Page 63 of Fire Harbor

Linus’s blood ran cold at the sneaky tactics. For him, the pieces of the puzzle were starting to come together, forming a dangerous picture. The man was likely responsible for the fire.

“Did you recognize him, Alice? Can you tell us anything about him?” Linus asked, trying to sound calm.

“He… he talked to me a couple of times before this morning,” Alice breathed out, her whole body shaking. “I didn’t think he was dangerous. Not until he started driving around and wouldn’t take me to see David.”

Her voice cracked as she recounted the terrifying moment she realized she was in trouble. “That’s when I knew I’d made a horrible mistake. I didn’t see how anyone could save me. I’m so glad you stopped and made him run away. Please, I just want to go home.”

With a steely determination in his eyes, Linus helped Alice reach the rear of the vehicle. With each step, she clung to him, her whole body vibrating with fear and shock.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you home safe.”

But suddenly, Alice stopped walking. She took a shuddering breath, trying to compose herself, and blurted out, “I…I scratched him. I’m pretty sure I have his DNA under my fingernails. I…I took out my earring, and I…I left it under the front seat of his car so someone would know I’d been in it.”

Linus was impressed with the young girl’s quick thinking. “Wow, I’m not sure I would’ve thought to do that. You reacted like one of those survivors on TV. I want you to have a seat inside, okay? We call it The Box. But it’s really for patient care. See the stretcher. Once you get settled, I’ll bag your hands, so we won’t lose any evidence. Then we’ll get you checked out at the hospital. We’ll notify your parents and let them know you’re okay. How does that sound?”

He waited until Alice nodded before easing her into the back of the vehicle. At about that same time, a police cruiser pulled up behind them, followed by another patrol car. Brent Cody got out of the first vehicle while Colt and Theo joined them at the rear of the ambulance.

“Is she okay?” Brent asked.

“I think she’ll be fine,” Linus said quietly. He repeated what Alice had told him about the man who had abducted her. “She’s a quick-thinking kid, which is why her hands are bagged.”

“Let’s get her checked out and make sure she’s okay before I interview her,” Brent ordered. “We’ll follow you. Sirens on full blast all the way. Let’s move out.”

Chapter Seventeen

“The day Brent Cody heaps praise on anyone is a red-letter day,” Lake noted, offering Linus the platter filled with spaghetti she’d cooked as they sat around the table at his house.

“Brent sung both our praises. We helped get Alice back home,” Linus pointed out, passing the plate to his mother, who had joined them for dinner.

While Jack and Scout explored new surroundings, Farley lounged under the table near Linus’s feet. “That’s the important thing,” Linus went on, “You identified the suspect by reaching out to Wally, who owns the only service station in town. Brilliant move. That’s as quick thinking as Alice.”

Annette dished out a serving before handing the platter back to Lake. “Can you believe that young girl was savvy enough to stand up to a grown man the way she did?”

“If you knew Alice the way I do, she’s always shown a spunky side,” Lake commented. “Alice has never had a problem sharing her opinion about anything. She will be all right, won’t she? How long do you think this guy will be on the run?”

“Although she suffered no noticeable injuries, the girl is traumatized by what happened,” Linus said. “Anyone would be. It will help to know that Callum Riggs is in custody, though. The nurses who treated her say she kept asking if they’ve caught him yet.”

“I’d be anxious, too, until the man is in jail,” Annette muttered, looking around the room. “I can’t believe you got Troy over here to fix the back door on such short notice.”

“He did it as a favor to Linus,” Lake replied, twirling spaghetti around her fork. “He mentioned something about Linus almost having to deliver his daughter. Troy wouldn’t let me pay him for his time. Besides, he said he’d rather be doing something useful after what happened this morning. I think everyone in town has been shaken up by the fire, then the abduction.”

Annette nodded in agreement. “We never thought anything like this could happen here, not in our small, quiet town. It just goes to show that evil can lurk anywhere, even in the places we least expect.”

Linus set his fork down, suddenly feeling a weight on his shoulders. “I just want the town to feel safe again. And Alice—I know she’s tough—but no one should have to go through what she did. I thought I’d eat and go back to the pier to help. Everyone is working overtime trying to clean up the mess. I should be there, too.”

“I’m happy to help, any way that I can,” Lake offered.

“Same here,” Annette added. “We’ll pitch in and do whatever needs doing.”

“There’s something that bothers me about what happened to Alice,” Lake began. “We know this Riggs guy is responsible for that. But I have questions that keep running through my head. Is Callum Riggs also responsible for Gabby Moreland’s murder? Is he the serial killer Brent is looking for? Did he kill those others beginning in 2014? Or is Alice’s abduction not related to the serial killings from earlier?”

“I’ve been asking those same questions,” Linus emphasized. “I don’t think anyone has the answers yet. Riggs is definitely in the right age group to have started ten years ago. But Theo mentioned at the hospital that he discovered Riggs isn’t even a software salesman like he told Lilly. He’s a real estate property manager, owns a house in Los Gatos that once belonged to his father, has never been in trouble with the law, and seems to be a respectable, law-abiding citizen until today. Theo also said that Riggs has been divorced since 2014 and has no kids.”

“Why would he lie to Lilly about his work?” Annette asked. “If he isn’t hiding something, why do that?”

“Good point,” Lake murmured. “But there’s another coincidence that seems too weird. Riggs drove Alice to the bridge. He was definitely familiar with that area, where all those bodies had been discovered a week earlier.”

“Yeah. But there’s another caveat to consider. If Riggs is the guy, he broke his pattern with Alice. One, he took Alice in the middle of the day with a made-up story to coax her into his car. That’s different than how Jimmy’s cousin described what happened to her. Then two, he wasn’t hanging out at the bridge waiting for a victim. Instead, he brings Alice there after the abduction. Three, Alice is a lot younger than the other victims.”

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