Page 45

FORTY-FOUR

Adrian tried several times to call Erin and Kaely, but their cell phones weren’t working. The storm had affected several cell towers in the area. Thankfully, the station’s landline was still working, but so few people had landlines anymore, there weren’t a lot of people who could call the station if they needed help.

He was a little worried about the women since they were cut off. At least they had a generator, so they would stay warm. Quite a few people in town had lost power. The snow wasn’t terribly deep yet. It was the wind that had caused so much havoc.

As it got darker, more and more residents headed to the emergency shelters to keep warm, get something to eat, and ride out the storm with friends and neighbors. Thankfully, the generator at the station was keeping up with their needs even though it was much older than the one at the cabin.

Adrian noticed Jake staring at him. Every time the wind howled and the building shook, rattling the old windows, he whined as if it was Adrian’s fault.

“Just wait until it’s time to go outside,” he told his worried dog. “I guarantee you neither one of us will enjoy it.”

Lisa came into his office. “We can’t find Timothy,” she said. “Not sure where he is.”

“I sent him out earlier to check with anyone who lives just outside the city limits.” Adrian frowned. “Maybe it’s just taking him longer than we planned.”

“I hope so. I’m a little worried about him. He left his radio behind again.”

Adrian sighed. For some reason, Timothy had a hard time remembering his radio. He suspected his officer didn’t like the rather clunky instrument and preferred to use his cell phone. Today made it clear as to why that wasn’t a good idea. Police radios weren’t affected by the weather the way cell phones might be. “If we don’t hear from him soon, I’ll go out to look for him. I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.” Timothy wasn’t flaky. Adrian trusted him, so he wasn’t really worried. Just a little annoyed.

Just then, a call came over the radio. A traffic accident near the resort. Since all of his officers were already dealing with other issues, Adrian decided to go himself. After messaging the officer who phoned it in, he put on his jacket and his radio and headed for the door. Jake came running after him. For a moment, he thought about asking Lisa to watch him, but if he tried that, Jake would be distraught. He wanted to go everywhere with Adrian, so he took him whenever he could.

“Okay, let’s go. But no complaining. I mean it.”

He took Jake’s silly smile as his agreement to Adrian’s warning. As they set off for the site of the accident, Adrian just couldn’t get Erin and Kaely off his mind. If he had the time, he’d probably drive out there and check on them.

Thankfully, taking Chester out on the balcony worked. Erin noticed that he’d stopped limping. The last time they’d changed his bandages, the wound looked much better already.

It took them a couple of hours to make sure there was no way to see inside the house. They kept one of the lanterns upstairs on a hallway table. The other three were downstairs. They also set up several candles. Erin and Kaely put on a couple layers of clothing, but as long as they stayed in the living room by the fire, they were pretty warm. Kaely kept checking outside, but she couldn’t see anything. If it was Allen Dunne who had disabled the generator, where was he? Of course, the post office SUV was black. Not easy to see at night.

They were both armed, and Kaely kept checking her cellphone, hoping service would be restored, but it was still out. It was almost nine o’clock when Erin reminded her that they hadn’t eaten.

“I’ll get us something,” Kaely said. “Maybe some cheese slices and crackers?”

“Sounds good. And some Mallowmars?”

Kaely nodded. “Cheese, crackers, and Mallowmars. Sounds like a well-balanced meal. Just the thing for two growing girls.”

Erin laughed. “The approved meal for those being stalked by a serial killer.”

Kaely shook her head. “I’ll have to remember that. Of course, this isn’t my first time.”

“I... I’m sorry. That wasn’t a crack about your dad.”

“I didn’t take it that way at all,” Kaely said with a smile. “No worries.”

“You know, I honestly have no idea what I would have done without you,” Erin said. Her eyes grew shiny, and she cleared her throat. “Maybe after we get through this, we could talk some more about... God. I’m coming to the conclusion that maybe you know something I don’t.”

“I can’t imagine that,” Kaely said with a grin.

Erin shook her head. “Point taken. The way I was raised...”

Before she could get the rest of her sentence out, Chester stood up and faced the front door. He began to bark. It was then that Kaely heard the sound of a motor. She quickly turned off the lantern and grabbed her gun. As she pulled the drape back just a little, she saw a vehicle pull up to the road in front of the cabin. The driver turned off his lights. It was difficult for her to see anything through the darkness, but then someone inside the vehicle turned on a flashlight. As he opened the door and got out, she was able to see that it was a dark pickup. Timothy Johnson. He began to walk toward the house but suddenly stopped. Then he turned around and headed toward the woods. Seconds later he disappeared behind the tree line.

Kaely turned her head and saw Erin’s face highlighted by the flames from the fireplace. “Who is it?” she asked.

“Tim Johnson.”

“Maybe he’s here to help us,” Erin said.

“Then why did he go into the woods? We may be wrong. It’s possible that our first assumption was correct. Timothy Johnson may be our killer.”