Chapter 62
CHAPTER
SIXTY-TWO
Andi stood in her room, arms folded, thoughts racing in tight, relentless loops.
The killer had known their schedule.
When they’d switched things up, he’d been able to pivot.
He’d always seemed . . . close.
Too close.
Her mind kept circling back to the woman from six months ago—the one who’d vanished, whose story had barely registered beyond a few inches of newsprint.
Fake Pam aka Crystal Smith.
Her face. The timing.
Andi needed to dig deeper.
But there wasn’t time.
Rupert was missing.
And worse: What if the person responsible wasn’t an outsider? What if someone close to them had been feeding information, watching from inside the perimeter?
Her gaze lifted as someone knocked on the door.
Duke opened it, and Ben stood there.
“I thought I’d see how things were going.” He entered the room with easy confidence, his expression neutral, professional. Helpful.
Too helpful?
The thought hit her harder than she expected.
She replayed the night in her mind—the fire alarm, the chaos, the crowd. Andi realized, with a slow tightening in her chest, that she hadn’t seen Ben then.
Not at dinner.
Not outside.
Not when they’d come back in.
The realization settled uncomfortably.
Could he be involved?
Duke watched Andi as Ben entered the room.
He noted the shift in her posture. The way her attention locked on the man.
Duke had seen that look before. It was the look Andi got when a theory was forming, when doubt began carving its way into certainty.
Andi didn’t waste time. “Where were you during the fire alarm?”
“Getting dinner. The diner down the road.” Ben glanced between them. “Why?”
Andi held his gaze, unmoving.
Duke immediately understood what she was thinking.
“What’s going on?” Ben crossed his arms, his eyes narrowing. “Why are you asking me this?”
“Rupert is missing,” Duke told him.
Ben’s expression changed, concern wiping away any trace of irritation. “Missing how?”
“His door was left open,” Andi said. “The cameras are down.”
“You think something happened to him?” Ben’s gaze volleyed between them. “That the same person who took those women took Rupert?”
“That’s our theory,” Andi said. “He’s nowhere to be found, and he’s not answering his phone.”
“That’s not like Rupert . . .” Ben frowned.
“We think he’s in danger,” Duke finished.
His eyebrows shot up as the implications seemed to hit him. “Wait . . . you don’t think I had something to do with this, do you? I can show you my receipt from the restaurant if you want. But I have no idea where he is.”
Duke and Andi exchanged a glance.
Ben reached into his pocket and produced a slip of paper. “My receipt. Check the time.”
Duke took it from him and scanned the text. “He’s telling the truth. He was at the restaurant.”
Relief seemed to ease the tension in the room—but only for a moment.
Because if Ben wasn’t guilty, they still needed to figure out who was.
The next moment, another knock sounded at the door, and the rest of the gang flooded inside. They gave the team the update.
“We have to find Rupert.” Mariella’s lips pulled downward in a frown. “We set a trap for the killer, but I never expected this psycho to grab Rupert. It’s almost like he got mad and just grabbed the easiest target to teach us a lesson.”
Duke’s jaw hardened at the thought. She wasn’t wrong.
“How are we going to find him?” Simmy asked, a line of worry stretching across her brow.
Matthew raised his hand, lifting a finger. “I’ll keep looking at footage.”
“I can ask more questions,” Mariella said. “See if anyone staying here saw anything.”
“I have a feeling that’s not going to lead us anywhere,” Andi murmured. “We need a better plan. Rupert’s life depends on it.”
Silence passed between them.
Just then, Ben’s eyes sharpened as if something clicked into place. “Wait. Rupert mentioned wearing a SafeStride tracker. I think he was serious about wanting everyone to wear one.”
Duke’s pulse kicked. “Can you pull location data on his device?”
“Yeah.” Ben straightened. “If it pings near Rupert, we might have a starting point.”
Duke nodded. “Show me.”
They moved quickly, the unspoken agreement settling between them as they crossed the hallway. Whatever suspicions lingered, this was actionable.
Ben unlocked his hotel room and went straight to his tablet, fingers flying as he pulled up the SafeStride interface. Duke stood behind him, waiting, while Andi hovered at his side.
Duke prayed they might find an answer before . . . before it was too late.