Chapter 34
Hadley Dawkins
The rough blanket someone had draped around Hadley's shoulders did little to chase away the chill that had settled deep in her bones. She sat motionless on the fallen log, hiding her fingers that still trembled from the residual adrenaline coursing through her system.
The patch of woods around the Telfort cabin pulsed with activity. Numerous flashlight beams cut through the darkness as state police and sheriff's deputies carefully combed the area. Their movements cast long, distorted shadows against the cabin's weathered exterior.
Every muscle in her body ached from being in such a tense situation. It had been over two hours since Kalen had pressed the barrel of his firearm against the back of her skull. She honestly wasn’t sure how long she’d spent talking to him, hoping for a chance to walk out of the cabin alive.
She hadn’t known at the time that Nick and some of his deputies had been setting up a perimeter around the cabin. Before she’d reached out to him and Ramos, Hadley had discovered Ty Hobbs, bloody but alive, in the small bathroom. He’d been bound with duct tape and an electrical cord.
Now, the isolated cabin that had held so many secrets over the decades had been transformed into a crime scene that would occupy investigators for days, if not weeks.
“They're bringing her out now.” Ramos had been standing beside her for the past ten minutes. Not only had it taken him over an hour to reach Whistlerun by exceeding the speed limit, but he’d needed one of the deputies to meet him on a back county road for an escort to the crime scene.
He was a city boy, through and through. “She hasn’t said a word. ”
Hadley hadn’t expected to hear any differently, and a part of her wondered if Missy would ever truly return to the land of the living.
The air was heavy with moisture, and the dead leaves held a slick sheen that reflected the artificial light streaming from the cabin’s entryway.
Two medics emerged first, carefully navigating the narrow doorway as they carried one end of a backboard.
Two firefighters followed with the other end, all four moving with practiced coordination despite the uneven terrain.
Missy Claymont lay strapped to the board, her thin frame barely creating a bump beneath the straps and blankets. Her disheveled brown hair spilled over one edge, unwashed and tangled. Hadley caught a glimpse of the girl's face, and once again, she seemed to stare off into a dark abyss.
The radio on Ramos' hip crackled with static before a dispatcher's voice cut through, confirming the arrival of additional personnel on the dirt road.
They would have to hike in like everyone else.
While there did seem to be an entrance through the trees on the other side of the cabin, no one could locate the entry point.
Such discovery would need to wait until morning.
“I've seen a lot of sick things in this job,” Ramos said after a moment, his voice low enough that only she could hear. His gaze followed the team carrying Missy as they eventually disappeared into the darkness. "Murderers, child abusers, people who've done unspeakable things to other human beings. But hunting women? Keeping them for however long, only to kill them if they didn’t accept their fate? Forcing one to bear a child? I can’t even begin to wrap my head around that.”
“Sandy Richardson was less than two miles from her family this entire time.” Hadley attempted to release her hold on the blanket, but her fingers wouldn’t yet comply.
“I don’t understand it, though. Kalen mentioned that his father trusted Sandy enough to be inside the main house.
She had the ability to escape several times. ”
“Stockholm syndrome at its finest,” Ramos said with disgust. “Think about it. Every meal, every drink of water, every moment she wasn’t in pain…
all ‘gifts’ from her captor. She gave birth to her captor’s child.
Nursed him. Raised him. Somewhere along the way, survival became something else entirely.
A twisted version of family that her mind created to endure the unendurable. ”
“Kalen mentioned that his father built this place in the seventies.” Hadley had been surprised by Kalen’s willingness to talk. “No permits, no records. Just a hidden shelter where he could keep his victims. Train them.”
“And where he raised his son to continue the family tradition,” Ramos added, revulsion evident in his tone.
“Seven families are about to get closure,” Hadley added, knowing full well that it did nothing to ease their pain. “And Amelia gets her granddaughter back.”
“What’s left of her, you mean.”
A deputy emerged from the cabin, though he hadn’t collected any evidence. That methodical process would wait for a forensics team to photograph, collect, and catalog. It was a reminder that even the most monstrous acts would eventually be reduced to case numbers.
“You do realize that your brother will likely receive a substantial settlement from the State,” Ramos said, breaking the silence that had settled between them as they continued to observe the activity around them.
“Twenty years of wrongful imprisonment doesn't come cheap. The governor will want to make this go away as quietly as possible.”
The muscles across her back contracted into painful knots, a physical manifestation of the guilt she'd carried for two decades. She wasn’t ready to discuss Mason or her role in his conviction.
“You were inside when the medics were looking over Missy,” Hadley pointed out, deliberately steering the conversation away from her brother. “Physically, I mean.”
“Dehydrated, malnourished, but no immediate life-threatening injuries. The EMTs said she's got pressure sores from being confined to that cot.”
Hadley relaxed somewhat now that Ramos had followed her lead. She gazed back at the cabin, noticing more movement. Nick had stepped outside. His gaze sought hers immediately.
“You did great work tonight, Dawkins,” Ramos said, breaking into her thoughts. “If you hadn't followed your instincts, who knows how long Missy would have remained here. Or if Ty Hobbs would have survived.”
Hadley had blurred the lines, and she would need to ensure that her testimony leaned the right way. It was unfortunate, but she understood Elijah Garber just a little bit better. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean she could forgive him for the role he played back then.
A cool breeze swept through the clearing, carrying with it the distant sound of more law enforcement officials making their way through the woods. The night was far from over.
Tomorrow, the world would be told what had happened in this remote cabin, and Whistlerun’s reputation would once again be stained. Regardless, some would continue to believe that the Threshing Man roamed the fields during the harvesting season.
“What was that?” Ramos asked, causing her to realize that she’d spoken the words aloud.
“Nothing,” Hadley replied, pulling the blanket tighter around her shoulders as she stood. Every single one of her muscles protested the movement. “Here comes Nick.”
“Amelia’s on her way to the hospital.” Nick nodded a greeting toward Ramos. “Kalen's being transported to the station. He's been surprisingly cooperative. County prosecutor is on his way in, and a public defender has already been notified.”
“Did you have a medic check him out?”
Hadley didn’t want the public defender to have any ammunition when the case went to trial. The palm of her hand and her wrist still ached from the contact and the pressure needed to secure his weapon.
“Broken nose, but the bleeding has stopped. He’s also been docile as a lamb.
” Nick paused to massage the back of his neck.
She instinctively knew there was something he was keeping from them.
“Ty Hobbs is en route to the hospital. Severe concussion, dehydration, some lacerations where the restraints cut into his wrists and ankles. One of my deputies drove over to deliver the news personally to Allen and Brandy.”
Hadley studied Nick, noticing the way he lowered his hand and tucked his thumb into his utility belt. He’d stood the same way when he gave her the news about Reed’s remains being inside the cabin of his truck.
“As I said, an ambulance is transporting Missy to the hospital. They've got specialists there better equipped to handle...” Nick trailed off, gesturing vaguely toward the cabin. “Whatever happened to her in there.”
“Forensics is twenty minutes out,” Ramos advised, both men having agreed earlier that the state should handle everything.
“I hope they brought enough floodlights. This is going to be a nightmare to process. Fortunately, Kalen gave us locations for both burial sites.”
“What are the chances there are more than six victims?”
Ramos had posed the question, and Hadley was afraid he was right to assume there would be more than the seven cases they had linked to Emanuel Telfort.
“Emanuel buried Sandy beneath an oak tree at the edge of their property, marked with a small headstone he carved himself.”
One of the night owls from earlier called out from somewhere deep in the forest, its lonely cry piercing the darkness.
Hadley hadn’t said a word since Nick had joined them.
She’d been too distracted by his demeanor, and now that Ramos had fallen silent, she braced herself for whatever it was Nick needed to say to them.
“We have a slight problem.” Nick shifted his weight and adjusted his thumb on the inside of his belt. “Hadley, did Kalen mention Reed to you?”
A wave of cold dread spread through her chest. She parted her lips to give details on her conversation with Kalen, but then changed her mind. She simply answered his question.
“No.”
“Where are you going with this, Turner?” Ramos asked, his eyes narrowing when he finally sensed the shift in the night air.
“Kalen Telfort confessed to kidnapping Missy Claymont, to assaulting Ty Hobbs, and to being aware of his father's previous victims.” Nick finally met Hadley’s gaze. “But he’s denying any involvement in Reed's death. He claims that he was here at the cabin with Missy. I’m not sure there is enough—”
“And you believe him?” Ramos interjected, obviously not buying Kalen’s claims of innocence.
“At this point?” Nick shrugged in response. “Kalen has been very forthcoming, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. Other than the timing of Reed’s death, of course. Hadley? You were with him for a while. Is there any reason to think he’s—”
“Trying to avoid murder charges?” Ramos’ radio came to life once again, but he ignored the dispatcher. Nick continued to stare at Hadley, clearly waiting for her opinion. She remained silent, allowing Ramos to speak for her. “You’re damn straight, Turner.”
Nick was called away by one of his deputies. Ramos sighed in disgust, stepping away as he unclipped his radio. She was grateful for the blanket, because it prevented them from observing how she rubbed her chest in hopes of easing the discomfort.
She slowly lowered herself to the fallen log, doing her best to keep down the bile that threatened to travel up her esophagus.
What if Kalen hadn’t killed Reed? Nick was right about Kalen being forthcoming with them, which fueled her fear that they’d only scratched the surface of Whistlerun's secrets.