so she tried the window button.

Hope filled her. She could swim through the opening.

Except the window stopped. What? Why had it stopped? No way could she make it through that small gap. “No, no, no! God, help me!” Jo cried out.

She just needed to break the glass.

The force of the water pushed her up to the roof, and it was then she realized her foot was tied to the accelerator. Even if she could get the window open, she was trapped. She yanked on her ankle, tried to undo the zip tie, but she couldn’t free herself.

A knife, she needed a knife.

The vehicle was completely submerged now, and cold seawater poured in. Her entire body shook as she held up her face to breathe from the remaining air pocket. Her last lifeline.

She fought the window and the door. Taking what could be her last gulp of air, she opened the glove compartment to search for a gun or a hammer—anything to help her break the glass—or a knife to cut herself free. Papers floated out of the compartment.

A lump of terror squeezed her throat.

Panic engulfed her as fast as the rising water.

God , I’m going to die. All this hiding from one killer , and another one got me anyway.

Mom had been right.

Jo hadn’t seen danger coming...