The ambulance had evacuated Mary Ann over two hours before. The tow truck had long since left the property with Barlow’s pickup. Though they’d successfully rescued Barlow’s latest victim, all efforts to find the man himself had failed.
It was near midnight. The mutual aid officers sent by the surrounding counties to help and all the state troopers had been released from the scene. Clinger and Holmes, the FBI agents, had returned to Summersville to rally a special FBI search team to search for Barlow in the morning. But they would get no sleep tonight. As soon at the search team was arranged for, they would turn their attention to finding Sam, starting with an evidence search of Sam’s home.
Eight Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department vehicles remained at the scene, most with their headlights shining on various parts of the night-shrouded property.
They found Barlow’s laptop in his bedroom. Deputy Wellman discovered horrible documentation of every murder Barlow had committed. The sick bastard had photographed and videoed every girl and every step of the unspeakable torture. The question that remained was, why? Mary Ann Gilson could probably help with that. But for now the poor woman needed time to rest and heal.
Cass found Mary Ann’s car parked in the barn. The state forensics officer would process it tomorrow, along with the thousands of other threads of evidence that would ultimately confirm this farmhouse as Nicholas County’s most notorious crime scene ever.
As Cass stood with Eric in the barn, an idea niggled at the corners of her mind. “Eric, if you were facing the prospect of walking through these woods all night, how would you feel?”
“Depends. If I had a good flashlight and snake boots, I guess I could do it. Why?”
“I don’t think Barlow would use a flashlight. Too easy to spot him. I’ve had this feeling all night that Barlow’s not far away—that maybe he’s somewhere close right now watching what’s going on. If you were him watching all this, what would you do?”
“I’d wait until things quieted down then try to make my get away.”
“I think so too. And I’d want to gather some things if I could, then try to find a way to make it back to civilization without walking.” Cass patted the roof of Mary Ann’s car.
Eric grinned. “Something’s going on in your head. Spit it out.”
“How do you feel about pulling an all-nighter?”
“I’ve done it before; I can do it again.”
“Here’s what I’m thinking.” Cass laid out her plan. It made Eric smile. It was like a game of cowboys and Indians all over again.