Chapter Eight
The Art of the Hunt
Snow continued to fall like ash all around him.
Funny how he always associated snow with fire though they were the complete opposite. But then wax and fire were his world. And they had been for a long time.
Since him.
His smile slipped a little when he thought of his idea of punishment.
“You have no power over me.” He chanted the words until the darkness subsided.
Up here on the mountain high above Hidden Lake, the world seemed so far removed from what lay beneath. He could barely see the beams of their flashlights on his ridge.
They wouldn’t find him here. What he had planned for them at the lake would soon take all their focus.
He smiled gleefully, anticipating her reaction.
They’d found his little present in the cabin by now. It would lead them to the prize in the lake. Would Ava understand it? He loved leaving his little clues and sending her on chases to try to capture him.
Everything she needed to figure out his puzzle was already there. He looked forward to seeing how long it would take her.
A song played through his mind. It had woven itself through his life since he was a small boy. Had become part of him. Through all the defining moments of his life that had made him what he was today.
He remembered it playing the first time their eyes met all those years ago, and he’d offered her his world. Only she’d rejected it.
His mouth thinned. She’d ruined his masterpiece and survived. Since then, every creation, every ritual, every message had been for her. He wanted her to know why he’d chosen her. And why her rejection would cost her life.
She might not realize it yet, but they shared something most people never understood. A craving for order born from chaos. She chased truth just as he pursued perfection.
He brushed snow from his coat. “You survived once,” he murmured. “Because I allowed it. But perfection...perfection demands completion.”
Below, a dog’s bark carried up his way. Her dog.
He laughed. Did she think that animal would protect her from him? Just the opposite. The K-9 would push harder until he brought her to him.
Every clue had a purpose. The wax, the locket, the messages were threads leading her to the heart of his design.
Because the lake wasn’t just a place, it was a memory. Birth. Death. The mirror of all things.
Soon she would understand.
The entrance to his sanctuary wouldn’t be visible to the naked eye. This mountain was pretty much unexplored by tourists. Only a few of the old timers would know the secrets buried beneath its surface.
A wall of ice hung low over the entrance hiding it from view. The ice would remain until summer. By then he’d be long gone. Completing the process here, he’d move on to more fertile grounds.
He slipped through the narrow opening, picked up the lantern from the icy ground, and slowly descended the narrow passage. The lantern’s light bounced off walls covered in ice. They shimmered like diamonds in the rough.
The cold grew more intense with his descent. A faint metallic scent of the iron ore that was once mined up here combined with his favorites: Wax and smoke.
The passage leveled and opened into a chamber made up of ice walls and vaulted ceilings. He breathed in the scent of candles lining the walls. He loved that scent. Their flames whipped around as if dancing in the breeze coming through the cracks in the ceiling above.
Another smile spread across his face. This was his sanctuary. He glanced around at the wax forms silhouetted by candles.
His creations. Some lifelike figures, some warped and distorted creations from his troubled past.
“Hello, my beauties,” he whispered as he walked past them while his boots crunched over frozen water droplets.
Each figure told a chapter in his story. A confession of beauty, pain, and evolution.
The only thing missing was her. She would be his final masterpiece.
“I learned from my failures, Ava. Each piece before you was practice. But this…” He smiled faintly. “This will be eternal.”
He turned toward a narrow alcove cut into the far wall. Within it stood an altar of polished ice, its surface carved with his mark—a cross intersected by a circle. The sign of his creed.
On the altar covered in blue were several bowls filled with melted wax. Embedded within the wax were fragments—threads of cloth, locks of hair, the memory of women who had been here before. Another masterpiece. Almost too breathtaking to give up.
He stepped into the alcove and relived his second victim’s terror. She’d been too busy trying to change her flat tire. By the time she’d heard his approach, he had the needle in her neck.
They hadn’t found her car yet. They were too busy searching for him.
He chuckled at their failures.
Seeing the fear in her eyes as he took the first bowl and held it over her head was a feeling he wanted to experience again soon.
This time, the game had become more cunning. More enjoyable.
“Come find me, Ava. I know you can,” he murmured, his voice low and intimate. “And when you do, I’ll be waiting.”
◆◆◆
The frozen lake stretched out in front of them. Ava’s steps slowed despite Shadow’s constant tugging.
“What is that?” Rachel asked as they were nearing the icy edge.
In the middle of the lake was a small table draped in a blue cloth. A candle, covered by a protective glass, had burned down almost to the point of extinction.
“It’s his altar,” Ava murmured in disgust.
“At this time of the year, the lake should be solid,” Caleb told them. “Let me test it out for weak areas or slush before we go any further.” He cautiously stepped onto the ice testing each step until he was almost to the altar. He returned slowly. “It’s safe to walk out onto. Just follow me.”
Ava slowly nodded. “Rachel, you’re with Caleb and me.” She handed the dog to Shackleford. “Stay, Shadow.” The dog heeded her command, his attention briefly going to Ava before returning to the altar.
She turned to Caleb and nodded. “Let’s go.”
The three stepped out onto the ice.
Caleb took the lead. “Be careful, you don’t want to lose your footing.”
Ava followed close behind him. As they walked, deep, echoing groans resounded around the countryside. Both Ava and Rachel stopped.
Caleb turned. “It’s safe. It's just large sheets of ice shifting or expanding.”
The sound gave Ava the creeps, but she trusted Caleb’s judgment.
They reached the halfway point while lesser sounds like pops continued as the ice expanded and contracted with their weight.
Once they reached the altar, Ava could see wax dripping all around, covering the blue cloth with iridescent streaks almost as if Wax had dripped the wax across the surface to give it his creative touch.
“Oh, no,” Rachel whispered. She was standing past the altar looking down at something.
Ava moved to her side. A large hole had been augured into the thick ice. A fishing line was set up as if someone had abandoned their fishing hole. Only Ava knew it was nothing so innocent.
“Help me with it.” Caleb grabbed hold of the small pole and the line and pulled. “Whatever it is, it’s heavy.”
Fear weighed her limbs down as Ava grabbed some line and yanked. Working together, whatever lay beneath the surface slowly rose.
A woman’s face and head suddenly appeared covered in wax. Ava screamed and let go of the line. The body floated back underwater.
She stepped back and fought the urge to be sick. “We need ERT and the ME here now.”
Rachel grabbed her phone then dropped it, her fingers shaking at the horror they’d witnessed. The phone slid several feet across the ice.
“Sorry.” She retrieved it and turned away. Her voice was unsteady as she relayed Ava’s message.
“We need to secure the perimeter,” Ava told Caleb as she continued to stare at the gaping hole. “And document all visible evidence.”
She radioed the team on shore. “We have a body underneath the surface. Deputy Vaughn, I need you, Archer, and Detective Hunter to secure the scene and document the evidence. Ranger Larabee, I’ll need you to take photos as well.”
Rachel ended her call. “ERT’s twenty minutes out. The ME will be longer.” She glanced back at the hole. “He took the time to drill the hole to put her in the water. Why?”
Ava glanced at the altar. “This place—the woods where we found Emily—they’re all important to Wax somehow. Familiar. He’s spent a lot of time here.”
Rachel looked at her curiously. “You think he’s from the area?”
Ava had long thought Wax had lived here at one time. “I think so. He knows the area too well, not to have lived here once.”
The team on shore arrived. Shackleford handed Shadow over to Ava. The K-9 was already sniffing the air.
“He may still be picking up Wax’s scent,” Caleb said when he noticed.
Ava had no doubt. Shadow was one of the best trackers. “Let’s see where he takes us. Rachel, I need you to oversee securing and documenting the crime scene.”
“Copy that.”
“Caleb, can you come with me?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Lead the way.”
“Shadow, hunt.” As soon as she gave the command the dog headed off to the right. The dog slipped and slid across the ice until they reached the shore.
“Which way now?” Caleb asked as the dog appeared to waver for a brief moment.
Before Ava could respond, Shadow had picked up the scent again.
Wax’s footprints had long been covered by fresh-fallen snow. But it didn’t matter. The dog could smell what they couldn’t see.
“Where does this lead?” Ava asked.
Caleb clicked on his flashlight as the dense woods prevented light from penetrating. “To a small community just beyond those woods. It’s remote—there’s only a handful of houses.”
“Why would he deliberately head toward a place where he might be identified...unless he lives there?”
Everything about this felt off to Ava. She listened for any other noise, any clue that Wax might have left behind. Here in the trees, the wind appeared muted. Shadow didn’t show any sign of letting up. In the distance, the sound of vehicles approaching could be heard.