Chapter 20
TWENTY
Reid
“Tom Warner. Can you check him out?”
“I’m on it.”
“I don’t like that he’s watching her.”
Jonas laughs on the other line. I get the irony, but Tom shouldn’t be doing this to Dove.
“Where is she now?”
“We’re about to head out and take photos.”
“Is that really the right move?”
“I want to get ahead of the whole new-boyfriend game that Tom might be getting at. I’ve worked far too hard to be seen as approachable here, so I can’t be suspicious.”
“This is entirely different than what we planned.”
“Nothing is going according to plan.”
“That’s not true. Look at Jill.”
“Fair enough. Well, let’s just figure it out. Any word about the motel?”
“You’re in the clear. I paid off the front desk clerk and the owner, all video evidence has been wiped, and you were never logged. Even for a town like Lamb Creek, they’re used to seedy people coming around who need their tracks covered.”
“Seedy? Real funny.”
“I thought so.”
“Alright, I have to go.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“Me too.”
I hang up the phone and meet Dove out in the living room. We’re getting ready to scope out some ideas she has for a private collection she’ll be selling on her website. I love that she’s trying to think about the future and not the present we’re living in.
“Ready?” I ask.
Dove turns around and flashes me my favorite smile of hers—the one I know that is only for me.
“Ready.”
She adjusts her camera around her neck and heads outside.
“It’s so cold,” she says with a shiver.
“Are you sure you want to be out here?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. I can’t wait for it to snow soon.”
“Any day now.”
I shut the door behind me, and we’re off. I follow behind her; she clearly knows where she wants us to head.
“Thanks for coming with me.”
“Of course.”
We walk in a comfortable silence for some time until I start to recognize where we’re headed.
“Our spot?” I muse.
She turns around and flashes me the same favorite smile.
“It was my favorite before you, you know?”
“I don’t want to even think about a time before you.”
“I like that,” she says while continuing onward.
I smirk as I follow behind. I have a feeling I’ll be doing this forever.
After walking a few more minutes, we’re back here. Last time, I stripped her bare and reminded her what we both wanted. Now the calmness around here makes me feel settled.
She pulls out a blanket from her bag and sets it out on the same fallen tree I’ve found her on time and time again.
“This is your thinking spot.”
“It is. The beauty around it is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”
We both sit down on the blanket, and I pull her into my side to try and keep her warm.
“This is where every major decision I’ve made has occurred.”
“Tell me.”
“This is where I realized I wanted to be a photographer.”
“Your dream job.”
She smiles up at me.
“I was sitting right here when I knew I wanted to buy a house out here and make this permanent.”
My heart sinks at that thought. If she stays with me, this won’t be her forever.
“It’s where I met you.”
She leans up and places a kiss on my lips. It takes everything in me not to deepen it, but I need to know more about this.
“It’s where I knew I loved you.”
“I like the sound of that,” I whisper against her lips. I can feel her smile emerge.
“It’s where I realized I’ll follow you anywhere, Reid.”
“Do you mean that?”
“I do.”
“Fuck. How did I find you?”
“You were lurking in the woods,” she teases.
“I’m serious. I promise to cherish you in this lifetime and every one after. I’ll find you in each of them and make you mine forever.”
She presses her lips against mine, and this time, I do deepen it. My hands thread in her hair, and I pull her closer into me. I can never get enough of the way she feels, tastes, and just is.
Dove is my corrupted soul’s other half, and it’s my job to make sure she’s taken care of forever.
“I promise this will all be over soon.”
She pulls away and leans her head against my shoulder.
“I’m going to miss it out here.”
“We can always come back.”
We both stare out into the stream as it flows peacefully past us.
“Do you believe that’ll be possible?”
I don’t want to lie to her, but I really do. I’ll find a way to keep her happy, one way or another.
“I do.”
Time goes by, and Dove and I get into a comfortable silence. She gets up periodically to take a few photos, but nothing too seriously. After she’s settled into my side once again, I realize we need to head home.
“It’s getting late; we should get back.”
Dove yawns as dusk surrounds us.
“That’s a good idea.”
She packs up her bag as I fold up the blanket we have been using. After putting it back on top of the bag, I carry it for her as we make the trek home.
Getting closer, Dove freezes.
“Is everything okay?”
“It’s Abigail.”
I look ahead and spot a lone woman ahead of us on the trail.
“You should say hi,” I suggest.
Dove looks up at me with concern laced in her expression.
“She’s your friend. It’ll be fine.”
“If you think so…” She trails off.
Dove tilts her head to the side.
“Abigail!” She shouts to get her attention. It works, and Abigail waves back as she waits for us to make it to where she is standing.
“Hey there. Who’s this here?” Abigail asks.
“This is my boyfriend.”
I smirk. Boyfriend . I feel like I’m so much more, but this will do.
“Reid, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” I say.
Dove and I haven’t exactly addressed what to tell people about us, but I don’t plan on lying. It’ll make it more obvious in case anyone recognizes me from Dossberry as Jill’s fiancé.
“It’s a pleasure. New to the area?”
“No, I’ve actually been living in Dossberry.”
“Oh! How lovely. Well, get ready for the snow. I hear it’s coming tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” Dove asks.
That’s sooner than we both had been expecting.
“That’s what the latest forecast projects. Just watched it before coming out here, maybe an hour ago.”
“Wow, no wonder it’s been feeling so cold out.”
“It’s a shame, though, for the police. As of tomorrow, that area will be covered with snow, I suspect.”
“Do you think they still need it?” Dove asks.
“What do I know? I just watch my true crime documentaries. I’m not a real police officer,” Abigail says with a chuckle.
“Don’t we all love them,” Dove says with a warm smile.
“Hopefully, they’ve got some leads. Tom has been a maniac about catching this man who’s hiding on the mountain,” she says in disbelief.
“Yeah, the police showed me a picture of this man…” Dove says.
“Don’t get me started.” Abigail throws her arms up.
“What do you mean?” I chime in.
“There is no man on the mountain. This is a sad situation, but we aren’t actually in a true crime documentary. That was a tree in the picture he took, and there’s no reason for him to be out all hours of the night trying to be a vigilante about it all,” she says and then sighs.
“I’m sorry you’re going through this,” Dove says.
“I just hope they find the man, or everyone just moves on,” Abigail adds.
“Me too. Well, I’m here if you need anything.”
“Thanks, dear.”
“Well, we’re heading back home. Take care,” Dove says.
“You as well.”
“It was nice to meet you,” I say.
“And you too. Don’t be a stranger. After all of this is over, we have to get together.”
“I’d like that,” I answer.
Abigail continues up the trail as Dove and I head back down toward her home.
“Tom’s been leaving throughout the night,” Dove says.
“Before all of this, there was nothing strange to you about him?”
“No, I mean, I’ve never really spoken to him without Abigail. There has never been a need, I guess.”
The crunch of dead twigs and leaves sounds between us as we close the short distance.
“He could just be an old man with time on his hands. If he had anything concrete, he would have given it to the police,” I say.
“I hope so. I just don’t know why he’s suddenly become so interested in this. I mean, sure, a dead body isn’t something common for these parts, but based upon what Abigail is saying just makes it that much stranger.”
“When we get back, I’ll give Jonas a call. See what he’s found on Tom.”
“You asked him to look into Tom?”
“Just taking a precaution.”
“That’s good. Hopefully, it comes back with nothing.”
I know Dove is feeling unsettled by these revelations, but Tom is probably just a loner who has been spending far too much time with nothing to do on his hands. I’m not worried he’ll find anything on me, especially not with the snow about to fall and me being public that I’m with Dove.
I’m not just some man on the mountain anymore. I have an identity out here.
Dove gets to work in her darkroom as soon as we get back inside. I know it’s a needed distraction. I reassured her that I’d be fine out here—I have plenty to do.
“This is Jonas,” he answers.
“So formal of you,” I taunt.
“I do have real clients I have to manage from here.”
“Fair enough. Anything on Tom?”
“Clean as a whistle. Nothing out of the ordinary popping up.”
I let out a frustrated sigh.
“It’s for the best. We don’t have any new obstacles in our way.”
“I just get a bad feeling about him.”
“Well, be positive. My guy finally came through. I have all of the evidence on our John Doe that we needed.”
“We need to get used to saying his name.”
Jonas sighs.
“You’re right. I have all of the evidence on Simon that we were waiting on.”
“I’ll come back to Dossberry to discuss.”
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
I hang up the phone and begin packing up my laptop and a few other items I’ll need over there. As much as I hate not being with Dove, I probably need to stay with Jonas in Dossberry tonight to end this all.
With my bag packed, I knock on the darkroom door.
“Little bird?”
I open it slightly and see she has headphones on while she works. Watching her in this element is addicting. If only I didn’t need to go.
As she moves easily around the room, she spots me and sets down what she was working on and then removes her headphones.
“What’s wrong?” she asks.
“Nothing, but I do need to head out for the night.”
“You aren’t coming back?” she asks with a frown.
“Baby, don’t look at me like that. You know being away from you is the least of what I want.”
“Where are you off to?”
“I have to head back to Dossberry to see Jonas.”
“Good or bad news?” she asks as she walks toward me.
I instantly wrap my arms around her waist.
“Good. It’s almost done.”
“That’s wonderful. I don’t get what that means, but I’ll take your word for it.”
My mouth turns into a lopsided grin.
“I’ll be back in the morning. As soon as I can.”
“Okay, I love you. Be safe.”
“I’ll never tire of hearing that.”
She smiles and gets up on her tiptoes to kiss me as her arms wrap around my neck.
“I love you too, little bird.”
Our mouths connect, and the same infusion of lust and need takes over. My hands tangle in her hair, and I hoist her up. She instantly wraps her legs around my waist.
As our tongues intertwine, I know I’ll never get enough of her. I break away.
“Baby, I have to go.”
“See you tomorrow. Keep me posted if you can.”
“I will.” It feels nice to not be lying to the person I’m with about this.
Pulling up to the house, I quickly get out to head inside. It’s easiest for us to meet here instead of somewhere else. I was careless with the motel early on, and now we’ve agreed this is our best option.
“Jonas?” I shout into the bleak home.
“In here,” he shouts back.
I head over to the kitchen to find Jonas sitting at the island with paperwork strewn everywhere. A standing board with papers pinned to it is nearby, along with his laptop and computer monitors.
“I feel like I’ve missed quite a bit,” I say.
He looks up through his glasses and shrugs before returning to the screens. My friend looks exhausted from this.
“All of the details on the sexual assault cases have been anonymously submitted to the police. They finally know who the John Doe is and how bad he was.”
I give him a pointed look.
“Using John Doe instead of Simon still works in this case,” Jonas says defensively.
“I know.”
Jonas leans back and stretches his arms out widely before settling them behind his head.
“How many were there?”
“Several.”
I walk toward him and grip the edge of the island.
“Too many Margos had to suffer.”
“Not anymore. She made sure of that.”
Silence lingers for a few moments.
“They’ll stop, Reid. The police won’t care as much as they did,” he says.
“Because of what he’s done?”
“Yes. It’s as simple as that.”
I look up at my tired friend and know that he believes this.
“It’s been too long. I’ve hacked into their systems, talked to some sources, but they have no leads. They had no idea who he was. They’ll stop because it’s already a dead end.”
“Except for Tom’s account of a lurker out on that mountain.”
“They’ll chalk it up to a busybody old man.”
Similar words that I said to Dove earlier today. I want them to be true, but it’s tough to believe.
“I’m going to clean up here and leave tomorrow. It’s time for me to go.”
“I won’t be far behind you.”
“And I’ll get started on the process of selling the house when I get back to California.”
“Good, let’s be done with it all.”
I knock on the counter and head into the living room area where the bar is. I pull out the scotch and pour two glasses. I hear Jonas coming into the room.
Handing him his glass, he leans against the back of the sofa, and I mimic his posture against the bar.
“To this being easy, my friend,” Jonas says with a raise of his glass.
“I wouldn’t say that, but you’re right. This is a good outcome.”
I raise my glass in the air, and we both take a drink.
“When will Dove join you in California?” he asks.
“I’ll help her pack up a few belongings and ship them out there. Then, hopefully, we can go together any day now. I want to get out of here before the snow starts to become too heavy.”
“She’ll keep her house?”
“Yes.”
I know he doesn’t think that’s wise, but she’s built a life here. With her job, it makes sense that she could need to leave and experience a change of scenery.
“I know it’ll work out,” I say.
“Me too, my friend.”
“Alright, time to get to work. Show me what you have, and I’ll help you clean this mess of evidence up.”