Chapter 10
Kori had gone back to Mackenzie’s apartment? Even after knowing someone had been watching her when she was inside last time?
Kori was clearly a smart woman. So what had she been thinking?
He and Thunder were in his truck in two minutes and at the apartment in eight.
County Sheriff Micah Sutherland’s SUV was already out front, along with an ambulance.
Wyatt took the stairs two at a time, his thoughts racing through worst-case scenarios.
The apartment door was open, and glass lay shattered on the floor near the entry. Books had fallen from the shelf and lay haphazard on top of the broken glass.
Micah stood near the kitchen table, his notebook out. He looked up when Wyatt appeared in the doorway. “That was fast.”
He glanced around, looking for Kori. “Where’s Kori? Is she okay?”
“Shaken but okay. The intruder shoved her into the wall, but she wasn’t hurt. Paramedics already checked her out.” Micah glanced toward the hallway. “She went to the restroom to splash some water on her face.”
A moment later, Kori stepped out. Her arms were crossed, and Wyatt noted she was barely holding it together. What had happened had shaken her—and rightfully so.
She paused in front of him. “Wyatt . . . you didn’t have to come. I just wanted to keep you in the loop. That’s why I texted.”
A blizzard couldn’t have kept him away.
He shifted. “Can you walk me through what happened?”
He wasn’t an investigator. He was a park ranger who specialized in search and rescue. But he couldn’t help but feel this break-in was relevant, that he needed to know the details if he wanted to find Mackenzie.
Plus . . . he was concerned about Kori. No, he didn’t know her. Yes, she was only a civilian needing help. But something about her story drew him in.
He wanted answers—for her sake.
Kori walked him through how she’d come in the front door, sensed something wrong, and grabbed the vase from the shelf near the door.
The figure darted from the bedroom. From what she could tell, he’d been empty-handed.
He’d caught her shoulder on the way past, and he disappeared as quickly as he’d appeared.
“Did you get a good look at the person?” Wyatt asked.
She rubbed her neck, suddenly appearing exhausted. “Not his face. He was wearing a dark jacket with the hood up. There was something on the jacket. On the back, between the shoulders. I only saw it for a second.”
“What did it look like?”
She pressed her lips together as if working through it. “A circle. Something was inside it—branches, maybe, or a tree. And maybe some flames.”
“Could you sketch it out for us?” Micah asked.
“Sure. I can try.”
He pulled a piece of paper from the pad he held and placed it in front of her. She did her best to recreate the image.
Wyatt committed the image to memory.
Micah had been writing something down, and he flipped the notebook closed and looked at Wyatt. “Can I have a minute?”
The two of them stepped into the hallway, and Micah instructed Thunder to guard Kori. Then he pulled the door mostly closed behind them.
“Listen, there’s something I’ve been meaning to mention to you.
I got a call two nights ago.” Micah kept his voice low.
“You know Earl Sutton? He has a farm about a mile from the forest boundary on the east side. Anyway, he’s been seeing lights in the woods at night.
He thought it was just some kids at first. But he called it in because it’s been four nights running and the pattern’s too regular for kids. ”
“Same side of the forest as Lost Hollow Trail?”
“Same side.” Micah looked at him. “I keep hearing things lately—strange occurrences. People feeling like they’re being watched while they’re hiking. Obstacles that almost seemed to be purposefully placed on the trail.”
The muscles across his back pulled tighter. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Me either. I know the trail is dangerous, and I know Graham would like to get it shut down. But I can’t help but wonder if there’s something more going on.”
“It’s a definite possibility.”
Micah drew in a deep breath before changing course. “You going out there tomorrow?”
“That’s right. Looking for Kori’s sister.”
“Watch your back,” Micah said. “Something about all this just gives me a bad feeling.”
“You and me both.”
When they went back inside, Kori looked at them both, an almost expectant look on her face. But she didn’t ask what they’d discussed.
Micah handed her his card. “Ms. Hutchins, I don’t think there’s anything else I can do here tonight. We collected prints—including the one from the window near the fire escape. It will take some time to process that. In the meantime, if you think of anything else, call.”
He gave Wyatt a brief nod and left, his footsteps fading down the stairs.
The apartment went quiet.
Wyatt looked at Kori. She still stood by the window, with her arms crossed. Thunder had settled near the door, on guard.
“I came back because I remembered her journals,” she murmured.
“Her journals?”
She turned toward him and nodded. “Mackenzie was an avid journaler. She usually kept them between her mattress and box spring, but I forgot to look earlier. I came to find them, thinking they may hold some clues.”
“And?”
She frowned. “I just checked. They’re not there. So either she doesn’t keep them there anymore, she stopped journalling, or . . . that man took them.”
Wyatt supposed that could be a possibility, especially if Mackenzie had written something in the journal that would clue them into why she’d gone on this hike—if there was an ulterior motive.
“Do a lot of people know she journals, or did she keep that private?” Wyatt asked.
“It wasn’t exactly a secret. I’m sure anyone she’s known for any amount of time would know.”
Wyatt nodded slowly. “We’ll look into it. But in the meantime, how about if you let me give you a ride back, just to be on the safe side?”
“I won’t turn that down.”
They locked up and walked to his truck.
As they did, Wyatt thought about the symbol she’d described. The circle. The branches. The flame.
What did that symbol mean?
He intended to do some research when he got back to his place.