Page 22 of Crosshairs

“Yeah.” Ted’s face lit up. “We stopped at every site. Spent a day where Meriwether Lewis died. Then we stayed a couple of days up at Waterloo, Alabama, where the Trail of Tears crossed the Tennessee River.”

“That so?”Come on, kid. Go back to your campsite.

“Yeah. We plan on hanging around here a couple of days. Looks like you’re headed out.”

“Yep.” Maddox wondered what the kid would think if he told him he planned to stay at Rocky Springs, albeit at another campsite after the kids parked next to him, until he killed Ainsley Beaumont. He almost laughed.

On the other hand, maybe the kid had given him an opportunity to do a little misdirecting, because if he caught Beaumont here and killed her like he planned, the police would be sure to question the boy. “I’m heading to New Orleans.”

“Sounds good.” Ted shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, I guess I better go see if the others are ready to explore the Old Trace. Have you hiked it yet?”

“Afraid not. Maybe some other time,” he said. “Nice meeting you. Hope you enjoy Rocky Springs.”

“I’m sure we will. Take care.” With a half wave, he turned and jogged back to their campsite.

Maddox rubbed his back. He should have bought a good sleeping bag when he bought the tent. Maybe there was a Bass Pro Shop in Natchez. Or maybe not. His cash was going fast, but thetent had been a good investment. The cops wouldn’t think about him hiding out in a national park.

He wished he could’ve seen the faces of the two bozos he’d broken out of prison with when they woke up and discovered he’d taken the car and left. Served ’em right for horning in on his deal. When they got caught—and they would since between the two of them, they didn’t have enough brains to break out of a paper bag—they would point the cops toward Canada. That’d been the only destination he mentioned.

Maddox laid the tent poles in the middle of the folded tent and rolled it up and slid it into the case. Easy now, but it’d taken a video to show him how the first time. He couldn’t get over what you could learn on the internet.

He slung the bag onto his shoulder and hiked to the restroom area where he’d left his car. After scanning the area to make sure his campsite neighbors weren’t around, he popped the trunk and stowed the tent. As soon as he used the facility to clean up a little, he would find the guy in the camper with the marijuana again. First night here, he’d smelled weed and tracked down the source. The guy had been happy to sell him a baggie, but it was gone now.

Ten minutes later when he stepped outside the restroom, he did a double take as a pickup truck passed by the building.Ainsley Beaumont?Lady Luck was with him today. He’d known she would come to the crime scene. It’d been mentioned in one of the emails he’d found when he hacked the park service field office in the Smokies. He just didn’t think he’d be lucky enough to see her when she arrived. Now to get to the perfect place he’d found to wait for her.

Last night he’d been curious and walked up to the old church near where the murder happened. Yellow-and-black tape marked the crime scene, and he’d wondered briefly why someone killed the girl. Not his concern.

Being the good detective Beaumont was, she would surely check out the church. And he’d be waiting for her ...

Maddox shrank back when she and two other rangers walked up the road leading to the crime scene. Too late to beat her there, and with three of them, it would be tricky getting to the church. Since they were taking the campground road, he would use the Old Trace and wait until they were out of sight.

Visions of getting his revenge pushed Maddox as he trekked to the church. In the eighteen months he’d been in prison, his hatred for her had intensified. It’d been the motivating factor to break out. Night after night he’d dreamed of killing her, and while his dream was to wrap his fingers around her neck and squeeze the life out of her, he hadn’t thought it would be possible. But maybe it was ... if he could catch her alone in the church.

11

Ainsley slowed to make the turn. “Where did Sam say to meet him?”

“The maintenance building,” Linc said, and she turned left once they entered the campground.

District Ranger Sam Ryker had parked and stood waiting in front of his vehicle when they pulled into the lot. He tipped his head at them as they climbed out of her pickup. “Good to see you, Linc. Appreciate your help.” He turned to Ainsley. “I’m glad you could take the case.”

It hadn’t been her choice. Ainsley had hoped to catch up on paperwork before she took on another case. Instead, the minute the cruise ship pulled into port yesterday, her phone had blown up with texts and emails about the Natchez case. The rest of the day had been a flurry of calls and driving from New Orleans to Natchez. “Headquarters thought since I was familiar with the area, I’d be the best bet with Luke gone.” She nodded to Linc. “And thanks for talking him into helping me out.”

Linc wasn’t certain whether she was being sarcastic or not.

A flush crept across the district ranger’s tanned cheeks. “It didn’t make sense to have his experience available and not use it.”

“I agree, just would have appreciated a heads-up. Where’s Sheriff Randolph?”

The smile on her face went a long way toward taking the criticism out of her words, and Linc was glad that was out of the way. He admired how she handled herself in a professional way.

“About a mile out,” Sam replied.

Suddenly, the skin on the back of Linc’s neck prickled just like it had when he was an FBI agent and he sensed someone surveilling him. He scanned the area but nothing moved. Nothing human, anyway.

“You got the preliminary report I sent?” Sam asked.

Ainsley nodded. “And read it along with the report from Sheriff Randolph.”

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