Page 68 of Silent Ridge

“Yes.”

To her credit she doesn’t ask why. I have a feeling that Rader wasn’t just toying with me during the call. He was giving me a clue. I step on the gas until I reach the town limits. I drive past Dan’s shop just on the off chance that someone is there, or I see something out of place.

Nothing.

I pull up in front of my place. Everything seems to be the way I left it this morning. Rader knew about the bear in my bedroom. He was wrong about its location. I’d moved it near the door a week ago. But he said it was by my desk.

I want to go in alone, but Ronnie ignores my order. We have to work on that. I open the door and go in. I immediately see the bear is not by the door. My weapon is in my hand, and when I look at Ronnie, hers is as well. Some things are just reflex.

I whisper at Ronnie to stay by the door and keep an eye out in front. She nods. I mouth at her, “Don’t shoot me.” Probably not necessary, but better to put the idea in her head just in case.

I clear the kitchen and then go to the bedroom. The bear is on top of my desk. It’s facing me. There’s something rolled up in its mouth.

I want to see what it is, but I clear the bathroom and closet first. Then I go to the bear. I pull a glove from my pocket and slide it on. A piece of paper the size of a dime coin wrapper is rolled up and stuffed in the bear’s jaws. I lift it out of the mouth and feel something inside the paper. My blood runs cold. My imagination runs wild and I suddenly don’t want to see what has been left for me.

Ronnie calls from the front. “Megan. Are you okay?”

Stupid question. If I weren’t okay, I wouldn’t be able to tell her. I’m not used to working with a partner yet, but it’s good to have someone checking on me. I know if I don’t answer, she will come back here, and I don’t want that.

“One more minute,” I say.

I unroll the paper. A severed finger falls out of it and lands on top of the desk. My pulse quickens. There is something written on the paper but my attention is drawn to the bear’s mouth. Dan carved the bear with a wide-open mouth. Another object is stuck deep in its maw. I take my phone out and use the flashlight to see. It’s another finger. I use an ink pen on the desk to pry it out. Both digits are long and thin. Almost like a woman’s hand, but there is dark hair on the knuckles. I know they are not Dan’s and my heart slows. His fingers are much bigger and calloused. A sense of relief washes over me even though I know they belong to some unfortunate soul.

I take a baggy from my pocket and use it to pick up the fingers and turn the baggy inside out to hold them. I put the baggy in my pocket. I unroll the note again.

Rylee. You know where I am. Tonight. After dark.

Come alone or I will kill him. Bring a weapon and I will kill him. Tell anyone and he will die. If you don’t come, you’ll never find me. I’ll find you.

I hear footsteps in the hall and stuff the note in my blazer pocket. Ronnie comes in and gives me a questioning look.

“It’s okay,” I say. “No one is here and nothing is missing.” It’s not a complete lie. Nothing was taken. Something was left behind. “Let’s go to the Sheriff’s Office. See if you can track down Dan’s phone.”

Before we leave, I check all the windows. They are locked. While I lock up, I examine the lock and the dead bolt. I don’t see any marks on the locks where a tool scratched it. Someone is good at picking locks.

On the way to the office I drive by Dan’s again. It’s closed up tight. I didn’t expect to find Dan there. I don’t know Jess’s last name or her cell phone number. It would be useless to call her anyway. She’s as dim as a broken lightbulb.

“Ronnie, I need you to do something you may not like.” She doesn’t respond and that’s good. “Sheriff will know about the fire at Dan’s cabin, but I don’t want him to know I got a call from Dan’s phone. Or that we checked my place. Understand?”

“You’re going to need his help.”

“I want to catch this guy. I don’t want to scare him off.”

“The phone call you got was him, wasn’t it?”

I nod.

“He wants to meet you.”

I say nothing.

“He left something in your place, didn’t he? I mean you’ve got some strange tastes, but I don’t think you would put a three-foot-tall bear on top of your desk.”

Ronnie’s smart. I keep forgetting that. “I want to do this on my own,” I say.

“Because of your friendship with Monique Delmont.”

“Yes,” I say, but mostly because I want to skin Michael Rader.

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