Chapter 24
Theo Neville
Theo sat on the edge of his bed, phone on speaker as he tied his boot laces with quick, efficient movements.
He’d already downed the smoothie that he’d purchased from a grocery store yesterday on the way back from Crescent Ridge, and he was already looking forward to enjoying a cup of coffee.
Though the cabins were warm enough, there always seemed to be a slight chill in the air.
“I still think this is a mistake,” Theo said, tugging the laces tight with a sharp pull. “I should have gone with you.”
Brook was already two and a half hours into her drive from Ohio to Illinois. He didn’t agree with her decision, and he’d made that known last night.
“Jacob being spotted means he meant to be seen,” Theo stressed, reiterating his statement from their previous conversation.
“And don’t you find it odd that if it was Jacob, he didn’t get caught on camera somewhere?
Even Morton has street cameras, Brook. You could very well be walking into a trap. Voluntarily, I might add.”
The words carried weight over the phone, heavy with unspoken history. Theo shifted his position, the springs in the mattress beneath him protesting with a groan.
“You think I don't know that?” Brook's response came sharp enough to make Theo wince. The pause that followed was long. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't snap at you.”
“Look, I get it. I do. I understand why you're going, but I just—”
“The man seen at the cemetery could be anyone,” Brook interrupted, her tone softening.
“A family member who didn't hear Scotty's mother calling out. An old friend paying his respects. You said it yourself—it’s not like Morton is Harrowick. Morton is a thriving town with resources, including a camera-based surveillance system through Flock Safety. They’ve got twenty-six cameras set up around town, primarily for vehicle and license-plate detection.”
What Brook didn’t include in her spiel was that Bit had access, albeit backdoor access, to the system.
There was no doubt he was currently sifting through data from video feeds over the past month.
The fact that his facial recognition hadn’t picked up anything in the state of Illinois meant the odds of the gravesite visitor being Jacob were extremely low.
“I still don’t like it, Brook.”
“I know. I’m also aware this trip is probably going to be a waste of time, but I need to make it anyway.
” Brook paused, and he could picture her taking a sip of some convenience store cappuccino crap.
The amount of sugar in those drinks made his teeth ache.
“I’ll be back later tonight. In the meantime, I need you to focus on the case.
Tyler Quinn’s lawyer called me about twenty minutes ago. Henry has agreed to speak with us.”
“Against his brother's wishes?”
“Yes, which in and of itself is interesting. We know that he and Loretta were close. Loretta’s death came one year before Heather Moore’s murder.
Tyler doesn’t fit the profile, though Henry would if he weren’t paralyzed from the waist down.
His wheelchair alone would have caused someone to recall him being in the area of those murders. ”
“We’ll attack the interview from the angle that Henry might remember more than he realizes about Loretta's interactions with other students.” Theo rested his elbows on his knees. “We’ll call you after we speak with him.”
“I should arrive in Morton around noon. And Theo, I’m not entirely alone out here. I spoke with Chief Conway about an hour ago. He knows I’m coming into town for a brief visit.”
“Conway is what, mid to late sixties now?” Theo couldn't keep the skepticism from his voice. “He retired years ago, Brook.”
“He's going to observe from a distance. Take in my surroundings when I might be unable to do so,” Brook explained, seemingly content with that arrangement. “I'll be careful, Theo. I always am.”
Theo sighed, knowing further argument would only create distance between them. Brook had decided to take this trip solo. His role now was to support, not dissuade.
“Jacob or not,” Theo said finally, “Morton still has ghosts for you.”
“I know.” Two simple words that contained volumes. “I’ll touch base with you soon.”
The call ended, and he sat motionless for a moment.
He thought about calling Mia, but she mentioned on the phone last night that she had an early patient.
He had left the engagement ring that he’d purchased last weekend in the top drawer of his office desk.
He hadn’t wanted to take the chance that she would discover it in his condo.
She loved wearing his sweatshirts, and she had free rein of his place.
He reached over the comforter and retrieved his phone.
He stood and then walked over to the hook on the wall next to the door.
He slid his cell phone into the right-side pocket of his jeans before collecting his scarf.
He looped the ends, layered his jacket over the Burberry accessory he’d received as a gift from his mother, and then pulled a matching brown cap over his head.
When he finally opened the cabin door, a wall of frigid air hit him. His left eye watered immediately. The snow crunching beneath his boots sounded like Styrofoam being crushed, and he kept his head down against the wind.
Eugene had done a stellar job clearing most of the area with the snowplow attached to the front of his pickup truck. Theo managed to make the short trek to Bit's cabin in record time. Before he could reach for the doorknob, the sound of an engine caught his attention.
A deputy's cruiser pulled up along the narrow access road.
The same officer who had been stationed there yesterday.
Theo lifted a hand in acknowledgment, the deputy returning the gesture with a nod.
The cruiser came to a complete stop, engine still running to keep the heater functioning in the brutal cold.
Right as Theo turned back to the door, it swung open, revealing Sylvie. She was bundled in a cream jacket, a rust-colored scarf, and matching earmuffs.
“Bit, your babysitter is here,” Sylvie called over her shoulder into the cabin once she’d gotten a glimpse of the police cruiser.
A small, red Skittle flew past her head from inside, narrowly missing her as she ducked and pulled the door shut with a laugh. Her forced smile immediately dropped from her face, and in its place was the genuine concern she'd been hiding from Bit all morning.
“How was she?” Sylvie asked quietly as she fell into step next to Theo.
“Determined,” Theo replied, the single word conveying volumes. “How about Bit?”
Sylvie shook her head.
“He keeps insisting that Brook is wasting a trip. His facial recognition program didn’t pick up a single hit in Illinois. He’s been tweaking the algorithm for the past hour.”
The team functioned like a well-oiled machine because they trusted Brook's leadership, her judgment. Her sudden departure had thrown them off balance in a way they rarely experienced, and it was understandable that Bit would take it the hardest.
Right as Theo went to open the driver’s side door of the van, the deputy's window rolled down with a mechanical whir, drawing their attention.
“Morning, folks,” he called out. “Sheriff Donavan wanted me to check if you needed an escort into town for your interview with Quinn.”
“We'll manage,” Theo called out with a nod of appreciation. “Let him know that we appreciate the offer.”
Once Theo had settled in behind the steering wheel and turned on the engine, he immediately cranked up the seat warmer setting. Sylvie did the same, though she never took her gaze off him.
“Did you call Graham?”
The question caught him off guard.
The truth of the matter was that he had considered reaching out to Graham last night, but he had ultimately decided against it.
Graham’s consulting agreement with a military contractor put him on assignment, making him unreachable except in genuine emergencies.
More importantly, making such a phone call would be a betrayal of Brook's trust.
Theo would never do such a thing.
“No.”
Sylvie nodded, accepting his response for what it was.
“I did find out that Brook reached out to the former police chief. She has someone watching her six.”
They sat in silence while the van warmed enough for the hot air to defrost the windows. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts. Eventually, Theo glanced at the side mirror. The exhaust created a steady plume of white that rose into the air.
“It’s him, Theo. We both know it.” Sylvie’s teeth had begun to chatter, and he realized that he should have stepped outside sooner to warm up the van.
Instead, he’d been on the phone with Brook, attempting to convince himself that she was wasting a trip.
Regrettably, he agreed with Sylvie. “It’s the reason Brook is driving there today. ”
“If you think about it, she’s doing the opposite of what he believes she’d do.
” Theo had tossed and turned last night, going over countless theories.
“Her initial instinct was to wait for him to come to her. She’s not hunting him, like before.
He can read her just like she can him, which is why he won’t be there.
It was his way of letting her know that he’s alive. Healed. And biding his time.”
“Then what does she stand to gain by going there?”
Theo turned on the wipers now that some of the ice had melted on the windshield. He knew Brook well enough to understand that this trip wasn’t merely a reckless decision. It was strategic.
Brook wanted to reclaim the narrative, to take control of the story that had spiraled out of her grasp.
As a profiler, she understood that Jacob had evolved since the chaos in Alaska.
By stepping back into his world, she aimed to decipher how his thoughts had shifted, because she already grasped the motivations driving his actions—her.
“In order to bring this all to an end, Brook needs to learn his new thought process, to anticipate his moves before he can strike again.” Theo reached out and shifted the gear into drive. “She’s hoping to rewrite the ending on her own terms.”