Page 60 of Silent Neighbor

For a long moment, the ledge was silent save for the whistle of the wind and Jessica's ragged breathing. Sheila held her breath, acutely aware that the slightest wrong move could end in tragedy.

Sheila caught movement in the corner of her eye—a figure approaching up a long slope. Finn. He'd made it. Relief washed over her, but she kept her focus on Jessica, whose finger still hovered dangerously close to the trigger.

Finally, Jessica spoke. "I don't know if I can let him live. After everything he's done..."

"You can," Sheila said gently. "You're stronger than he is. You're better than he is. Don't let him turn you into a killer, too."

Jessica's eyes met Sheila's, searching for something—reassurance, understanding, strength. The air was thick with tension, the only sound the whisper of the wind and Jessica's ragged breathing.

For a heartbeat, it seemed like Jessica was about to relent, her grip on the gun loosening ever so slightly. But in that split second of hesitation, everything changed.

The man, who had been silent and seemingly defeated, suddenly exploded into action. With a swift, violent motion, he knocked the gun from Jessica's hand. The weapon skittered across the rocky ground, coming to rest perilously close to the cliff's edge.

Before Sheila could react, he grabbed Jessica, wrapping one muscular arm around her neck in a tight chokehold. His other hand produced a glinting knife, pressing it against Jessica's throat.

"Nobody moves!" he shouted, his voice ragged and desperate. Spittle flew from his mouth, his eyes wild with a cornered animal's ferocity. "I'll kill her! I swear I'll do it!"

Sheila's heart hammered in her chest as she aimed her weapon at the man, but Jessica's body shielded him. "Let her go," Sheila said, fighting to keep her voice calm. "It's over. You have nowhere to go."

The man's eyes darted frantically between Sheila and the approaching Finn, like a trapped rat seeking escape. "It's not over," he said, tightening his grip on Jessica. A thin line of blood appeared where the knife bit into her skin. "Not until I say it is."

"Drop your weapon and release the hostage!" Finn called out as he got closer, his voice carrying on the wind.

But the man was beyond reason, consumed by desperation and rage. He began to back up, dragging Jessica with him, inching closer to the precipice. Loose pebbles skittered over the edge, a chilling reminder of the fatal drop just inches away. "Stay back!" he yelled, his voice cracking. "Or we both go over!"

Sheila's took a cautious step forward, her hands raised placatingly. "Think about what you're doing," she said. "This isn't going to end well for you."

The man laughed, a harsh, bitter sound that echoed off the cliff face. "End well? It was never going to end well. But at least I can take one more with me. One more lesson for those who disrespect the mountain."

He was at the very edge now, his heels hanging over empty space. The vast expanse of the Utah wilderness stretched out behind him, beautiful and indifferent to the drama unfolding on the clifftop. Jessica's eyes were wide with terror, her bound hands clawing desperately at the arm around her neck.

"No!" Sheila shouted, realizing with horror what was about to happen.

Time seemed to slow down, each second stretching into an eternity. The man leaned back, a grim smile twisting his features as he prepared to take his final step.

In that moment, Sheila's eyes fell on the rope attached to Jessica's bound hands, the other end of which was still secured to the pitons in the rock. There was enough slack that if Jessica fell, the rope wouldn't pull taut until Jessica had fallen a significant distance—long enough, perhaps, to hit a ledge.

And maybe that's what the killer was counting on. He'd been planning to kill Jessica and dangle her from the cliff, as he had with the other victims, but now there was no possibility of doing so. Instead, he would take Jessica over the edge with him, which would presumably end both their lives.

But if Jessica could get hold of the extra slack and arrest her own fall…

Sheila stooped, picking up the rope. On instinct she whipped it upward, sending a wave of rope toward Jessica. Jessica's hands closed over it just as she went over the edge of the cliff.

Sheila scrambled to the edge, her heart in her throat as she peered over. The drop was dizzying, the ground impossibly far below. Where was Jessica?

Then relief flooded through her as she saw Jessica dangling about ten feet down, clinging to the rope with her bound hands. Fifty or so feet down, Sheila could just make out the man's broken form on a shelf of rock.

So that's how he had intended for Jessica to die, too.

"Hold on, Jessica!" Sheila called down, willing strength into the young woman's grip. "We're going to pull you up!"

Finn was at her side in an instant, his strong hands joining hers on the rope. Together, they began to haul Jessica up, the rough fibers burning their palms as they pulled. Every inch was a battle against gravity and exhaustion.

"That's it," Sheila said, her voice strained with effort. She could see Jessica's fingers appear over the edge, scrabbling for purchase on the unforgiving rock. "You're almost there. Just a little more."

With a final Herculean heave, they pulled Jessica over the edge. She collapsed onto solid ground, gasping and shaking, her body wracked with sobs of relief and residual terror. Sheila immediately knelt beside her, checking for injuries while Finn peered over the cliff.

"You're safe now," Sheila said softly, gently untying Jessica's raw, bleeding wrists. "It's over. You're going to be okay."

As Finn radioed for backup and medical assistance, his voice a steady counterpoint to the wind's mournful keening, Sheila stayed with Jessica, offering what comfort she could. The sun was setting over the cliffs, painting the sky in brilliant shades of orange and pink, a stark contrast to the darkness they had just faced.

It was beautiful, Sheila thought, but she knew it would be a long time before any of them could look at these mountains without remembering the horrors they had witnessed here. The wilderness, in all its majesty and danger, would forever be changed in their eyes.

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