Page 48

FORTY-SEVEN

The roads had finally been cleared and power restored. Erin’s leg was in a brace, but it was healing nicely. Dr. Gibson had even okayed her to drive back to St. Louis in four days. Noah had wanted to fly in, but Kaely had talked him out of it, choosing to spend as much time as she could with Erin before they each headed home.

Erin was sitting in the living room, a fire crackling in the fireplace, eating fried chicken, fried corn, and french fries from Dolly’s Diner, specially delivered by Adrian. Of course, her Mallomars were close by.

“I thought you said you were going to take us out to dinner as a way to thank us for helping you,” Kaely said, laughing.

“I’m still going to do that,” Adrian said. “This is just the pre-dinner dinner.”

Erin grinned. “Well, it’s great. No complaints here.”

“You’re welcome, but I think I just heard my arteries slamming shut,” Adrian said as he popped two fries into his mouth.

“But it’s worth it, isn’t it?” Erin said.

“Dolly may be a little weird,” Kaely said, “but she hired a great cook.”

Adrian nodded. “That’s true, Carl is excellent.”

“Carl?” Erin said. “I’m not a Dolly Parton expert, but isn’t her husband’s name Carl?”

Adrian laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Carl Thomas Dean. Well, if she hired him because of his name, it turned out okay. No one makes a cheeseburger like Carl.”

Erin raised her eyebrows at him. “You know Dolly’s husband’s full name?”

He shrugged. “Hey, when you live in Tennessee, you learn all kinds of things. Dolly Parton is like royalty here. She’s actually a very nice woman who gives to a lot of different charities.”

“That’s good to know.”

Adrian nodded, but it was clear he was distracted. He stared at her for a moment before saying, “So when did you know?”

“About Allen?” Erin asked.

He nodded while Erin handed Chester a fry, which was happily accepted.

“We figured it out while we were stuck here without electricity or phone service,” Kaely said. “Actually, we were writing the names of Allen’s victims on a list, trying to see what connected them. Once we began doing that...”

Erin jumped in. “I realized that the first letter of each first name spelled...”

“Watch,” Kaely finished for her.

“And then we wondered if he was purposely trying to spell something. Obviously, it was Watcher. That’s when we became concerned.”

“But not so concerned that you didn’t think twice about dashing off into the night?” Adrian asked, his tone incredulous.

Erin shrugged. “When we saw the woman in the woods again, and Chester ran off...”

“You had to go after them?” Adrian said.

“Yeah.... Look, it might not sound like a smart thing to do, but I was afraid for Chester. I was also a little concerned for Timothy. But to be honest, I still wasn’t completely sure it was Allen. Until the last moment.”

“So you actually thought Timothy might be a serial killer?”

Erin smiled and looked at Kaely. “Well, we were pretty sure it wasn’t him. But we saw a truck like his parked outside the cabin two different times. That seemed suspicious.”

“I asked him to check on you,” Adrian said, shaking his head. “This cabin is on his way home. It never occurred to me that you’d think he was up to no good. He would have knocked on your door, but he saw something in the woods. He went to check it out. We know now that it was Bobbi.”

“I thank God he was there,” Kaely said. “His quick thinking saved Erin’s life. I just wish he’d been able to help Bobbi.”

“She was trying to scare people away from the cabin,” Adrian said. “Her partner at the real estate company knew what she was doing. She should have tried to stop her. It cost Bobbi her life.” He shook his head. “She should never have been out there. I guess she planned to drive away before the snow got too deep, but her car got stuck. I have to wonder if she was coming to you for help.”

“Well, if she was, why didn’t she take that ridiculous costume off?” Erin asked.

Adrian shrugged. “I guess we’ll never know.”

“So she wanted to buy the cabin herself?” Kaely asked.

Adrian nodded. “She thought that if people believed there was a ghost in the woods, they wouldn’t want to stay here. She planned to drive the price way down and buy the cabin from Steve for a pittance. After that, the Woman in Watcher Woods would disappear, and Bobbi would rake in a fortune through rentals.” He sighed. “Poor Timothy didn’t even know Bobbi had been attacked. Not until you found her body.”

“What made her glow?” Kaely asked.

“Just some lights she’d wired inside the cloak,” Erin said. “I saw them while we were out there.”

“Yeah, she had them connected to a battery,” Adrian said. “Pretty spooky looking.”

“I’m so grateful that Chester knew Timothy was in the woods and led me to him,” Erin said, “or I could have ended up just like Bobbi.”

“So, you two didn’t trust Timothy completely but Chester did?”

Erin laughed. “Yes, Chester was smarter than an ex-cop and an ex-FBI agent.”

“Well, he knew Timothy,” Adrian said. “They were pretty good friends.”

Erin took a drink of her soda before saying, “I have to admit that, at first, I thought Kaely had fired the shot that killed Allen.”

“I got there right after Timothy did,” Kaely said. “But it still might have been too late.”

“You realize that we all know the police department isn’t getting that dog, right?” Adrian asked, looking at Chester.

Erin looked down at the border collie curled up next to her on the couch, his paw on her leg. “Yeah, but I don’t think any of your fellow officers will really mind.”

Adrian shook his head. “I’m sure they’ll all be happy that Ozzy—I mean Chester—has found a good home. Chester won’t mind either. He’s obviously chosen his person.”

Erin reached over and stroked his soft head. “He’s so very special,” she said softly. “I believe we need each other.”

“So back to realizing that Allen Dunne was our killer,” Adrian said. “How did you tie that in to seeing that the murderer was spelling Watcher?”

“It was at the post office,” Erin said.

“We noticed that when someone tried to put up a flyer on the bulletin board, Allen freaked out,” Kaely said. “He came from behind the counter and grabbed it. Said the man was going to make things out of order. When he moved the other flyers, we realized he had them in alphabetical order. Then, when I was looking over the stamps, I saw that the pages had been cut out of the usual booklet and put into a spiral notebook. I didn’t realize until we were talking about the killer, that those pages were also in alphabetical order. You see, some people, like Allen Dunne, are driven to try to control everything. The obsession to put things in order is part of their psychological makeup.”

“I always thought he was strange, but I never saw him as a serial killer.” Adrian frowned. “I guess we’ll never know how he approached those women, but we know where they met him. He delivered their mail. And who would suspect a mail carrier? We found his phone. He took pictures of his victims. He may have been too smart to leave evidence at the scene, but he was dumb enough to keep photos that tied him to the murders. At least we can completely close this case.”

“Something else we’ll never know,” Kaely said, “is whether he asked Chloe for a date and then punctured her tires or if he just picked her up once her tires went flat.”

Erin nodded. “Maybe he asked her out, and she turned him down? Disabling her car might have been his backup plan. He needed that C .”

“That’s really disturbing,” Adrian said. He paused for a moment. “Why did he wait so long to start killing? He’s lived here since he was a kid. His grandparents raised him after his mother died. Then when he was older...” He stopped and stared at Kaely. “Oh, man. He didn’t start killing with Willow Abbott did he?”

Erin shook her head. “No. He probably killed his grandparents.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

“Because that’s who he was,” Kaely said. “I’m certain they did something that triggered his behavior. I’m pretty sure it had to do with his mother. My guess is that he felt they hurt her in some way. I’m also confident that she wore high heels, makeup, and blue ribbons in her hair. That’s why he added the ribbon and never removed his victims’ makeup, jewelry, or high heels. I know serial killers who were very triggered by those things. But Allen? No, they didn’t bother him at all. The white dress symbolized purity, either his mother’s or he put it on his victims because he believed angels wear them. I would lean toward the latter because of the figurines.” She sighed. “We’ll never know exactly what he was thinking.”

“So, he was trying to spell out Watcher with his kills?” Adrian asked. “Why? What does that have to do with anything?”

Kaely shook her head. “He was trying to send a message. Like a challenge. It’s a common thing with serial killers. Think of the Zodiac. Jack the Ripper. There are more. He probably picked the words Watcher Woods for his puzzle because people were afraid of the ghost that supposedly roamed there. It might also be that he felt connected to William Watcher in some way. A lot of serial killers pattern themselves after other murderers.”

“Why didn’t he include his grandparents’ initials in his puzzle?”

“Because they weren’t important,” Erin said. “They were just obstacles to get out of the way so he could begin his quest for what he considered to be his fight against God—or the angels.”

Kaely nodded. “Yes, I agree.”

“I still can’t believe you thought Timothy was a serial killer,” Adrian said with a smile. “He’s one of the most moral people I’ve ever met. I trust him with my life.”

Kaely smiled. “Yes, I understand. But think about it. He’s attractive. Has a very respectable job. Knows how to hide evidence. He was in a position to tell you what he wanted you to know, but not necessarily what you needed to know.”

“Maybe you should have told us Timothy was going to be checking on us?” Erin said. “I mean, we knew there was a serial killer running around and a strange vehicle keeps showing up?”

“Yeah, I get it. Sorry.” Adrian popped another fry in his mouth, chewed, and then swallowed. “So now what?”

“Well, we’re leaving in four... well, three days after today,” Kaely said. “I’m going home to Virginia, and Erin will be going back to St. Louis.”

“You’re right,” Erin said. “But I won’t be there long.”

Kaely frowned. “Why?”

“Well, I decided that I need to leave St. Louis,” Erin said slowly. “Too many bad memories there. I need a fresh start.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Adrian said. “Where will you go?”

Erin laughed and looked at Kaely.

Kaely’s sudden, wide smile told her she’d figured it out.

“I made Steve an offer he couldn’t refuse,” Erin said.

“You bought the cabin,” Adrian said. He said it more as a statement than a question. “But aren’t there bad memories here as well?”

“I would say that this experience has been... challenging. But something good happened too. Something I needed. Being here—with Kaely—has allowed me to start over. Besides, the peace and quiet will help me with my writing.” She smiled at Kaely. “Our little adventure has given me ideas. I’m ready to write another book.”

“I think that’s wonderful,” Kaely said. She looked over at Adrian. “And you already have a friend here.”

Adrian’s face flushed and he picked up his drink. Erin noticed it and wondered why he’d reacted that way. Strange. Hopefully, he didn’t mind that she was moving to Sanctuary.

“I hope you’ll come back,” Erin said to Kaely.

Kaely nodded. “I think we should make this a yearly thing at least, don’t you?”

“Absolutely,” Erin replied. “But...”

“But perhaps without a crazed serial killer next time?”

Adrian grinned at them. “I would certainly appreciate that.”

Erin shrugged. “We’ll do our best, but we certainly can’t promise anything.”

“No, we certainly can’t,” Kaely said, smiling.