Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“And you’re sure you didn’t touch anything but the stick?” Tate asked.
The scene was organized chaos. I’d met him in the gravel parking lot only a few hundred yards from where we’d found the body. Over his shoulder, a team of evidence technicians milled around, zipping themselves into full-body jumpsuits and roping off the trailhead with yellow crime scene tape.
They’d pulled up in large, unmarked vans that looked entirely too expensive to belong to the Ponderosa Sheriff’s Department.
Apparently, the FBI was a little more than casually involved.
“Yes,” I said. It was the third time I’d given my account of what happened, and it’d be so much easier if I didn’t have to remember to leave Charlie out of it. “I saw something shiny, used the stick to scrape at the ground, and dropped it when I saw the body.”
He nodded, but Special Agent Sunglasses didn’t look convinced. “Tell me what you thought you saw again,” he said, frowning.
I sighed. “Look, um…” Fuck, I forgot his actual name.
“Special Agent Waters.”
“Right, Agent Waters. I was hiking to my car, saw a reflection of something off the path, and felt weird about it. I can’t explain any more than that.”
“Have you seen anything suspicious in the area in the last few days? Any hikers or vehicles?”
I raised an eyebrow at Tate, very aware that it was illegal to lie to a federal agent. I’d already toed the line a little too much for comfort.
He pinched the bridge of his nose and motioned for us to follow him further down the gravel path, away from everyone else.
“He knows,” he said once we were out of earshot.
“About…”
“All of it.”
“You told him about Charlie?” I asked, shocked. I couldn’t imagine trying to explain a ghost to a federal agent, let alone that federal agent.
“He explained you’ve had a… surprise guest staying with you at the lookout. I don’t believe Officer Morris to be a dishonest person, so I’ve chosen to accept what he’s told me until I confirm it for myself.”
“I also filled him in on what happened last night,” Tate said, going a bit red in the cheeks.
Agent Sunglasses smirked.
Ah. So he was the mysterious voice in the background when I called Tate. “Is that right? You filled him in?”
Sunglasses coughed, and Tate looked ready to turn me into another crime scene. I couldn’t decide if Charlie would’ve batted me upside the head or high-fived me for that one.
Probably both.
“So,” he continued, voice dripping with venom, “now that we’re alone, other than finding an unknown male staring at you through your windows last night, have you seen anything else odd in the last few days? And is there anything you’d like to add to your account of how you found the body?”
I clarified it was both Charlie and I who’d made the gruesome discovery, and reiterated that I hadn’t seen anything else out of the ordinary.
“Oh!” I said as we began to walk back toward the gravel lot. “I did see Bobby’s truck on this road yesterday. There’s a stretch farther into the park that’s visible from the tower. He would’ve had to come by this way; maybe he saw something?”
I’d completely forgotten about it after everything that happened when Tate showed up at the lookout.
Tate blinked.
“How do you know who it was?” Sunglasses asked.
“I saw the truck through my binoculars; it was the old Chevy he bought from Dad. It’s the only one like it in the area, unmistakable. And it—”
I stopped, warring with myself on whether or not to share the next detail. Certainly, it was a coincidence. Nothing to get worked up over. I’d already given a DNA sample when Tate arrived, so they could rule me out. They’d ask Bobby a few questions, clear everything up, and rule him out, too.
Right?
“It’s what?” Sunglasses prompted.
“Um, he had an ATV in the bed of the truck.”
Tate grew very still, while Sunglasses waved me off. “Thanks for letting us know. We’ll give him a call.”
Now that I’d remembered, I couldn’t shake it from my mind. Why was he out here in the first place? And what a coincidence, that it was the day before I found Janine’s body in a very discoverable location—one that absolutely would’ve been searched when she first went missing.
Back in my truck and finally ready to depart, I weaved through the gravel lot, dodging the crammed government vehicles. Before I could leave, though, Tate broke away from what appeared to be a heated conversation with Sunglasses and motioned for me to stop and roll down my window.
“I spoke with my grandmother,” he said lowly, casting a look around for listening ears. “If Charlie can make it, she wants to meet him tonight.”
The rubber band squeezing around my chest doubled, then quadrupled. “Tonight?”
He nodded. “We’ve never found one of the victim’s bodies before, Reece.
Why now? Why this one? Why here?” He shook his head.
“Whether or not it’s the same guy or a copycat, this is big.
It’s a lot harder to avoid being caught in 2025 than it was in 1986, especially now that we have more evidence to work with.
You two should… prepare yourselves. If he can remember anything, we need to know now. ”
“Okay,” I said, clearing my throat. “He’s resting, but should be back later. I’ll tell him.”
“Good. I’ll give you a call when we’re ready.”
Dad’s truck was gone when I pulled up to the cabin. I hadn’t told him about the man outside the lookout last night and only warned him of my early arrival once I’d left the trailhead.
He replied a few minutes later.
Dad
No problem. I’m on two twenty-fours this week, staying at the base in town to sleep in between. I’ll be back in a few days. Keep in touch and take care.
Oh, I banged up my knee pretty good splitting wood before my shift, and left some first aid supplies out on the bathroom sink. No need to worry.
I frowned down at the last text before digging around in the front pocket of my backpack for my keys.
Stepping through the front door, I was struck by how odd it was to be there alone.
In such a small space, Dad’s absence was noticeable, and despite being able to lock myself inside four solid walls that weren’t made of glass, I still felt vulnerable. Unsafe.
Almost as if the killer could watch me still, even now.
I wish Charlie were here.
Shaking my head, I tossed my bag by the couch. He needed to rest. I needed to rest, too. I could feel the brain fog and muscle tension that preceded a migraine setting in.
I stepped into the small bathroom to take a piss, but backpedaled at the mess I found.
Blood-soaked tissue and gauze filled the sink, with dried droplets splattered all over the counter and tile floor. A pack of bandages was left open, along with disinfectant and various tools used to stitch wounds closed.
“What the fuck did he do to himself?” I mumbled aloud. He must’ve been hurt badly if he’d needed stitches, and rushed out for work before he cleaned up the aftermath.
I sighed heavily. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d avoided going to an emergency room when he really should’ve, and it didn’t bode well for future conversations about safety and taking care of himself as he aged.
Shaking my head, I piled the soiled tissue and dressing into the trash and cleaned off the counter and floor, clearing enough room to set my toiletries. Then, I stepped into the small, stand-up shower and let the hot water wash away the tension in my neck and shoulders.
A few minutes later, clean, dry, and changed into a fresh set of clothes, I crashed onto the sofa, threw an arm over my eyes to block out the light, and tried to nap.
Except all I could think about was Charlie, and that the day or two of buffer I thought we had before we met with Tate’s grandmother was gone.
Tonight. It was all happening tonight. I could lose him tonight. I could figure out how to keep him tonight.
I already missed him, and we hadn’t even been apart for a full day. What would I do if—
No.
No. I couldn’t go there, not even hypothetically.
I rolled and pressed my face into the cushions. The dichotomy of possibilities was impossible to manage—to actually feel. The muscles that’d loosened under the hot shower spray tensed again, pulling my neck and shoulder tight.
Ding.
I patted around for where I’d set my phone next to the couch and pulled up the incoming message.
Bobby
Are you back in town? Heard something happened up at the trailhead. Everything alright?
I frowned. How did Bobby know about that so quickly? And hadn’t he been the one to call me when Janine was reported missing, too?
It was time to nip those questions in the bud. Besides, seeing Bobby was infinitely better than spiraling about what might or might not happen later with Charlie.
Yeah, can I come see you?
Sure, come on over. Molly just went down, though, so if you ring the doorbell, I’ll murder you.
“You look like shit,” I said.
Bobby waved me through the front door. He had a scrub brush in one hand, a sudsy baby bottle in the other, and it smelled like he hadn’t changed his shirt in seven to ten business days.
Or showered.
“Yeah, well, you don’t look like you’re gonna be on the cover of Men’s Health anytime soon, either.”
I chuckled. “Is she doing okay?” I asked, pointing at the closed door to Molly’s room.
“One ear infection turned into three this month, and I’ve resorted to bargaining with demons to get her to sleep, but otherwise, she’s fine. I don’t know how Jade or I are alive, though.”
I cringed. “That sounds awful. Can I help with anything? Sit here and make sure she stays asleep while you shower, maybe? Or nap?”
He set the half-washed items down on the kitchen counter and crashed onto the sofa. I settled into the armchair opposite.
“No,” he sighed. “Other than Jade, I feel like I haven’t had a real, normal adult conversation since you’ve been at the lookout. I’d rather do this, if you don’t mind the smell.”
I smiled as wide as I could. “I never have.”
He flipped me the bird and grinned back. “So, what happened at the trailhead?” he asked.