Chapter 32

  

Penelope had a fitful night of sleep, even though she usually slept well next to Joey. The first rays of sun were peeking in through the window, and she decided a run would help clear her mind. She hadn’t been on a good run in two weeks, which she knew always made her feel antsy and out of sorts.

After pulling on her running gear and slipping from the room without waking Joey, Penelope synched her phone’s running app and headed to the main trail through the forest, the one she had run a couple of times with Jordan. She had another motive for making the trip. She planned to keep an eye out for the camps she’d heard about from Randall and the sheriff.

Penelope warmed up with a light jog, picking up her pace when she arrived at the edge of the forest. The air was crisp and clean, and she felt her arms and legs fall into their familiar pattern as she increased her strides, her running shoes scraping against the pebbled sandy path. The sun warmed her face as she ran through the pockets of light peeking through the trees, and she felt joyous for the first time in days.

The image of Jordan hanging in the walk-in flashed into her mind and she tripped, correcting herself to keep from falling at the last minute. She slowed her pace and pushed the picture from her mind, trying again to focus on the trees and the beauty of nature around her, concentrating on the scent of the pine and the crispness of the cool air.

After the first mile, something to the left of the path caught her eye and she pulled up to a stop, jogging in place for a moment as she peered through the trees. A shiny black box was tucked between two trees next to what looked to be a makeshift tent, a camouflage-colored sheet strung between some branches. Something about the box was familiar. Penelope hadn’t seen any other runners or hikers that morning, and the campsite appeared to be abandoned. At least right now. She took a few tentative steps away from the path, pine needles crunching under her shoes as she went.

She pulled her hood up over her damp hair and took a few more steps. It then became clear to her why the box was familiar. It was the case of wine that had gone missing the night of the break-in at Festa. Penelope’s heart had slowed when she stopped running, but picked up again as she glanced around the campsite. The wine box was empty, and several bottles were strewn across the ground.

“Maybe this is Denis’s hunting campsite,” Penelope muttered, hoping there was some innocent explanation for what she was seeing. Her heart sank when she peered behind the sheet and saw a box of Festa’s straws and pint glasses with the restaurant’s logo painted on the side. She found scraps of food too, and a few dinner plates. Her mouth turned bitter when she looked to the right and spotted Jordan’s missing boots. They were thrown in the corner of the tent, partly obscured by a white tablecloth, which was streaked with mud and food stains.

Penelope backed out of the tent, not wanting to disturb what looked like important evidence. She was suddenly freezing, the icy air permeating her damp clothes. She’d been idling too long and her body temperature had dropped. She pulled her phone from her pocket, the words Poor Connection showing on the screen. She swiped open the camera and started snapping pictures, positioning her phone at different angles to capture the entire area.

When she heard the crunch of pine needles behind her, Penelope froze, then looked carefully around her, the discomfort she was feeling immediately forgotten, replaced by fear.

A spray of giggles made her turn sharply to look to her left. She could see the edge of someone’s jacket poking out from behind a tree about fifty yards away. Penelope took a few steps back toward the trail, putting distance between herself and whoever was there. A second sharp laugh made her think it was a man, but she couldn’t be sure. Another footstep from a slightly different direction caused the hair to raise on her arms under her shirt.

Penelope summoned her courage and willed herself to remain calm, even though adrenaline was running through her, urging her to run.

The arm behind the tree shifted and whoever was hiding stepped into view. Penelope squinted to see, but when the person revealed their face, all she could do was stare. They were wearing a dark hoodie with something obscuring their face. It looked painted on, a ghostly white see-through mask that obscured his features with a grotesque black smile. She definitely see now that it was a man, and was almost certainly Bailey.

Penelope took a few more backward steps as the man slid back behind the tree. She saw someone else moving close by, a smaller figure, most likely a woman. Neither of them revealed themselves to her, and she wasn’t going to wait for them to. She spun around and sprinted back to the path, running at her top speed back to the inn.