shadows_ebook-62

I fidget with the sterling silver heart around my neck, tracing the engraved letters beneath my thumb. M-O-M. I almost wish Cole could see me wear it again, but he swam for Seattle this morning. Both of us free fish now.

I watch the group members file in from the safety of the Jeep. It’s the first time I feel nervous. But I don’t blast the radio to lose myself in a screaming guitar. Instead, I read.

The Napa County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced yesterday that disgraced military officer Wendall Grady has been officially identified as the prime suspect in the Shadow Man killings, which began decades ago and terrorized the Bay Area. After the Shadow Man Task Force received an anonymous tip last week, their search of Grady’s house revealed human remains in a soundproof underground bunker, as well as numerous dog collars hidden beneath his bed, many of which belonged to the dogs of Shadow Man’s known victims. Given the number of mementos found, authorities speculated there could be more than five additional unknown victims. It is believed that Grady selected his victims while volunteering for several local animal shelters, because nearly all identified victims had either adopted a pet or visited a shelter prior to their abductions.

Grady also founded a website, Shadow Seekers, where he maintained several fictitious profiles in order to closely monitor any developments in his case. Police now suspect that victim seventeen, Dakota Roark, encountered Grady on the site and was targeted due to her investigatory efforts, as well as Grady’s long-standing feud with her grandfather, Victor Krandel. Forensic computer analysts believe Grady pinpointed the girl’s location by using IP-tracking software.

Grady was last seen on Friday evening, October 12, at Krandel’s compound, Mol’s Junkyard. Grady reportedly made criminal threats against Krandel, who police had previously suspected in the killing of Dakota Roark. Consistent with his elusive moniker, Shadow Man abandoned his vehicle and disappeared into a heavily wooded area outside the compound.

Napa PD spokeswoman Helen Yi issued a statement indicating the department has devoted all available resources to finding the serial killer, including relying upon special checkpoint procedures developed in 2016, after Clive Cullen successfully escaped from San Quentin State Prison and went on a violent rampage. Like Cullen, Wendall Grady is considered armed and highly dangerous, though police will not rule out the possibility Grady may be injured.

According to Peter Jacoby, Chief Psychologist at Napa State Hospital, Grady fits the profile developed by Napa psychologist in the mid-1980s. “By all accounts, Grady blended seamlessly into the fabric of society. He was happily married for twenty-three years. Until recently, he was a decorated military veteran. He even volunteered in the community, donating a good portion of his veteran’s benefits to the SPCA. Wherever he is, he’s unlikely to stand out. He may even be your next-door neighbor.

Luciana parks Boludo in the spot next to mine. She knocks on the window, frowning at the paper in my hand.

“He’ll get what’s coming to him. Se siega lo que se siembra.” I smile, because I know this one. It’s about reaping what you sow.

I think of the well. I’ll go there one day, when all the hoopla blows over. Push the cover aside myself. Toss in the last remnants of the Shadow Man, the treatment agreement he’d signed on our first day of therapy. Then I’ll get Dad to help me fill it in with concrete, and I’ll walk away forever. Leave his soul in the exact opposite of peace to reap all the rotten seeds he’d planted.

Luciana and I walk into the break room, arm in arm. When I spot Debbie with three packages of M&Ms on her lap, a gift from the vending machine gods, I’m certain it’s a good day.

I take the seat that’s been saved for me next to Sawyer. He’s dressed in jeans and a clean T-shirt, and I inhale the earthy scent of him. Later tonight, I fully intend to shove my tongue down his throat. Again. If he’ll let me. But only after we’ve had our first dinner date. Only after I’ve gotten to the bottom of that story about how he really broke his jaw.

“Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Grieving Parents Group. I’m sure all of you are aware of the developments in my daughter’s case in the last week and a half, and I’m eager to tell you all about it. But first, I want to share an announcement. After careful consideration, I’ve decided to take over as group facilitator on a permanent basis. If you’ll have me.”

I’m not ready to go inside yet. I’m still giddy from our first real date, from truths told. Turns out Sawyer had jumped from the roof of his high school on a dare with a bedsheet as a makeshift parachute. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a Ranger, he’d said, laughing.

I let Gus run in the yard, watching him frolic from the porch steps. When his tongue is hanging, we walk together to my real office.

I turn on the lights and go to my suspect wall. Rip it down piece by piece until there’s nothing left.

The white paint is a blank canvas. I’ll put something nice here. Something Dakota would’ve liked.

Gus snuffs at the box in the corner, the one marked Napa State. He scratches at the edge of it, making long claw marks down the side, and my hairs stand on end.

Pushing Gus aside, I open the dusty flaps and scour the refuse of my career. Books, papers, a Keep Talking, I’m Diagnosing You mug. At the bottom, beneath it all, I find it. It’s Shadow Man’s last gift to me. I’m certain of that.