Chapter 28 Louise
LOUISE
Igrabbed the wine bottle and poured myself another glass.
“What brought me to Berry Springs in the middle of a snowstorm? An eighteen-year-old girl named Kara Meyers.”
“The girl who went missing and was found in the woods.”
“You know about that?”
He nodded.
“How? You don’t even have a TV.”
“Small town.”
“You don’t go into town.”
“My brother, a former detective, visits occasionally. Was she your sister?”
“No.”
“Relative?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“Not really?”
I began spinning the antler mug between my fingers. “Kara lived with me for almost a year.”
“When?”
“A couple years ago. She was sixteen and had recently gotten her license.”
“Did her mom kick her out?”
“No. No, it wasn’t that. Her home life wasn’t a good environment… and I remember being so proud of her for realizing that at such an influential time in her life.”
“What was wrong with her folks?”
“Her mom was a drug addict. Coke, heroin, you name it. Her dad was in prison; I’m not sure she ever met him. Her mom had a different guy every night.”
“That’s extremely careless of her mother.”
“Tell me about it. Child protective services had been to the house three times that I know of, but nothing was ever done. A common story, by the way. Anyway, we’d become friends.
She was hesitant to open up at first, but after time, she started to relax.
No one knew she was living with me. No one knows even today.
She didn’t want it to be known because she was embarrassed that she didn’t have a solid home life and had to crash at someone else’s house to survive. ”
A sad smile crossed my face. “She was a good cook, like you. She cooked every night. It became a thing. We’d go to the grocery store together, pick out the food, and she’d cook while I pretended to help.
We’d play music, dance around the kitchen.
It was the best part of our day. I tried to introduce her to new hobbies, things she could focus on.
Build her confidence. Before I knew it, she’d become like a sister to me.
She… ” I felt the sting of tears. “She had a lot going for her despite the trouble she got in. I could see it, you know? The good in her. Deep down, she was good.”
Something flashed in his eyes.
“I still have pictures of her, in an apron, cooking brownies in my tiny kitchen. She was happy. Hopeful. Light. You could see it written all over her.” I shook my head. “So tragic.”
“Were you the one who found her?”
“Wow. Gossip really does spread quickly. I thought I knew small-town gossip until I came to Berry Springs.”
“Why do you think I live all the way out here?”
“I get it.”
“When she ran away, why did she come to you? What’s the connection?”
I explained the Sunshine Club to him. “The program would set up the kids with a mentor to help keep them on the right path and give them insight into life that didn’t revolve around chaos.” Snorting, I said, “Yeah, I know, they accepted me as a mentor in the program. Can you believe it?”
I forced a laugh, but it didn’t feel funny. I’d questioned my role in the program a million times over the last few days. The girl who’d been paired with me was found rotting in the woods. Didn’t bode well for the mentor, did it? The guilt was overwhelming. My self-doubt at an all-time high.
“You’re too hard on yourself,” Ryder said.
“I always have been.” I inadvertently looked down at my body. That damn twenty pounds.
“Stop.”
“Why?”
“You’re beautiful.” He said it so matter-of-factly that it didn’t feel like a come-on, or even a compliment. Like it was a simple fact that I needed to accept.
My cheeks flushed. “Thank you.”
“Look at me,” he said.
My gaze lifted.
“You’re beautiful, Louise. But you’ve got terrible judgment.”
This time, I laughed. “Wow, you’re one with the compliments, aren’t you?”
“I’m serious. You don’t think things through. If I had to guess, you move from one thing to the next without giving it full commitment or thought. You’re impulsive and reckless. You need to fix this.”
“Oh, well, thanks, Dr. Ryder. Anything else you’d like to diagnose from your high horse in the clouds?”
“Try routine. Structure. Make a list. Tackle the things you hate most about your life, or the things you worry about the most. Start there.”
“You mean like color-coordinating my utility closet?”
He ignored the dig. “It will help, trust me. You just need someone to kick you in the ass. Kind of like you were doing for Kara.”
I stilled, the words settling in my stomach like a greasy meal. I’d never had someone try to better me, call me out on my faults, take me to the carpet, so to speak.
My mom and dad were good parents. I had a roof over my head and food in my stomach, but that was about it. They let me figure out life on my own. I’d never had someone care enough about me to try to better me.
“You still haven’t told me why you’re here,” he asked.
The conversation was giving me whiplash.
“A few months after Kara’s seventeenth birthday, she told me she was going back home to give living with her mom another shot.
I think she wanted to try to help her mom.
I didn’t want her to leave, but I had to let her go.
Kara wasn’t mine, wasn’t my family, and I couldn’t make her stay.
To this day, I wonder if I would have demanded she stay with me, if she would still be alive.
” I took another sip, noticing a slight tremble in my hand.
“Anyway, she packed up and left the next day. I cried. And I’m not a crier, believe it or not. ”
“I believe it.”
“Then I stopped hearing from her. I’d text but she wouldn’t respond.
Next thing I knew, she’d gotten arrested for drunk driving.
She’d found the wrong crowd. Boys, drinking, drugs…
that was the rumor, anyway. I hadn’t heard from her in over a year when I got the call from a Berry Springs detective.
That’s when I found out she was missing.
The next day, a friend of mine, Miles, and I drove up to join the search.
Met two others from Ponco a few days later, Austin and Margie. Then I found her.”
I picked up my wine, sloshing it as I sipped. A few drops dripped onto my sweater. I didn’t care.
“She was murdered. Her body was dumped in the woods for the animals to eat. And the worst part is that the cops aren’t giving the case their full effort. Kara has a bad reputation and is from a family with a history with the police. The cops don’t care. They want it to go away.”
“That’s a big statement.”
“It is. And it’s bullshit. She’s nothing but an out-of-town drifter to them. Not important. The bastard that killed her is still out there, and I get the vibe the cops are on to bigger and better things.”
“Why are you so sure she was murdered?”
“It’s the only thing that makes sense. She came to Berry Springs to meet someone to go camping. No one knows who that person is. And I think that person killed her.”
“What about a boyfriend? Do you know anyone she was hanging out with?”
“No boyfriend. I spoke with a few of her friends.”
“Bet the cops liked that.”
I laughed. “Let’s just say you’re not the only one annoyed by my presence. Anyway, Kara didn’t have any boyfriends, but a lot of ‘male friends,’ if you catch my drift. I’m assuming they’ve been interviewed.”
“Have they retraced her last twenty-four hours?”
“You mean have I? Because who knows what they’ve done. I know that Kara intended to go camping, and also to visit that famous haunted house, Hollow Hill. And let me tell you, that place is creepy.”
“You went?”
“Yes. And to every campground in the area. I wanted to personally retrace her steps. Have you been to the haunted house?”
“A few times when I was a kid. Not recently. It’s not a common place for thrill seekers anymore.”
I heaved out a breath. “Well, I’ve been trying to help in any way I can. Do anything to find her.”
“You feel like it’s your responsibility. It’s personal.”
“I’m the only one with a personal connection with her who’s searching. I’m the closest thing to family she has. Her mom doesn’t care. I’m the only one who will press the cops to keep going. So, yes, I do feel responsible. I even involved a private investigation firm.”
Ryder’s drink froze in midair, halfway to his mouth. “Which one?”
“A local firm I overheard about at the diner. Astor Stone, Inc.”
“You went to Astor Stone?”
I nodded. “Figured between them and the cops, Kara would have her best shot at getting justice. I’m not stopping until she does, Ryder.”
“Who did you see there?” he asked, a sudden sharpness to his tone.
“A bunch of beefed-up rednecks.”
“Did they agree to help you?”
“They said, verbatim, they’d ‘look into it.’ They’re supposed to send me an email before they get started.”
“So, what?” he asked, irritation thick in his tone. “You’re going to camp out in Berry Springs and keep lighting a fire under the PD’s ass until they find the guy who killed your friend?”
“Yes.”
His gaze sharpened. “Not smart, Louise.”
“Why? And who are you to judge my decisions? Kara deserves justice, and I—”
“Have you heard of the String Strangler?”
My gut clenched. “Yes. A serial killer who rapes and tortures young at-risk girls before strangling them to death. I know all about the String—”
“Kara’s cause of death was strangulation with a thin ligature. She was also raped and beaten.”
I gaped at him. “How do you know this?”
“Her autopsy began this morning. My brother spoke with the detective on the case. He stopped by before I went fishing and updated me.”
“Oh my God.” I put my hand over my heart. “I remember noticing a mark around her neck. I remember because I thought she was wearing a choker necklace…” I exhaled deeply, stomach churning. “So she was definitely murdered. It’s proven now.”
He nodded. “The ME also suggested she was a chronic drug abuser, but toxicology tests will confirm that.”
Although I wasn’t surprised, hearing it confirmed still stung. “Will the test confirm if she was using the night she died?”
“I think the assumption is that she was.”
“Hang on,” I said, my wheels beginning to turn.
“So if she was partying right before she died, that means whoever she was camping with spent time with her. Maybe wined and dined her, so to speak. She must have met him somewhere. Where? Then he invited her camping, got her drunk and high, won her trust, then went in for the kill.”
Ryder nodded.
I shook my head. “Why is that somehow creepier than just being snatched off the street? Being tricked first?”
“A woman being snatched off the street screams and fights, but a woman having a good time is blindsided. Easier to incapacitate. Kind of like a desperate woman stranded on the side of the road.”
My blood chilled at the thought that the String Strangler could have driven up on me.
“I need you to be—you need to be more careful, Louise. The Strangler has killed five women the authorities know of, his confidence and skill building with each one. And there you are, Louise the Punisher, bulldozing your way into a case that possibly links to him. Getting stranded on the side of the road, breaking into strangers’ houses.
The Strangler outsmarts these women. He’s smart. Determined.”
“He has an ego.”
“I believe so, yes.”
“Not all of his cases are close to Berry Springs, right? I read his attacks are within a hundred-mile radius.”
“Right. Some have been around Berry Springs. One was in Missouri, and one in Oklahoma.”
“So he travels to pick his victims.”
“Or finds them on the internet.”
“I read somewhere that he’s believed to be a regular joe. Someone with a normal job, possibly doesn’t have a record.”
Ryder shook his head. “But he’s not. My guess is he’s got a job that requires some sort of skill that he applies to his other work.”
“Other work, meaning his victims.”
“Right. His job requires him to think and solve problems. It’s likely a regimented job with structure and routine. This guy isn’t a grocery clerk or a carpenter.”
“Hang on.” I held up my hand. “Does this mean the cops will involve the FBI? If they suspect the Strangler is involved?”
“My assumption would be yes, but the official autopsy isn’t complete.”
“When will it be?”
“Maybe now, maybe tomorrow.”
“Call your brother,” I said.
“He’s on his honeymoon. Left two hours ago.”
I sat up straighter, relieved that there might be some movement in the case. “Well, maybe I can—”
He face flashed with anger. “No, you can’t, and you won’t. Louise, you are aggressively inserting yourself into an investigation that potentially involves a serial killer. A rapist.” It was the most emotion I’d seen in him. “You need to let the cops handle this. Think, Louise. Think.”
He started to take another bite but dropped the fork on his plate with a scowl. He set the plate on the counter and began cleaning up with swift, jerky movements.
Dinner was over.
I cleared the table, stacking everything on the counter while he turned on the faucet in the sink. “Can I help?”
“No.”
“Well.” I cleared my throat and took a step back. “You won’t have to worry about all my bad judgment soon. I’ll find a place to stay tomorrow.”
His jaw clenched, a flush coloring his neck. He was so mad all of a sudden.
I picked up my wine from the table. “Well, good night. Thank you for everything.”
When he didn’t respond, I turned and retreated to the master bedroom.
As I kicked the door shut behind me, I heard the click of the heater turning on.