Chapter One Hundred Twenty-One
Xavier
The conversation with Jake keeps replaying as I drive across town. Mud on Brent’s shoes. Greg’s warm vehicles. The figure running through Ruby’s yard. Smaller than Greg. Thinner than Brent. Something about it feels wrong.
I stop at the light near the vet clinic and glance toward the parking lot. Ruby’s dad stands outside talking to Dr. Carter. He notices me and tips his cap. I return it before the light changes.
Ruby is safe at his place. I keep driving.
The office comes into view a few minutes later. I pull into my parking space…. And freeze.
The figure running through the yard. Another image slams into place beside it. Lindsey on the treadmill at the gym. Same posture. Same stride.
“No fucking way.”
But the pieces start falling together too fast to ignore. The flowers. The poems. The warnings for Ruby to stay away from me.
Leave her alone.
I throw the truck into reverse as Dad pushes open the office door. I roll down the window in time to hear him ask, “Where the hell are you going?”
“I’ll explain later.”
“Xavier–”
I’m already pulling onto the road.
*****
Jake’s head jerks up when I walk back into the station. “You forget something?”
“I think we’ve been looking at the wrong person.” That gets his attention. “The person last night. The way they ran.” I drag a hand through my hair. “I knew it looked familiar.”
“Who?”
“Lindsey.”
Jake goes still. “You’re serious?”
“She runs at the gym. Same posture. Same stride.”
“That’s not much.”
“No. But everything else fits too.”
Jake leans back. “Explain.”
“The notes were always about Ruby and me. We assumed some guy was obsessed with her and wanted me gone.”
Understanding begins creeping into his expression.
“What if we had it backward?”
Jake says nothing.
“Lindsey knew I didn’t do relationships. She knew what Ruby and I were telling everyone. Maybe she thought if she convinced Ruby I didn’t want her, or scared her away, I’d eventually come back around.”
“And when Ruby left?”
“I stayed at her house.” My stomach knots. “So Lindsey changed tactics.”
Leave her alone.
Jake stands.
“I went by Lindsey’s place before coming here. Her car’s gone.”
His expression sharpens. “Ruby’s safe. She’s still at her dad’s, and hardly anyone knows where she is.”
Relief hits. Then disappears. I just saw her dad. My entire body goes cold. “Wait.”
Jake already has his phone out.
“I passed her dad at the vet clinic.”
“When?”
“Maybe twenty minutes ago.”
Jake calls Ruby. One ring. Two. Voicemail. He immediately calls again. Straight to voicemail.
Neither of us speaks. Ruby’s dad is in town. Lindsey isn’t home. And Ruby isn’t answering.
The relief I felt seconds ago turns into something cold and vicious. “Jake.”
“I know.”
He's already moving.