Hunter retrieved his cell phone and flipped through his photos until he found the one that best showed how Terri had been posed, her arms crossed over her chest, her dead eyes staring up into the branches of the tree. He lifted his head and passed his phone to Sarah.
The color bled from her face as her attention riveted to the picture.
“What’s going on, Sarah?”
Her continued silence ate at his composure.
“Have you seen a murder staged similarly?”
She nodded, backing away from the spot under the tree. She stumbled over an exposed root and lost her balance.
Hunter lunged toward her and clasped her arms to steady her. She shook beneath his hands. He brought her up against him, wrapping his arms around her. He swallowed the words he wanted to say. This wasn’t the time to demand answers, but he needed them and would get them later.
Around them, life went on. A cardinal flew from one pine to another then perched next to its chirping mate. A light breeze blew, carrying a hint of a fire on it. One of the campgrounds wasn’t too far away. In the distance, he heard a motorboat crossing the lake, its sound growing fainter the further it went. But in his embrace, Sarah still trembled.
He’d never seen her so distressed. Was one of the serial killers she’d tracked and lost now in Cimarron City?
When Sarah finally stepped back, a little color had returned to her cheeks, but the desolate look in her eyes concerned Hunter more than anything.
She swung her head from side to side as though searching for anyone who might be nearby. “We need to talk but not here.”
“Let’s go back to the car. You’ve seen all there is. Whoever killed Terri was careful. He used the same path to bring her here and to leave.
“From which direction?”
“That way.” He pointed into the woods away from the campground and the road. “One of our canine officers brought his tracking dog. Max followed the scent. It stopped at the shoreline where the killer’s scent vanished.” Hunter walked beside Sarah in the direction of his SUV. Question after question tumbled through his thoughts.
“Are you going to have Max see if he can follow the scent from the footprint by the deck?”
“Yes. Officer Parker, his handler, will give me a call with the results. If Max can pick up the killer’s scent, it will probably end where the perpetrator got into a car. It’ll depend on where it was parked, but we might be able to pick it up leaving the area on a traffic cam.”
“At night, you won’t have as many vehicles to eliminate.”
“That’s what I’m hoping, but where Mark lives, there are ways to leave the area undetected.” At his car, Hunter opened the passenger door for Sarah then rounded his hood and climbed inside. He put his key into the ignition, but he didn’t start the SUV. Again, he asked, “What’s going on, Sarah?”
* * *
Sarah had never wanted to tell her secret to Hunter. It was something that changed her whole life. But if Terri’s murder and possibly Alicia’s disappearance were somehow connected to what happened to her fifteen years ago, then she had no choice. He needed to know. She should have told him when it happened, but she’d been nineteen and naïve. She’d never realized how much evil there was in the world.
“There’s a chance I encountered the man who killed Terri the night before our wedding.”
His brow furrowed. Confusion clouded his blue eyes. “When you were with your girlfriends?”
Sarah stared out the windshield. “I know this might sound farfetched, but yes. We came to the lake that night. Emily knew some of the college kids who were partying at the campground near here. I drove one of the two cars because I was always one of the designated drivers for the group. I only drank one alcoholic beverage when everyone toasted my last day as a single woman. The rest of the night I stuck with sodas, so when I became disorientated, I didn’t understand why. Everything was spinning, and I stumbled. That’s when I sat down by a tree and closed my eyes to stop the swirling. I vaguely remember a guy approaching me to check on how I was feeling. He helped me to my feet.” She sliced a look at Hunter. “The next thing I remembered was the next morning when I woke up at the very spot where Terri was laid down and posed. I was posed like that, too. I think the guy who approached me might be the killer.”
“That was fifteen years ago. We haven’t had a case like Terri’s in Cimarron City. That’s a—”
“When I woke up the morning of our wedding, I knew I had been raped, although I don’t remember anything about it.” She clenched her hands, her fingernails digging into her palms. “There was blood. He took my…virginity. I couldn’t…” She shoved the door open and scrambled from his car. Memories of that horrific day flooded her. She couldn’t face Hunter then or now. Crossing her arms to stop the shaking, she leaned against his car.
The sound of a car door opening made her wish she was anywhere but here. When Hunter appeared out of the corner of her eye, she wanted to disappear, never have to see him again. He reclined against his car next to Sarah and didn’t say a word.
“I’m sorry about…” Her voice faded into silence. She couldn’t express all her regrets.
“Why didn’t you tell me back then?” he finally asked in a soft voice.
“Since we became serious, we had a pact. Our first time would be on our wedding night.” She dropped her arms to her side, intending to push off the SUV and put space between them.
Instead, Hunter captured her hand and held her next to him. “I would have understood and helped you through it.”
She yanked away from him. “Would you? That’s easy to say but not necessarily easy to do. I was hurt, ashamed, and just wanted to hide from anyone I knew. All I could think about was getting in my car and driving as far away from here as I could. I wrote you a letter. I couldn’t even call you. To hear your voice…” A lump lodged in her throat, and she swallowed hard several times. “I called my house, and Nana answered.” And the dam on her emotions broke. “Nana listened and told me she would take care of everything. I made her promise not to tell anyone about the rape, and she never did. I went to live with her, and slowly I came to terms with what happened. I felt you needed to know now because of the similarities with Terri’s situation. It’s possible the guy has evolved since he raped me.”
“You should have told me fifteen years ago.” Tension gripped each word and dripped off.
And she couldn’t blame him. She swung around, wrenched the car door open, and slipped inside.
Finally, Hunter skirted the rear of his SUV, sat behind the steering wheel, and started the engine. Not a word was said as he drove into town and parked in front of an apartment building. The only clues to what he was feeling was the firm set of his jaw and the nerve that jerked in his cheek.
And the heavy silence.
As they exited the car, Hunter’s cell phone rang. He answered it. “When will you be at the chief’s house?” A pause, then he added. “We’ll be there by then. Wait for me.”
When he disconnected, he continued toward the apartment building’s main entrance. “That was Officer Parker. He’s running ahead of schedule and can be at the house at three to discuss the results of the tracking. Then after that, we can go to the church to talk with Ben.”
“Good.” At least being out of the car eased her stress their earlier conversation had produced. But she still had one more piece of information she needed to tell Hunter, and that would be as unnerving as telling him she’d been raped.
* * *
Hunter entered the church with Sarah and stopped when he saw Ben Woodward across the lobby, talking to a couple, dressed as though they were going to attend an early evening wedding. “Do you know them?”
As Ben hugged the lady, Sarah shook her head. The pair said good-bye and crossed the entrance, passing them with solemn expressions on their faces. Tears streamed down the woman’s cheeks, and Sarah dug into her purse for a tissue. “I’d hoped everyone heard, and Ben didn’t have to tell anyone.”
Hunter knew the numb sensation Ben would be feeling knowing that he wouldn’t be getting married. He doubted the young man had processed beyond the fact that he needed to make sure his guests knew the ceremony wouldn’t take place today. Going through the motions of living was easier than dealing with the unknown.
At the moment, he partially felt that way. Finding out the reason behind Sarah leaving him at the altar should make him…what? Happy? Angry even more? Shocked was more like it. He’d never once thought that would be the real reason she left him, and he didn’t have the time to deal with it emotionally. His priority was locating Terri’s killer and finding Alicia alive.
Sarah embraced Ben. “I hope not too many people have come by.”
“Six or seven so far. A couple of them from out of town.”
“Who just left?” Hunter asked.
“The Carters. I work with Noah Carter at Cimarron City College.” Ben plowed his hand through his hair, not for the first time today.
“Ah, I remember Noah,” Sarah said. “He was two years older than Hunter in high school. He grew up down the street from where I lived.”
“Why did you want to meet me here?” Ben glanced toward the main door, opening.
“We’d like to talk to you about Alicia’s activities yesterday,” Hunter said over the loud sound of footsteps on the stone tile echoing through the large foyer.
“And mine?”
“Yes. We have to take a look at everyone in Alicia’s life.”
“I understand. Let me tell Carey and Emily Allen and Travis Scott what happened. Then we can leave and find somewhere quiet to talk, because I’ll do anything to help you find Alicia.”
Emily, Sarah’s good friend from high school? She stiffened and glanced at the couple who entered, accompanied by the head of campus police, Chief Scott. Hunter had worked a couple of cases with him involving students from the college.
“She must have returned to Cimarron City recently.” Hunter had never been a big fan of Sarah’s friend and hearing about her role in getting Sarah to the lake on the eve of their wedding only strengthened his wariness toward her. Emily didn’t even check to see where Sarah was that night, or she would have wondered why her car was still at the campground parking lot when she left the party.
“Do you know who she married? He looks familiar.”
“No. She married her college sweetheart a year after you left, but I don’t know if that’s him or someone else. I didn’t go to her wedding.”
“Carey Allen. I know that name.” Sarah snapped her fingers. “I remember him. He was a graduate student while I was at Cimarron City College.”
Emily looked at Sarah, smiled, and said something to Ben, her husband, and Chief Scott then closed the space between her and Sarah. Emily opened her arms to give Sarah a hug, but Sarah stepped back and folded her arms over her chest.
Emily’s grin faded. “I hadn’t heard you were going to be in town, but I should have figured you would be here for your niece’s wedding. I’m so sorry about her disappearance.” The woman’s eyes narrowed slightly. “It reminds me of what happened to you.”
Ouch! Hunter moved closer to Sarah, ready to tell Emily to leave.
But Sarah relaxed her tensed posture, clasping Hunter’s hand. “I didn’t disappear. The people I cared about were contacted.”
“I’m sure Alicia will show up. People get cold feet sometimes on their wedding day. I’m praying that’s all it is.” Emily’s fake smile reappeared. “I hope we can get together while you’re here.”
“As soon as Alicia is found, I’m leaving, and until then, I’m helping to find her.” Sarah peered at Ben and the two men. “You married Carey Allen? When?”
“A couple of years after you left. He’s a professor at the college. We returned to Cimarron City this year.” She glanced toward her husband for a second then said, “I called you numerous times on your wedding day. When I made it back to my house, I fell asleep on my bed and didn’t wake up until nearly noon. What happened?”
“Nothing to concern you now. It looks like your husband is signaling that he’s ready to leave.”
As Emily strolled away, Hunter inched even closer. “I’m sorry. She could always be callous,” he whispered.
“I used to think she was a good friend. She was one of my bridesmaids. Now I can look back and see that our relationship was shallow. She’s one of the reasons I pursued my doctorate in psychology. I didn’t want someone like her to fool me again.”
“Let’s rescue Ben and get out of here.” Hunter didn’t release her hand.
It was too late for them. Sarah had enough pain to deal with right now. He didn’t need to add the past to it. He’d become good at compartmentalizing his life. When the case was over, he would deal with what she told him. He couldn’t waste any mental energy on it now. If the person who raped her was the person who took Terri and Alicia, it made sense the killer might come after her to finish what he started years ago.