Chapter 25
I drove to the Lamberts’ house midmorning, the clouds hanging low over Cambria like they couldn’t decide whether to break or linger.
As I was leaving, Logan was enjoying one of Giovanni’s big breakfasts, and the two were talking about hockey, a passion it was clear they both shared.
At one point, Logan even managed a slight laugh.
I hadn’t told Logan where I was going when I slipped out, deciding it would be better to tell him after the fact.
I parked at the curb and sat a moment before getting out, thinking about the reception I was about to receive.
Part of me thought about driving away and letting Logan reach out to his parents again when he was ready.
The other part knew how much they must be worrying about their son.
Stopping by seemed like the right thing to do.
Tilly opened the door as soon as I knocked, her posture rigid, shoulders square like she’d been bracing for impact.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
Her eyes flicked past me, scanning the yard, the street, my car.
“I’m here to talk to you about your son,” I said.
“We’ve said all we’re going to say to you about him.”
“Oh, no. It’s not that. I wanted you to know that he’s safe.”
She crossed her arms, huffing, “And how would you know?”
“It’s complicated, but I’m sure you’ve been worried, and I wanted to put you at ease. Please, let me explain.”
She hesitated, then stepped back. “Fine. Say what you came to say.”
I felt it again, the same tight, coiled energy she carried the last time I was there. Fear disguised as control.
“I found Logan yesterday,” I said.
“How?”
I’m a damn good private investigator, that’s how.
“One of his friends tipped me off,” I said.
She cocked her head to the side. “Which one?”
“What matters is, I convinced him to return with me to Cambria. He’s staying at my place for now, while I investigate Audrey’s murder.”
A look of shock swept across her face, and then she swung the door open, motioning to the kitchen. “Come in.”
We walked together down the hallway where I spotted Vaughn, who appeared to have been listening to our conversation.
The three of us sat down.
“Why is our son with you and not here, at home, where he belongs?” Tilly asked.
“Someone threatened him.”
She pressed a hand to her chest, eyes wide.
“Threatened him, how?” she asked. “What kind of threat?”
“A direct one.”
“From whom?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“I’m aware.”
She stood, pacing the room and then flattened her hands on the counter. “Does Logan being threatened have anything to do with Audrey’s murder?”
I nodded. “I believe she found some things someone didn’t want her to find.”
“What things?”
“It’s connected to an old case,” I said. “A young woman was visiting Cambria about twenty-five years ago, and she went missing. The case has never been solved.”
Tilly and Vaughn exchanged worried glances, and Tilly shook her head. “You’re being vague, talking in circles. I don’t like it.”
I needed to give her something but deciding what to offer proved harder than I thought.
“I spoke to your son yesterday, and I learned a great deal, things that have helped move this case forward,” I said. “But right now, the fewer people who know where he is, or what he told me, the better.”
“We’re not people. We’re his parents.”
Vaughn wrapped his hand around a soda, looking at me with a displeased expression. “You’re sitting here telling us our son has been threatened, and that he needs to stay with you right now, and you won’t even give us any details or anything to go on? Why should we trust you?”
I faced him, getting the distinct feeling that something was off. While he wasn’t being hostile or defensive, his tone was far different than it had been the first time we met.
I considered offering a breadcrumb, giving just enough information but not too much.
“Someone left Logan a note on his windshield several days ago,” I said. “It referenced Audrey. It told him to leave the past alone if he didn’t want to end up like her.”
Vaughn’s grip tightened around the can. “And you believe the same person who killed Audrey is behind it?”
“I do.”
“And this old case,” he began, “this disappearance of a young woman ... I suppose you think it’s connected to Audrey and Logan and everything that’s happening right now.”
“I’d like to share more with you, but I can’t. Not yet. I just need you to trust me and to know that I have your son’s best interests at heart.”
“Trust,” he grunted. “You sound just like the police. You must be working with them.”
“I am.”
“Then why not let them handle it?”
“They are on their end,” I said. “And I am on mine.”
Silence stretched between us until Tilly broke it. “What do you want from us?”
“For now,” I said, “I’m asking you not to tell anyone Logan has returned and is staying with me. Not friends. Not family. Not even neighbors.”
“You’re asking a mother to lie.”
“I’m asking a mother to protect her son.”
The comment seemed to strike a nerve.
“Fine,” she said. “For now. But I want him to check in with me—daily.”
“I will relay your message.”
Vaughn stood, drinking down the last of his soda and then tossing the can at the trash can.
He missed.
“What assurances can you give us that our son is safe?” Vaughn asked.
“We have security, and I’m not talking about video surveillance. Actual security.”
“Why?”
“My husband is involved in a line of work that requires it. All you need to know is that our house is the safest place Logan can be right now.”
Tilly let out a frustrated sigh. “If he’s staying with you, I’m guessing he’s going to need some clothes.”
“He does.”
She moved past me toward the hallway, and Vaughn stepped closer, aiming a finger at me. “I want you to find who did this, and for it to all be over.”
“I’m working on it.”
Tilly returned with a duffel bag a couple of minutes later and shoved it into my hands.
“Tell him,” she said, voice tight, “to call his parents.”
“I will.”
“And tell him that we love him.”
I slung the bag over my shoulder and walked to the car feeling the conversation had gone as well as it could have gone.
As I sat in the driver’s seat, I checked my phone.
A text from Whitlock waited.
We’re heading to the cabin. They’ve started digging.
I responded:
I’ll be there soon. I have much to tell you.
I turned the car toward home to pick up Giovanni who, having met Logan, was now just as invested in the case as the rest of us.
And I hoped today we’d find what we wanted most—answers.