Chapter 51
LEVI
Violence is rarely as loud as people imagine. Movies make it seem like it’s always rapid gunfire or swords clashing together.
Today, it was two gunshots.
But it’s the screams that linger with me.
And when I saw Blake run to Tessa, I thought I was having a stroke.
The image returns to the front of my mind, and my chest tightens all over again.
Every few seconds, my eyes drift from the road in front of me to the passenger seat.
Blake stares out the window as her hands rest in her lap, fingers laced together so tightly her knuckles have turned white.
I don’t think she realizes how tightly she’s gripping.
The truck hums steadily beneath us as snowflakes drift through the headlights.
Usually, Blake fills every quiet moment with questions or observations, but she hasn’t said a word since we left Silver Pines.
She’s going to make herself bleed if she keeps chewing on her lip.
“Butterfly?”
“Hmm?” she returns, eyes still focused out the window.
“You with me?”
She answers with a small nod.
I’m not sure if she’s lying to herself or me.
I reach across the center console, prying one of her hands from the other and lacing our fingers together. She squeezes my hand almost immediately.
Relief settles deep in my chest.
She’s here.
Falling Sky comes into view. Porch lights cast warm pools of light across the snow, turning the house into a welcoming beacon against the shadowed mountains.
At the end of the driveway, Javier waits outside, Santiago having called ahead, while Bear rolls around in the snow.
I put my truck in park, hop out of the cab, and round the hood to the passenger side. Opening Blake’s door, I offer her my hand to help her out.
She refuses my hand and jumps down by herself.
Javier strides toward us, his eyes studying Blake. Bear stops his frolicking and runs ahead of Javier. He sniffs her legs, checking to make sure she’s okay.
Blake turns to Javier. “I’m okay.”
“I wasn’t asking,” he replies and opens his arms.
She leans into him, melting into the embrace. Her shoulders finally relax for the first time since we left Silver Pines.
She needed this.
They release each other at the same time, and Javier looks at me.
“There was a shooting at the grand opening.”
Javier’s brows knit together.
“Tessa took one to the vest, but other than that, no one else was hurt.”
He lets out a sharp exhale.
“We have the shooter in custody at the station.”
Javier nods once, understanding why Santiago called.
“I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“I know,” I confirm.
Blake crosses her arms, narrowing her eyes at me. “You’re seriously going to leave me behind?”
“Blake.”
She holds up her hand for me to stop. “Don’t.”
I sigh. “Walker and Santiago need my help.”
Blake drops her hand. “I know.” Her eyes fall to her boots. “I just don’t want to sit here when I could be of help.”
Stepping closer, I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “This isn’t because we don’t trust you.”
She snorts. “Could’ve fooled me.”
A sad smile barely curves my mouth. “It’s because we need to be sure that you’re safe.”
“You can be my babysitter,” Javier interjects.
Blake and I slowly look toward him.
Javier shrugs. “I’ve been told I’m very easy to babysit.”
Blake cracks a laugh, her smile taking over her face. When she stops, her attention returns to me. “Tell Santiago and Walker that you three owe me big time for this.”
“I will happily pay on my knees,” I say with a wink.
Blake playfully shoves my shoulder. “You’re a shameless flirt, Levi Harding.”
I kiss her forehead, then watch as Javier leads Blake inside with Bear following right behind them.
Every instinct tells me to stay and spend the rest of the night making tea, wrapping her in blankets, and convincing myself she's alright.
But Walker and Santiago need me.
And right now, I’m only going because Blake is breathing.
I arrive at the police station swiftly. The parking lot is overflowing with news station vans. Each news reporter and their cameramen mill about, waiting for the opportunity to pounce.
I park my truck in the back, avoiding the mob out front.
Inside, Ridge nods, acknowledging my arrival. Jolene sits at her desk, her eyes rimmed red from crying. She’s probably worrying over Tessa, who is still at the hospital getting checked.
Walker and Santiago wait for me at the end of the hall that leads to the interrogation room.
Walker notices my presence first. “Blake okay?”
“Javier’s with her,” I answer.
Walker and Santiago nod.
I move to go down the hall to the observation room, but Walker steps in my way. “I want you in there.”
My head pulls back an inch. “Why?”
Walker gives me a look. “You know him.”
He has a point. I’m the person most likely to get Abbott to talk.
I’m still struggling to reconcile the fact that the man I worked with every day for the last several years is the same man who pulled out a rifle at Silver Pines today.
I nod in agreement, and Walker hands me a file and a few papers I may need. Then the three of us move together.
Before I enter the interrogation room, Santigo places a hand on my shoulder. “You got this.”
I give him a half smile, grateful for his confidence in me.
When he drops his hand, I pull my shoulders back and open the door.
Abbott sits with both hands cuffed to the table, his jacket folded over the back of his chair. Without the coat and knit cap on, he somehow looks younger.
His hands shake, and his knee bounces rapidly under the table.
He’s probably having an adrenaline crash.
Crossing the room, I sit down in the chair across from him and set the file on the table. Abbott’s eyes are glued to the metal around his wrists. I wait another minute before I jump right in.
“Why?”
Abbot’s gaze finally lifts.
“Did you know that Silver Pines destroyed the habitat of hundreds of prairie dogs?”
I keep my expression neutral. “Is that what this is about?”
Abbott continues with his own line of questioning. “Do you know what animal relies on prairie dogs as their main food source?”
My head tilts to the side. “Are you talking about the black-footed ferret?”
“Yes.” Abbott nods as he makes a gesture with his hands like he’s finally being heard.
I blink once. “So, you went to Silver Pines tonight in hopes of…what?”
Abbott’s tone is factual. “Spreading the word. If more people knew, we could save the ferrets.”
He’s completely convinced by his own unreasonable logic.
“And you planned on doing that with a loaded gun and a can full of gasoline?”
Abbott’s eyes move to the corner of the table. “You can’t make an omelet without cracking some eggs.”
There’s the drop of doubt I can exploit.
“I need you to hear me loud and clear.” Resting my arms on the cold table, I lean forward. “The moment you bring violence into your cause, your validity and your credibility go out the window. You could’ve made a difference, but you chose to kill two—”
Abbott’s eyes widen. “Kill? I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Forgive me if I don’t take you at your word.” I shrug. “You brought a rifle to a public place and aimed it at Neil Redford in the middle of a crowd. You fired the gun twice.”
Abbott’s forehead wrinkles in confusion.
“And then there’s Derek Holt and Reverend Ricks—”
Abbott’s back straightens. “Oh, God. You think I’m the Debt Collector?”
If surprise could be manufactured, I'd never seen anyone fake it this well.
I angle my head toward him, lifting my brows. “You were carrying around the essentials of a serial killer.”
Abbott shakes his head fervently. “I didn’t do that. It wasn’t me.”
His face is different from earlier when he thought he was telling the truth. Now he almost seems scared.
An image arrives without warning.
Blood and skin in Bear’s teeth.
“Have you been bitten by a dog recently?”
Abbott’s mouth pulls down into a frown. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Have you?” I repeat.
“No.” Abbott’s answer drags out, ending on a high note like he’s confused by my question.
I open the file and hand him the top paper. “This is a search warrant.”
“For what?” Abbott takes the paper and reads through the detailed wording. “You need to look at my body.”
“I need to check you for a dog bite,” I clarify.
Abbott sighs, dropping the warrant on the table. “If that’s what will make you believe me, fine.”
Walker comes in with keys for the handcuffs and remains in the room as Abbott removes his clothes. It doesn’t take long to search his skin.
When I come up empty, a part of me is relieved while the other part is heavy with disappointment.
“Satisfied?” Abbott snaps.
“You can put your clothes back on,” I inform him. “I’ll be right back.”
In the hall, I meet Walker and Santiago.
“Just because he doesn’t have Bear’s bite mark doesn’t mean he’s not the Debt Collector,” Walker reasons.
“But it’s a fairly strong fact that could rule him out,” Santiago debates.
Walker’s right. One missing bite mark didn't erase everything Abbott had done.
But Santiago’s right as well.
The outline we'd been building around the Debt Collector suddenly had a hole in it.
And no matter how many times I tried, Abbott no longer fit inside the frame.
“Something’s wrong,” I mutter.
Walker glances over. “What?”
I lean against the wall and rub a hand over my jaw. “We each took a theory, but I think we need to focus on the one that says Blake’s stalker and the Debt Collector are the same person.”
Neither of them says anything, so I continue.
“Think about it,” I press. “Every victim somehow circles back to Blake. Derek. Manny. Now, Neil Redford was almost shot at Silver Pines. Blake gets followed. Someone breaks into her motel room. Someone sets her car on fire.”
Santiago's brow furrows.
I look between the two of them. “What if we've been looking at this all wrong?”
Walker slowly straightens. “You think we should’ve assumed that the stalker and the Debt Collector are the same person from the beginning.”
“I think everything keeps leading back to Blake.”
The hallway falls quiet.
Walker stares past us, his mind working. “If that’s true,” he says slowly, “then Blake was never caught in the middle.”
“She was always the center of it,” Santiago finishes.
Santiago pulls out his phone. “I’m going to call Javier. He needs to know what’s going on.”
I’m more determined than ever to solve this, to find the person behind everything and put him in the ground.
Permanently.