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Uncharted Roads—50 miles outside of Pinedale, Wyoming

“Fear grows in darkness; if you think there’s a bogeyman around, turn on the light.”

~ Dorothy Thompson

T he cell phone’s incessant ringing muted the “Goodness of God” song playing through her earbuds. Zeke London’s number appeared on the information screen in her Jeep.

Sierra Parker’s fingers hovered over the choices on the screen. Answer. Ignore. It felt like the summary of their romance since they’d begun dating last year. Short periods of romance that gave her hope, followed by stretches when he would disappear into another case and she was flirting with being ignored again.

Before she made the decision, the call ended. Guilt washed over her. He’d told her she was behaving like a child by running away. He was probably right. But she just couldn’t handle the truth she believed had been hovering over them like one of the monsters their team of Behavioral Analysis Unit agents hunted.

A relationship with Zeke would always come second to his work.

She’d experienced a lot of awful things since she’d joined the BAU team as an agent. Being kidnapped by a serial killer and almost dying by one of their own in the Angel case. The Doctor of Death, as he was known, had touched her personally. When the killer’s identity was revealed, it had been a shock that a respected psychiatrist for fifteen years chose his victims from the patients he treated and used one of his most troubled patients as an accomplice. That darkness had almost wrecked her because she knew him. Trusted him. Was one of his patients.

But it had been losing her mother suddenly at the beginning of the year that had whittled away at her soul, reaching its tentacles into every part of her life.

After her mother’s death, she went to Doctor Silvers for help. He’d used her grief and knowledge of the Doctor of Death case she worked unknowingly against him—to his own advantage.

Zeke had tried to get her to open up, but she’d been violated in the worst possible way.

If Sierra were honest, she’d been spiraling for a while. Which was why this trip was so important. If she were to continue to look into the minds of monsters, she had to find a way to become insulated from their effects on her.

She’d told Zeke all this, but he hadn’t understood. Nothing affected Zeke. He’d lived his own nightmare as a teenager when his sister, Hannah, almost died. Because of what he’d gone through, Zeke had the ability to shut off parts of his emotions. Those were the parts she needed from him the most.

She loved him so much, yet lately, over the past few weeks, Sierra had been forced to see the truth. She wanted a future with him. That included marriage. A family. The whole thing. But she wasn’t sure Zeke would ever be able to give her those things.

And so, instead of telling him what was really bothering her, she’d run. Had promised to call in a few days. That had been four days ago, and she still couldn’t talk to him.

Her bosses, Jack and Megan Montgomery understood her struggle. Their lives had both been touched by a serial killer who walked among their own BAU agents pretending to be a friend.

It made her sad that Zeke, the man she loved, couldn’t relate. Sierra had been planning to come to Wyoming for a while. The mountain climbing here was amazing, and she was ready to step up to the challenge.

The Wyoming state line came and went as she blew into the state heading for Pinedale, the closest town to the Wind River Mountain Range. She’d told Jack and Megan she needed some time off. But no one knew where she was.

An uneasy sensation slithered into the pit of her stomach. Had she made a mistake by coming here alone? Not at least letting someone know where she was going?

Sierra had come here to challenge herself. If she could climb Cirque of the Towers, then she could face the next evil to come her way. And possibly the end of her and Zeke’s story.

She’d been training for months. She had all the right equipment. Sierra had prepared herself mentally for the challenge. So why was she crying?

Because she loved Zeke and she didn’t see a future with him.

The missed call on her phone broke her heart. She didn’t want to break up with Zeke despite what he believed. Quite the contrary.

She pulled over on the road and typed a quick message.

Call you later tonight.

Then she erased it and dropped the phone back into the cupholder and pulled back onto the road, vowing to keep that promise. She’d call him tonight and they’d talk. Somehow, she’d make him understand how she felt.

The last time she’d been to Wyoming was when she was eight years old. Her mother and father brought her and her sister here on vacation. It had been the best week of Sierra’s life. They’d camped and sat out under the stars. Hiked. For a while, their family felt normal. Unfortunately, normal didn’t last. Soon after, her parents’ arguments returned. They’d gotten divorced a few months later.

“Stop it.” She’d learned through her faith not to cling to the past. And she wouldn’t now.

She cranked up her favorite song and drove. In less than five hours she’d be at her cabin in the park. She’d get a good night’s sleep and tackle the climb fresh.

*

Sierra rubbed her tired eyes. The Wind River Cabins’ sign had almost brought fresh tears.

She’d told herself she was okay with the way she’d left things with Zeke, yet the further she drove from him the harder it was to accept. She loved him. Probably had since they’d met, and yet they hadn’t been able to make it work.

Sierra exited the road and followed the neon sign until she reached the cabins. She’d booked one during her drive across the country.

Finding a parking space wasn’t really a problem even though it was a peak summer month and ideal for climbing. There were a handful of cars in the parking lot. Sierra pulled up close to the cabin office and checked the time on her Apple watch. Almost ten. She was cutting it close. The person she spoke to on the phone said the office closed at ten.

She grabbed her bag and got out. As she entered the office, a little bell above the door jingled.

Sierra spotted a tall woman who appeared to be at least sixty straightening brochures. She turned as Sierra neared and smiled. “You must be Sierra Parker. I’ve been expecting you. I’m Inez Bradley. I run this place with my husband, Terrance.”

“That’s right. Nice to meet you, Inez.” Sierra glanced past the office space to a sitting room that showed two glasses of wine on the coffee table. Soft music played in the background. Sierra couldn’t place the song, though she wondered if she’d interrupted date night for Inez and her husband.

“You too.” Inez rounded the counter. “We’ve got you all set up. Terrance checked your room earlier. Everything’s in order. You’re in Cabin D.” She pulled out a map and pointed. Not that it would be much of a challenge to find her cabin. There were only ten or so.

“Thank you. Do you need my credit card?” All Sierra wanted to do was take a long, hot shower and climb into bed. The miles she’d traveled since leaving Langley were catching up to her.

“Oh, no, honey.” Inez waved off her attempt to pay. “You’ll settle up when you’re ready to leave. There are fresh towels in the bathroom. We serve coffee and pastries from six until ten.”

Coming from the hectic rush of life near the country’s capital, Sierra was a bit thrown by the slower pace of a small town.

Sierra thanked Inez and then realized it had been hours since she’d eaten anything. “I don’t suppose there’s a place that delivers at this time of the evening?”

Inez shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. But there is a diner right next door. They have a nice selection of home-cooked meals.”

Something warm and home-cooked sounded good. “Thanks. I’ll check them out.” She could always order it to go.

“Here’s your key.” Inez handed her an actual key attached to a bear keychain. Cute.

Sierra smiled at the quaint way to enter her cabin and headed for the door when Inez stopped her. “Are you here by yourself?” Sierra turned. Inez wore a worried expression on her face.

“I am.” She didn’t understand the significance of the question. “Why do you ask?”

Inez waved her hand once more in a gesture Sierra believed was probably a habit. “Oh, no reason. It’s just . . .” She stopped as if thinking twice about saying anything.

“Just what?” Sierra returned to the counter with all thoughts of food gone.

“Just be careful. There’s a lot of open space out here and not too many residents. A woman alone could find herself in trouble.”

Sierra jerked back as if struck. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about.”

Inez laughed. “I don’t know either. I’m being silly. My husband tells me this all the time. Forget I said anything.” She turned off the neon open sign, making a point of closing the place.

Sierra wanted to ask more, but Inez had clearly shut down. Sierra stepped from the office and breathed in the cool summer night air. In Langley, the temperature had been climbing steadily along with the humidity. Fresh mountain air felt nice.

She returned to her Jeep and got in while Inez’s strange words niggled her brain. What had the older woman been trying to tell her?

She gave herself a mental shake. She was letting her work bleed into this moment. She’d come here to get away and think.

Pulling forward, she slipped into a parking space out front of the Pinedale Diner. Scents wafting from the establishment reminded her she was hungry.

Sierra left her phone in the cup holder because she wanted to eat her meal in peace and she wasn’t sure how she would handle it if Zeke called again.

She got out and went inside.

A bored-looking waitress glanced up from her phone. “You can sit where you want.” Her hand swept the nearly empty dining area, the light catching her blood-red nails. “I’ll be right with you.”

Sierra found a booth against the wall and retrieved the menu that was tucked behind the napkin dispensary.

Even though it was after ten p. m., having breakfast sounded nice.

Once she’d given her order of pancakes and bacon to the waitress, who looked as if she belonged somewhere in the fifties with her piled-high, jet-black hair and abundance of makeup, Sierra glanced around at the diner. Only a couple of people were eating. A single older man by himself at the counter. A younger couple sitting side-by-side in a booth. She watched them for a minute giggling and staring into each other’s eyes. They were on a date. Probably in the early stages of love where everything was filtered through rose-colored glasses.

She looked away. They reminded her of Zeke and herself at the beginning, and she didn’t want to think about Zeke now. She’d fall apart. Sierra had come here to get away from all that. Think about the future clearly without the promise of Zeke clouding her judgment.

Inside her bag was a letter from her former FBI trainer. He’d offered her a job helping to train the next group of FBI agents. Was she ready to leave her BAU team?

Sierra noticed a man in a sheriff’s uniform come in and speak with the older man at the counter, then to Jet-Black Hair. Jet-Black pointed to a flyer posted on the wall near the cash register. It showed a young woman. Dark hair. “Missing,” written in red, across the front.

A few minutes passed where the lawman studied the missing person’s poster. More words were exchanged before the lawman picked up his order and left.

Someone had gone missing from the area. Sierra remembered Inez’s warning to be careful. Had she known about this young woman, or was there something more?

Jet-Black brought over her pancakes and bacon. Sierra’s curiosity got the better of her. Being an FBI agent wasn’t easy to turn off. She noticed the waitress’s name tag. Florence.

“What was that all about, Florence?” Sierra crooked her thumb at the cruiser leaving the parking lot.

Florence pursed her lips. “A young woman staying at the cabins next door went missing about a week ago.”

Sierra forgot about her rumbling stomach. “I’m staying there. What happened?”

Florence seemed torn between not wanting to gossip with a stranger and wanting to spill what she knew.

The need to spill won out. Florence refilled Sierra’s coffee cup and then looked around. By now, the old guy had left. It was just them and the blinded-by-love couple in the booth.

Florence sat down opposite Sierra, grabbing Sierra’s full attention.

“Inez, that’s the owner of the cabins, was the one who called it in to the police. She said the young woman, Dawn Collins, was supposed to check out and settle up her bill. When she didn’t, Inez checked her room. All her things were there. The bed was made from when housekeeping had cleaned it but . . . no Dawn.”

Sierra didn’t want to hear the rest. But the agent in her wouldn’t let her not. “What does the sheriff think happened to her?”

“They’re not sure. Her car was never found. She’d come here to climb like so many young people do.” Florence looked Sierra over. “Her family hasn’t heard from her. No one has. And she wouldn’t just leave all her things behind.”

“Someone took her.” She wanted to ask if the police had any leads but Florence wouldn’t know this.

“Reminds me of what happened twenty-five years ago.”

This grabbed Sierra’s full attention. She remembered hearing something about the disappearances of women years ago. As far as Sierra remembered, none were ever found.

Florence looked around nervously and seemed to realize she’d said too much. “I’m sure her disappearance isn’t related to those other girls.”

Two customers entered the room. A man and woman. Florence rose and hurried away faster than Sierra had seen her move before. “What can I get you Mr. and Mrs. Gacey?” She spared Sierra another frowning look. The waitress didn’t want to talk further about what happened.

Sierra poured syrup on her pancakes and dug in, unable to let go of what Florence told her. As soon as she got to the cabin, she’d do a deep dive into the town and those women’s disappearances so many years ago that had left its mark on those living here.