Chapter 32
When they pulled back up to the clinic, Hadley noticed Micah’s SUV was still parked near the front.
As soon as Hadley and Max climbed from the truck, Micah stepped outside to meet them. “How’s Susie?”
“Still unconscious,” Hadley said. “But the doctor said she’s stable.”
Micah’s cheek twitched as if he was fighting a frown. “He called me and told me about the needle mark.”
“I’m going to check my medications,” Hadley told him. “As soon as you give me the okay.”
Max came around the front of the truck to stand beside her.
“I definitely want you to do that in a minute,” Micah said. “First, walk me through everything again, starting from when you got here this morning.”
Hadley drew in a breath before diving in.
Micah listened without interrupting, his expression focused.
“And this is after everything else that’s been happening,” she added. “The break-in. The missing appointment book. Someone canceling my patients. The bad reviews. The call about my license.” She shook her head. “It’s too much to be coincidence.”
“Yes,” Micah agreed. “It is. I’m going to look into the phone calls and the reviews. I’ll see if there’s any kind of trail—numbers, IP addresses, or anything else we can trace back to a source.”
“Thanks.” Hadley nodded, relief flickering through her. “Do you think Kenny is behind it all?”
“That’s the question we need an answer for.” He blew out a breath. “I’m just not sure I understand his motive.”
“You’re not the only one,” Max said. “Hadley had nothing to do with Lyndee staying at Refuge Cove. Why target her?”
“We’ll keep digging into it,” Micah said. “In the meantime, I’m going to station a deputy here, at least until we get a better handle on what’s going on. If someone’s targeting you, I don’t want you here alone.”
Something in her chest tightened at his words, but she nodded. “Okay.”
Micah’s phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket, and his expression sharpened as he answered. “Sutherland.”
Hadley sensed something shift in him.
“Where?” he asked before pausing and saying, “I’m on my way.”
He ended the call and looked at Max.
“Kenny’s phone just pinged,” Micah said. “We’ve got a location.”
Max straightened. “Is it local?”
“About twenty miles from here, out in the national forest. I’m heading there now.” Micah hesitated just a fraction before adding, “I know it’s unconventional, but do you want to come?”
Max glanced at Hadley.
She met his gaze, understanding exactly what he was asking without him saying it. “You should go. I’ll be fine here. A deputy will be here to keep an eye on things.”
He still hesitated.
“Max, if this helps find Lyndee, you need to be there,” she said. “As soon as Kenny is locked up, I’ll feel better.”
His expression softened as he seemed to realize the truth of her words. “Okay.”
Just then, Micah’s deputy arrived. He introduced him as Deputy Aaron Vaughn.
“Go with Dr. Chase as she checks her medications. Where she is, I want you there too,” Micah told him. Then he looked at Max and nodded toward his SUV. “Let’s move.”
Max turned back to Hadley and lightly touched her hand. “Call me if anything feels off. Anything at all.”
“I will.” Her throat burned when she heard the concern in his voice.
He gave a small nod before turning and following Micah.
Hadley watched them go, the weight of everything pressing in again as they pulled away.
Deputy Vaughn was here with her to keep an eye on things.
She wouldn’t be alone.
And yet, as she turned back toward the clinic, she couldn’t shake the feeling that whoever was behind this had every intention of escalating.
Max braced his hand against the dash as Sheriff Sutherland took the turn faster than usual. The SUV jolted as the pavement gave way to a narrow dirt road.
“Dispatch said the ping is within a hundred yards.” Sheriff Sutherland scanned the road ahead. “His phone is still active.”
Max’s attention had already shifted to the woods around them. The road narrowed until it felt more like a trail. There were no houses around them, only trees and mountains.
Sheriff Sutherland slowed then brought the vehicle to a stop. “This should be the area.”
He parked, and they stepped out into the cold.
The sheriff checked his phone again, turning as he followed the signal. “This way.”
They walked from the road into the trees. Several feet later, the ground dipped before opening into a small clearing.
Max spotted the cell phone first. “There.”
A device lay half-buried in the snow near the base of a tree.
Sheriff Sutherland scanned the area before crouching by it. Putting gloves on, he picked it up and tapped the screen. Kenny and Lyndee’s picture filled the screen.
“Probably Kenny’s,” the sheriff murmured.
“Probably.” Max nodded, but his focus had already shifted past it. Something else had disturbed the snow a few feet away.
“Sheriff,” he murmured.
Sheriff Sutherland followed his line of sight.
A dark smear cut across the white.
Blood. Not a lot but enough.
The marks stretched unevenly, as if someone had stumbled or been pulled.
Sheriff Sutherland stood, his expression tightening as he scanned the ground. “Someone was hurt.”
Max didn’t answer. He was already tracking where the disturbance led.
The marks continued a few yards into the trees.
Then they stopped.
He scanned the ground.
There was nothing. No clear tracks. No direction. Just snow that appeared untouched again.
Max turned back toward the clearing, his brow tightening. “This doesn’t add up.”
Sheriff Sutherland glanced over. “What are you thinking?”
He nodded toward the phone. “If Kenny’s cell was dropped during a struggle, it would’ve landed in this area. Not over there by the tree.”
Sheriff Sutherland looked back at it as if considering Max’s theory. “Go on.”
He gestured toward the disturbed snow. “Whatever happened didn’t start there. The movement heads away from it.”
Sheriff Sutherland studied the ground more closely this time before pulling an evidence bag from his pocket. “So either it was dropped . . .”
“Or placed there on purpose,” Max said.
Sheriff Sutherland bagged the phone and stood. “We’re always several steps behind Kenny.”
Max exhaled slowly, unable to deny the words. “Yes, we are.”
Kenny wasn’t staying put. That much was clear.
He was moving fast. Not giving them time to catch up.
Max glanced once more at the spot where the trail had vanished.
Something about it felt controlled.
Too controlled.
He didn’t say that out loud.
Not yet.
But the thought stayed with him as Sheriff Sutherland stepped away to call it in.