Page 59 of Only One More Lie

CHAPTER 28

It seemed strange to continue on with life as normal with Caleb missing and Juniper in turmoil, Andi mused. However, the gang had already arranged for the Carswell family to come.

They’d barely had time to squeeze in a quick, late lunch when their guests had shown up.

When the Carswells had arrived, they’d had no idea about everything that had transpired at the camp earlier. Andi didn’t plan on telling them.

The cops had taken over the investigation into Caleb’s disappearance—they had far more resources than the gang did. Ranger and Duke had volunteered to help in the search efforts, and Gibson had agreed.

The rest of the podcast team would talk to the Carswells.

Patricia Carswell had been Anderson’s wife. She was in her fifties with salt-and-pepper hair, a plump figure, and notable circles beneath her eyes. She’d brought her thirty-year-old son, Jay, with her.

They both sat on the couch, Patricia gripping her son’s hand.

Andi’s heart went out to them. Their grief was still raw.

“Thank you so much for coming,” Andi started as she sat across from them, a notepad and pen in hand. “Tell us about Anderson.”

“He was a great family man.” Patricia wiped beneath her eyes, her voice throaty with emotion. “He loved us and would do anything to make us happy.”

“What about his job?” Andi asked. “What did he do for a living?”

“He worked for a garden center. He loved that also. The job didn’t pay much, but that was okay. Some things are more important than money.”

A better picture of Anderson formed in Andi’s mind. “He sounds like a good man.”

“He was.” Jay’s jaw flexed as if he held back emotion. “He was one of the best. He didn’t deserve to die the way he did.”

“No, he didn’t,” Andi agreed. “Can you tell us about the day he died?”

Patricia drew in a deep but shaky breath. “I’ve replayed it many times in my mind. It seemed like an ordinary day. There was really nothing special about it. I went to work as a teacher at the middle school as I always do. Jay was living in Anchorage.”

“I have an accounting job at a firm down there,” Jay explained. “Been there five years now.”

“I noticed Anderson was working late a lot recently, but that wasn’t all that unusual,” Patricia continued. “There were things that needed to be done, and he was the type who didn’t leave things unfinished.”

“Not a bad quality to have.” Andi offered a nod of encouragement.

“Not at all.” Patricia paused as if gathering herself. “When Anderson didn’t come home or answer his phone, I decided to go to the garden center. It was closed to the public at that point, but I decided to walk around to see if I could locate him. The storelooked empty. But when I reached the greenhouse, I noticed that someone had built a snowman outside by the front door.”

Andi braced herself, knowing exactly what was coming next. “Tell me about the snowman.”

“It was probably four feet tall with charcoal eyes and a carrot nose.” She paused and swallowed hard. “But it was what was on the side of his face that caught my attention. It was an ear. A bloody, human ear.”

As tears began to stream down her cheeks, Jay reached over and took his mother’s hand.

Andi could only imagine the horror. “I’m so sorry.”

“When I went inside, I found him.” Her voice cracked with every other word as more tears fell.

“Was there anything strange about the scene—other than the ear on the snowman?” Andi almost hated to ask the question in the midst of this woman’s pain, but she had to.

“Not really. I mean, other than what you might expect.”

“Dad wasn’t even supposed to be at work that day,” Jay added.

Andi straightened when she heard that tidbit. “What do you mean?”

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