Page 64 of Fire Harbor

Lake shook her head. “I don’t care about any of that. When it comes to predatory killers, statistics show they are opportunistic and unpredictable. They’ll change their habits in a heartbeat if it means grabbing an innocent victim. Everything points to Riggs.”

She twisted in her chair and picked up her tablet with the list of victims. “In my view, there is a pattern if you just take the time to look for it. The killer began with Joanna Hawkins, who was thirty-four at the time of her disappearance in 2014. The year after, Amanda Jenner had just turned thirty-two. In fact, Amanda had been out celebrating in San Sebastian with a bunch of friends from work. Gail Pinter was twenty-nine in 2016. In 2017, Cillia French was twenty-five. In 2018, Maggie Dover was twenty-four. Susan Crawford had just turned twenty-two in 2019. In 2020, Britney Parks was another twenty-two-year-old who had been out at a bar with friends. Keri Davis was nineteen in 2021. And last fall, there’s Gabby, who was only seventeen. If you include Alice in this list, the victims are getting younger in descending order.”

“But that would mean he knows a great deal more about his victims, their birthdays, their comings and goings.”

“He either follows them, or he’s in tune with what they post on social media. Or maybe both.”

“This one’s sharp,” Annette said with a wink toward her son, getting to her feet to clear the dishes. When Lake started to rise to help, she waved her off. “You cooked. I’ll clean. Delicious spaghetti sauce, by the way. You’ll need to give me the recipe.”

“Absolutely. Come summer, with a new crop of tomatoes, I’ll show you how I make enough jars to store up for winter. That way, you have a built-in, ready-made meal in minutes without having to wait hours for the sauce to simmer.”

“Listen to this woman,” Annette crowed. “She cans her own sauce.”

“She makes her own everything, including homemade soup,” Linus corrected. “I swear she knows more about gardening than Caleb Jennings, who owns his own nursery.”

“I always wanted to grow a garden, but my husband and I lived in a condo. We had too small a space to grow anything of substance,” Annette explained. “Now, by myself, I’m out of the growing mood.”

“There’s always container gardening,” Lake pointed out. “You could focus on growing herbs or tomatoes. Those two things don’t take up a lot of space. And you always have fresh basil or rosemary handy to spice up a recipe. You should come to dinner this weekend at my house.”

“Will we discuss murder and serial killers?” Annette questioned.

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” Lake mused. “Probably.”

“Good. Then count me in. I want to help catch this guy before he strikes again. That’s two from Pelican Pointe.”

Lake looked slightly befuddled. “Your mom’s right. The last two were from Pelican Pointe. That has to mean something significant. Snatching Alice in broad daylight meant he needed to set off those explosions to distract everyone from his real intent. A man experienced in munitions. Do you think he might have a military background? Was Riggs ever in the military? Do property managers usually possess the skillset to blow up boats in a marina?”

Linus leaned back in his chair. “That’s a key point to bring up to Brent or Theo.”

As they finished clearing the table, a knock sounded at the door. Linus glanced at Lake with a curious look. “Who could that be?”

Alice’s parents, Tom and Karen Barrett, stood on the porch, looking exhausted but relieved to have their daughter back.

“We’re sorry to bother you,” Tom said. “But we couldn’t go to bed tonight without thanking you both for what you did to find Alice. Brent told us what you did.”

“We didn’t do anything special,” Linus pointed out. “I was simply doing my job, responding to a call from a passing motorist who called us about a car accident. I was in the right place at the right time.”

“It was a community-wide effort,” Lake added.

“All I know is you saved my little girl from that man. He’s a monster,” Karen exclaimed, wiping away tears. “When I think what could have happened, I get sick to my stomach.”

“We all do,” Lake returned, stepping up to open the door wider. “Would you like to come in for coffee?”

Tom shifted his feet. “Thanks, but we won’t keep you any longer. We’ve already drank gallons of the stuff, and we could use a good night’s sleep.”

“How’s Alice doing?” Annette asked.

“She’s calmed down some,” Karen provided. “But she still keeps asking if the man’s been caught. Brent promised to keep us in the loop. Since Dr. Blackwood decided to keep her overnight for observation, they stationed a police officer outside her room. Eastlyn volunteered to do it.”

“You let us know if you need anything,” Lake offered. “Anything at all.”

“We just want our girl to be okay after this ordeal. Thanks to you guys, we know where she is tonight.”

The couple left on that high note, leaving Linus and Lake feeling good about their contribution to the day’s events.

“I still think I should go and help with the cleanup at the pier,” Linus said as he rinsed the plates off and loaded the dishwasher.

“I don’t see why we all can’t show up and lend a hand until bedtime,” Lake decided. “Our bellies are full. We have a home to go to. Ossie, Van, and Darren are homeless.”

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