After seeing the detective pick up the woman and leave, Josh returned to the campsite one more time.
“What happened to your mutt, McCord? You left with him, but now he’s gone. Must have run off on you.” He snickered. “That’s a real shame.”
Josh crawled into the tent that had been left open when the woman took off with the detective. He was sure it was an oversight on her part not to zip it up.
Hmm, you never know what kind of varmint can get inside if you don’t secure your tent.
He noticed a flashlight in the tent pocket and clicked it on.
“Would you look at that!” He laughed. “The stupid bitch left her phone behind. Guess I really hit the jackpot now. Looks like everything is going my way after all.”
He pocketed the phone and did a little more snooping, but with all their food, a cozy sleeping bag, and now her phone, he didn’t need much more.
May as well take this flashlight, though. I like the thought of keeping them in the dark—literally.
Josh backed out of the tent and left it the way he’d found it—open and unsecure. He was sure the detective would blame the woman for losing her phone. Either a wild animal carried it away, or an opportunist took it. No matter what, Josh was hammering a wedge between the two, and with the dog missing, it would only get worse.
He walked to his site with several ideas on his mind. That evening, he would eat free food, play games on her phone, then get a good night’s sleep. Before turning in, he planned to walk to the ridge and check on the detective one more time. He needed to think of something that would cause them to be stranded there. It was a good five-mile hike to the registration building, nothing too difficult, but his guess was that the detective would spend every available second searching for his dog.
Josh would sneak down to the site and puncture every tire on the SUV. That was the best way to get McCord exactly where he wanted him—right in the palm of his hand.