Chapter 41
LOUISE
Iwas awoken the next morning the same way as the morning before—with a pair of running shoes pummeling my stomach.
This time, though, I didn’t groan and complain.
I was dressed and jogging through the snow with Ryder four minutes later.
We didn’t say much the first mile or so, same as the night before after he’d poured his heart out to me.
The first mile of our morning jog was rough. My legs were sore and stiff, but like the day before, the muscles seemed to loosen about fifteen minutes in. It felt good.
Though the snow remained, it was the first clear day in weeks. A big, bright sun was peeking over the mountains. As we jogged next to each other, I felt a newborn bond between us. I was one of the few, maybe the only one, who got to see the real Ryder. The man behind the armor.
I waited until we were into the second mile before bringing up what I’d spent the evening thinking about.
“Hey, Ryder?”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve been thinking…”
He flashed me the side-eye. “Uh-oh.”
“You’re sure the pendant is—was—your former fiancée’s, right?”
A moment passed as he seemed to mull over the question, as if he’d thought about it all night too.
“I bought it at a little art shop in town called Magic Mavens. It was one of many, so, technically, I can’t guarantee the one we found was the one I gave to her. Although it was exactly like I remembered when I picked it out. And each one was a little different.”
“You said she wasn’t wearing it when you found her?”
“No.”
“Do you remember finding it in your house after you packed up her things? Assuming you did?”
“Yes, I packed up her things and sent everything to her folks, and no, the necklace wasn’t there.”
“Could she have lost it?”
“No. Like I said, she wore it every day.”
“So she was wearing it the day you left for your job in Venezuela, and when you returned and found her, it wasn’t around her neck?”
“Right.”
I looked at him. “Ryder, you can’t ignore the coincidence here. We found the pendant you gave Maci in one of the last locations we knew Kara to be. And Kara was raped and strangled to death, like Maci.” I cringed at my bluntness. “Sorry. That was insensitive.”
“No, it’s okay. It’s a fact.”
“Yeah, but I should have chosen my words more carefully. I need to think before I speak more.”
“I like that you say exactly what’s on your mind.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I’ve never been a fan of people who beat around the bush or don’t say what they mean, or vice versa. Just say how it is.”
“Okay then, buckle up. Here I go. You asked for it.”
“Go for it. Say what’s on your mind.”
“I think you—we—should consider the idea that Kara’s murder and Maci’s might be connected. I know they were twelve years apart, but you can’t ignore the fact that the women were killed the same way, and that your pendant somehow made it to Hollow Hill.”
“I killed Maci’s murderer, Louise. It’s the entire reason I spent a decade in jail.”
“You’re sure you killed the right guy?”
He planted his feet, stopping on a dime. I stumbled as I halted.
“Yes. I am one hundred percent sure I killed the man who killed Maci, and don’t ever question that again, all right?”
“Okay. I believe you. But lay it out for me. Let’s talk about it.”
He began pacing. “Lay what out?”
“How you found out it was him. How it was confirmed that Ortiz killed Maci.”
Ryder stopped pacing and aggressively flicked the snow from a branch.
“They found his pubic hair. Inside her. He wore a condom, and also gloves, but they were still able to pull his DNA from the hair. The hair was found during her autopsy and was sent to the state crime lab, where they got the hit. Ortiz was already in the system for multiple offenses. It was a slam-dunk case.”
“But how did you get his name before it was released? According to the gossip, you killed Ortiz before the cops even had a chance to arrest him.”
“I drove my ass to the crime lab and slept in the parking lot until the tests from the autopsy were completed. After a little asking around, I found out the lab tech’s name who recorded the results.
I paid off the man’s house and his child’s college tuition in return for being the first to see the results. ” He glanced at me. “Close your mouth.”
My mouth snapped shut. “Oh my God—Does anyone know?”
“Nope. Only me and the lab tech.”
“Didn’t the police ask how you knew before them?”
“I waited until literally the minute the tech emailed the results to the chief. We communicated through burner phones. When the cops asked, I told them they had a leak in the department.”
“They didn’t ask who the leak was?”
“Of course they did. I didn’t talk. I was already going to be convicted of first-degree murder. What the hell difference does a little lie make?”
He began pacing again, clumps of melting snow falling around us.
“Is that why you… killed him the way you did?”
Ryder’s gaze narrowed as he looked at me.
“Yes, Louise. That’s why I cut off his balls.
So that he knew he could never rape another woman in his life.
So he knew his most prized fucking possession was gone.
And that’s why I watched him choke on them before strangling him to death. Like he did to her.”
“I don’t blame you. I want you to know that.”
“Let’s keep jogging.”
I nodded and we took off together again, this time at a slower pace.
My thoughts were spinning. “Okay, so considering you definitely killed the right guy… there’s something else we need to consider.
” I looked at him, the hard expression suggesting he knew exactly what I was about to say.
“We need to consider if there was another person involved in Maci’s death.
Maybe Ortiz had an accomplice. And maybe that guy took the necklace?
And that man would become the String Strangler.
The timing adds up. Maci was killed around the time the Strangler killed his first victim. Or second, I might say.”
“There couldn’t have been another person there. There was no trace of anyone else.”
“You said it yourself you think the Strangler is smart. Maybe he and Ortiz were buddies.” When Ryder didn’t respond, I continued. “We have to go to the cops.”
“We’re not going to the cops. You’re not going to the cops.
I can’t go digging around murder investigations, don’t you get that?
I can’t have my name associated with a recent murder.
Hell, I don’t even leave my house for fear I might get into a freak accident and hurt someone else.
Even if it wasn’t my fault, it could easily get pinned on the ex con who’s still on parole.
I’m not going back to jail.” His voice shook with emotion. “I’m not fucking going back to hell.”
“Yeah, but there could be a link somewhere that might help us find Kara’s murderer. We have to explore it. If these cases are somehow connected, that means we’re close to the Strangler. If we don’t explore this, he’s going to keep raping and murdering young women.”
“Which is exactly why you need to drop this, Louise.”
The woods opened up and we skirted the snow-covered fields.
“I’m not dropping it. How can you drop it?”
“The guy who raped Maci was taken care of. That’s all I care about. And I paid for it, for ten damn years. His debt was paid, as was mine.”
“But what about Kara? Where’s her justice?”
“Not my problem.”
“Not your problem? How can you say that?”
“You need to stay out of this, Louise.”
“But what about the pendant? Aren’t you the least bit curious to know why it was at Hollow Hill?”
“I can’t afford to be curious!” he yelled, his voice echoing through the trees.
Frustrated, I pressed my lips into a thin line. I understood Ryder, but it bothered me that he wouldn’t even entertain the idea of exploring my theory if it would bring Kara justice. It felt like no one was helping me. No one was giving Kara’s case their full energy.
I pushed into a sprint. Ryder hung back, giving me space for a change. By the time I reached the house, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t leave this town until the man who killed Kara was brought to justice. Help or no help.
Thirty minutes later, I’d just stepped out of the shower when the bedroom door flew open.
“Ryder!” I shrieked, spinning around.
Water flung from my hair, splattering the wall—and the towel I’d barely wrapped around myself hit the floor.
He froze midstride.
His gaze dropped—and locked like a laser beam on my naked body.
Time stopped.
Heat flooded my body, equal parts mortification and something reckless and electric.
“Ryder!” I shouted again, this time more of a gasp than a scold.
He blinked hard, like snapping out of a trance. “Oh. Shit. Sorry.”
I dropped to the floor in the fetal position, wrapping my arms around my legs.“Don’t just stand there! Towel!”
The Neanderthal finally sprang to action, slapping a hand over his eyes and bolting into the bathroom. A second later, a towel flew through the air and landed with a plop—on my head.
“Are you serious?” I growled, yanking it down and wrapping it around my body. I stood, cheeks burning.
“You good?” he asked, eyes still covered.
“Yes,” I muttered.
He dropped his hand, and his eyes met mine—then slowly, intentionally, traveled down my body again. The look didn’t say sorry—it said I want you.
“You don’t knock?” I demanded, breathless, trying to ignore the hum between my legs.
Instead of answering, he just kept staring. Like he was memorizing me. Like he wasn’t the least bit sorry he’d seen me completely naked.
I was so flustered.
“I said,” clearing my throat. “Don’t you knock?”
Finally, with maddening slowness, he turned, sauntered to the door, and rapped his knuckles against the frame. “Knock, knock.”
I rolled my eyes. “Come in.”
He stepped back inside, voice low and amused. “Thanks for letting me into my own room.”
“You’re welcome. Jerk.”
He grinned. “Hey, not my fault you didn’t lock the door.”
I crossed my arms over the towel, trying to hold onto my last shred of composure. But I could feel the heat rolling off him. The tension curling between us like smoke.
He liked me flustered.
He liked me in a towel.
And I wanted nothing more than for him to throw me over his shoulder and carry me to bed.
I flicked water from my fingers and cleared my throat (again), trying to sound unaffected. “So? What did you want?”
He just stood there, smirking. “Honestly? I forgot.”
“Seriously, Ryder.”
“Fine. Get dressed.”
“I’d planned on it. What else you got?”
“I mean, we’re leaving. Come on.”
“Is this how you operate? Waking me up by hurling shoes at my forehead? Demanding morning jogs, demanding that I do this or don’t do that? Demanding that I leave with you without giving me the courtesy of telling me where we’re going?”
“Yep.”
“Where are we going?”
“A few places. Come on.”
“Does this have anything to do with Kara’s murder?”
“Maybe. Come on.”
“Tell me where we’re going first.”
“To talk to some friends.”
“You don’t have any friends.”
“You coming or not?”
“Give me ten minutes.”
“Five.”
“Ryder, a woman needs ten minutes. I’m not asking. You will give me ten minutes. You can’t control everything on the planet.”
His brow slowly lifted, and after one more scan of my body, he left the room. But this time, he left the door open.