Page 32 of So Dark

“He came home, and his wife wasn’t there. That’s not normally unusual, but he said the two of them had an evening planned together, and she would always call him if their plans changed. She didn’t call him, and he’s been home for an hour now. He’s worried that something happened to her.”

Faith and Michael shared a grim look. Personal issues would have to wait. “Where are you now?”

“We’re at the Blackwood residence still.”

“We’ll meet you there.”

She hung up and called Turk. The three of them rushed to their truck, all thoughts of the future forgotten. The worst-case scenario had happened. Faith tried to tell herself that there was a chance Lisa was still alive, but she knew better.

The hunter had taken his prey once more.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Robert Blackwood was distraught when the agents arrived at the house he shared with Lisa. A police truck was parked in the driveway, and Wyatt had a hand on the terrified husband’s shoulder.

Wyatt nodded at the agents and offered a wan smile. Robert lifted his head, and his eyes widened with desperate hope. “You’re the FBI agents, right?”

“That’s right,” Faith said. “I’m Special Agent Faith Bold. This is my partner, Michael Prince, and my K9 unit, Turk.”

He nodded. “Robert.”

“Okay, Robert. When did you last hear from your wife?”

“Um… right around lunchtime. She called me to ask if I wanted her to save dinner for me since I was going to be home late. I said not to worry, I’d pick something up on the way home. Um…” he ran his hands through his hair. “Yeah, that’s about it. We were, uh, going to watch a movie tonight. She wanted to watch this new movie about dogs. I forget what it’s called.”

“Have you tried contacting her?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve called about a dozen times and sent texts, but everything gets left on read or goes to voicemail.”

Michael looked at Wyatt. “Do we have a search organized?”

“We have people looking in the area,” he said.

His eyes said what his voice couldn’t.But it’s a big wilderness.

“Does your wife frequently leave without telling you where she’s going?” Faith asked.

“She goes out pretty much whenever she wants to,” Robert replied, “but never without telling me. And with what happened to Ethan and Valerie…” His lip trembled, and he folded his hands and squeezed them tightly on top of the table.

Turk walked up to him and laid his head on Robert’s lap. It was a technique he often used to comfort grieving family members, but it didn’t work this time. Nothing would calm Robert’s terror but seeing his wife alive and well. Faith wished she could be confident of finding Lisa like that.

“Where does she usually go when she heads into the wilderness?” she asked.

"Everywhere," he replied with a nervous chuckle. "Nelchina, Denali, Wrangell… sometimes on longer trips, she'll go north past Fairbanks into the tundra. Sometimes, she'll head to the Yukon. She's happiest when she's out there. I'm fine with it too. I'm not a hardcore camper, but I like seeing her so happy. I just wish… I don't get it. Why would she go out now?"

AN uncomfortable possibility occurred to Faith that Lisa might be working with the killer. She had an alibi for the nights of the murders, but if there was more than one person involved, then she might be out there helping with another murder. Or she was scared by her talk with the agents and was fleeing before she could be caught.

Faith thought of her options. With no information, there weren’t many. But how could they get more information now?

“Does Lisa have an office somewhere?” she asked. “Or a room where she would keep personal correspondence?”

Robert frowned. “Like letters?”

“Yes. We’re looking for anything that might tell us where she went.”

“Um…” his eyes shifted to the left. “I can go look for you if you want.”

Guessing the reason for his hesitation, Michael said, "We don't care about the marijuana. If that's where we need to look, you need to take us there."

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