Page 14 of Hide Me Darling

Remaining perfectly still, I listen intently for any sign of movement in the forest. Seconds stretch into minutes, but there's nothing—no rustle of leaves, no snapping of twigs. With cautious steps, I continue towards the house, my senses heightened and on alert.

I almost slam the door behind me when I make it back inside the house. Instead of turning on the lights, I quickly discard my disguise under the cover of darkness, removing the hood, gloves, and skull mask.

I feel like I can finally take a breath when it’s all off of me. The coolness of the room is a welcome relief after the tension of the night and the stifling feeling of being watched. Once I tuck the attire away, I flip on the light and make my way to the office, sitting down at the desk and taking out a notepad and pen to record my observations.

Taking careful notes, I am sure to go over in detail everything I know about the various businesses along the waterfront. Once the list is made, I flip to another page to make a note for each person I have come across so far and leave room to add more as I continue to watch them.

Some pages have more details than others, like Sheriff Brooks, Deputy Eli, and Allegra. But then others have minimal detail. The artist whose name I don’t even know, the worker at the tattoo shop, and the others I have only seen just have their jobs listed with a brief description of their appearance.

You never know when you will need to recall someone's eye color or a certain tattoo. If I can catch even a glimpse of the murderer in action, maybe it will help me narrow it down. They probably wear a mask, but their build is important which is why I note that Allegra is curvy and that Eli is slightly taller than the sheriff who walks with a bit of a slouch.

Everything is important, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. Which is why I make these lists, so I don’t forget anything.

As I jot down the last details, I ponder my next steps. The eerie feeling of being watched in the forest lingers in my mind. Was it just my imagination, heightened by the adrenaline of the night's activities, or something more? I will have to be more vigilant in the future.

Reaching over to my tablet, I press the button to light the screen and check the time, noticing that there’s a notification there. Thinking perhaps that Uncle Max may have found something, I pick up the device, bringing it in front of me and unlocking it.

Except, it’s not Uncle Max. It’s the alert I set up two nights ago.

Dear Readers,

It’s amazing how some people can be so unobservant to what happens around them. They don’t even see the life leaking out of someone oh so close by.

But then this one didn’t make a sound, didn’t scream or cry, all that could be heard was the soft gasping of breath until it rattled and stopped. It was like she had already given up before the knife cut through her pale skin.

She didn’t even get a chance to live a proper life, barely an adult and already abandoned by everyone. This time, the sand absorbed her essence, the tiny grains stained red. Her dark blue eyes were a pretty reflection of the dark water, her brown hair like night and day to the sand.

Did you hear her gasps for breath? No, you didn’t. You arrived too late. You just missed her when you appeared like a ghost, trying to become one with the shadows.

But we know you’re here… creep around town all you like… you won’t see us until we want you to. But don’t worry, we see you.

Until next time…

X X X X

My stomach drops. What the fuck… Are they talking about me?

Chapter 7

Hydessa

Istruggled to fall asleep after the new blog post. Not only because I just missed resolving this investigation quickly, but because of the other details that the blog revealed.

There is more than one of them. Their use of the word us and we made that clear.

Why had I never once considered that there is more than one person behind all this?

After that revelation, I looked back over all of the historical blog posts, but I was right, there had been no clues previously. No little details at all, not like what they gave away last night.

If I hadn’t already been here and knew where the blog was coming from, the details of the sand would have been another hint that I previously didn’t know.

Are they actually going to feed me more information now that I’m closing in? But why? Do they think it’s fun to make me chase them? Is it about the thrill for them? Do they think they will get away with this? How did they even know I was here?

The sun can only just be seen creeping into the sky when I tie up my running shoes. I am dressed in leggings and an exercise top, my black hair pulled into a hair tie and away from my face.

I normally run with music playing, but today I don't want any distractions. Especially not after the way I felt those eyes on me. Each time I scan the trees through the window, the feeling tries to return. It’s making me paranoid.

The events of last night replay in my mind—how close I had come to finding the killer. How late had I actually been? Hours? Minutes? Shaking my head to clear the thoughts, I grab my keys and some money, step out the front door, and lock it behind me. I start to jog down the quiet street in the direction of the beach.

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