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TEN

They’d found his sacrifice. It made him feel powerful, excited. He hated God and the angels He’d dispatched to take away his mother. Thankfully, he’d found another god. One who filled him with revulsion for human beings and promised him dominance over the whims of a being who had robbed him of the only thing he’d ever loved. He had more to do. Much more. And when it was done, he’d continue to hide in plain sight. No one suspected who he really was. No one ever had. When he was young, the principal at his grade school had told his grandparents that he was destructive. Troubled. The principal recommended a therapist . This ridiculous person had prescribed some kind of pills. Supposedly, they would make him normal. Whatever that was.

He tried them, but they made him feel dead inside. Powerless. That’s when his new god, the one who really cared about him, taught him how to play the game. To pretend that he was like everyone else. That he cared about other people. It wasn’t true. To him, people were nonexistent. Just pieces of meat that moved around and said things. Stupid, useless beings. In his world, the one his god had created for him, he was the only person who mattered. Who was truly alive. His god was helping him to become the person he was created to be. A ruler. A judge. A king. In bed at night, he’d laugh at everyone. His grandparents, his teachers, the principal he’d thought about killing. When he became quiet, he could hear the whispers. You can do whatever you want. You can make the angels cry. His god began to show him what he needed to do so he could fulfill his true destiny. First, he killed his grandparents. No one knew he’d done it. It was easy. Supposedly, his grandfather had fallen into the creek, hit his head, and drowned. According to the local ME, anyway. The truth was, he’d hit him on the head and held him under the water. Then he went home and helped his grandmother clean the house. No one suspected him, of course, and he acted sad when he heard the news. Then, a year later, when he was eighteen, his grandmother accidentally took too much of her heart medication. Some people wondered if she’d done it on purpose, but no one even considered that he was involved. After all, he was the good grandson. “He’s turned into such a good boy” people would say. Even the principal who had originally suggested that he needed therapy was convinced he was cured. He had become a new creation. Someone people liked and respected. They had no idea how much he despised them. Eventually, he quit seeing the therapist. He was pretty sure he’d convinced the charlatan that he was okay, but from time to time, he’d seen a look in the doctor’s eyes that made him wonder. Eventually, the therapist moved away. Good thing for him. If he hadn’t, he might have had to die too.

After selling his grandparents’ farm, he went to college. There he received additional training. Became someone who could easily find a position in Sanctuary. One that would make it simple for him to fulfill the vow he’d made. People accepted him here. Those who remembered his troubled childhood were gone. Now the area was full of tourists. It was a great hunting ground, and he was ready to strike again...

And again.

And again.

Erin nibbled on some of the fresh fruit she’d found in the refrigerator. She’d decided to wait for lunch until Kaely arrived. She probably hadn’t had a chance to eat.

Erin sat in the living room, her body nestled into the soft leather couch that faced the massive stone fireplace. Her mind was in overdrive, bouncing from the body found in the woods to meeting Kaely face-to-face. Kaely was so easy to talk to. She knew what Kaely looked like and had spent hours and hours on the phone and online with her. So why was she so nervous about spending time with her in person? How could it be any different? She knew Kaely, and Kaely knew her. So why couldn’t she keep her legs still? They kept tapping out a beat on the wooden planked floor. Every time she tried to quiet them, they’d start again a few minutes later. True, she hadn’t been around a lot of people after... that night... but she’d been a police officer for several years. She’d spent a lot of time around people. Friends had tried to support her after the shooting, but one by one she’d pushed them away. She needed time to process, she’d told them. But here she was two years later, still not past what had happened. Although she’d written her book as a way to heal, in the end, it had become more of a burden than a blessing. She almost wished she’d never written it. But it had brought Kaely into her life. And money. Enough money that she didn’t have to find another job right now—which would have been torture. What could she possibly do? Become a security guard? That’s what some of the other cops who’d quit had done, but she just couldn’t see herself protecting buildings instead of people. She knew her attitude was wrong, but there it was. Writing the book had seemed like a perfect escape, but she hadn’t counted on the kind of success she’d experienced. Now it seemed that everyone wanted to be in her life—something she absolutely didn’t want. Kaely was the only person who seemed to understand. In a sudden flash of self-awareness, she realized she was afraid Kaely wouldn’t like her. And for the first time in a long time, it mattered.

She forced her thoughts back to the crime scene she’d witnessed earlier, wondering if she’d missed anything. As she replayed the scene in her mind, she suddenly heard a car door slam. Kaely. Erin swallowed hard and got to her feet, butterflies racing around in her gut like crazed bees, and went to the door. She waited for the knock she knew was coming, took a deep breath, and swung the door open. Kaely’s curly auburn hair was pulled back from her face with hair clips, and her dark eyes were fastened on Erin’s. But the thing that stood out in that moment was her wide smile. It chased away any nervousness she’d been feeling.

“Hi, Erin!”

Before she could stop to think, Erin stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the only real friend she had now. She only felt joy that Kaely was here. She knew Kaely. And Kaely knew her—and accepted her. She had to blink away the tears that filled her eyes before she let Kaely go.

“I’m so glad you found the cabin,” Erin said, holding the door wide so Kaely could come inside with her large duffle bag. “Can I help you get the rest of your luggage out of the car?” she asked.

Kaely laughed. “When you’ve worked for the FBI, you learn how to pack lightly. Believe it or not, I’ve got everything I need in here.”

“You’ll have to teach me that trick,” Erin said.

Kaely smiled. “I’d be happy to. The trick is packing outfits with interchangeable pieces.” She waved her hand toward Erin. “Let’s save that for later. Show me around?”

“Sure, but as soon as possible, we need to talk.”

Kaely frowned. “Uh, oh. Is something wrong with the cabin?”

Erin sighed. “Not sure how to answer that. Would you like me to start with the ghost that’s been roaming the woods for decades or the dead body just discovered this morning?”