Page 43 of In Her Sights

Jake’s words resonated with her own instincts, yet Jenna couldn’t shake the feeling that something critical was slipping through their grasp. With a sigh, she started the engine and maneuvered the car onto the dirt road, the dust settling slowly in their wake as they headed back toward headquarters.

As she navigated the familiar route to the Genesius County Sheriff’s Office, Jenna’s mind raced through the events of the morning. They had gone to Lucas Brennan’s with questions and left with even more. Now, it was time to sift through what they knew, to find the way out of this tangled web.

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

As Jenna maneuvered the cruiser along the winding roads back to Trentville, she had to wonder where everything stood now between her and Jake. Jake had said nothing at all since they left Lucas Brennan’s farm. He was just methodically scanning their surroundings as they passed through the countryside. But their case was as full of questions as ever.

“Jake, you really don’t think Lucas is our guy, do you?” she asked.

He turned his gaze from the window, his expression inscrutable for a moment before he shook his head. “No, I don’t. And I’m guessing that you don’t either.”

“True,” Jenna affirmed, letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Lucas’s place… it’s too ordinary, too open. Hardly the lair of a serial killer. That basement where we saw the suitcases wasn’t even locked up. We need to restart our thinking, go over everything from the beginning.”

“Seems like it,” Jake agreed. “We don’t have a suspect, but we do have a pattern. Three disappearances in ten years, five years apart, no bodies, no ransom notes, nothing. That length of time must have some significance to the killer.”

“So you think the victims could be someone who just turned up at the wrong time, chosen at random?”

“Possible, but there’s likely to be some other kind of connection, maybe someone they all offended. Or maybe they had something specific in common that we haven’t spotted yet.”

“Nothing except a trail of questions and ghosts,” Jenna muttered, her eyes fixed on the road ahead while her mind raced through the possibilities. “In my lucid dreams, Birdie Brennan complained of thirst, and so did Mark Reeves. It’s my guess thatSarah is experiencing the same kind of pain. If she is, she can’t last very long.”

“For most people, about three days is the most they can live without water. Of course it varies, a few will go longer, and it also depends on the specific conditions.”

“Then if we don’t find Sarah soon …” Jenna whispered sadly.

“We’ve got to find her, Jenna. As soon as possible.”

Trentville was quiet as Jenna drove through it. The people out on the streets looked peaceful, and no raucous escaped pets broke the peace. She glanced at Jake, his profile set in concentration as they rounded the corner to the sheriff’s office.

“We’ve got Mark and Birdie, now Sarah in the pattern,” he said in a cautious tone. “What about before that—say twenty years ago?”

She exhaled slowly. “You mean … could my sister Piper be part of this pattern? You know, I’ve wondered about that too.”

The question seemed especially dire now. Had her twin sister suffered that terrible helplessness? Had she died deprived of water? Yet, despite the dread that filled Jenna’s mind, one belief remained unshaken. “But I still feel Piper’s out there, alive, because she’s never visited me in a lucid dream. It’s the same reason that I believe we can still rescue Sarah, but time for her survival is closing up on us. She’s the one we need to focus on.”

She slowed the car to a stop outside the Genesius County Sheriff’s Office, the engine ticking as it cooled. Jenna’s gaze lingered on the building’s aged brick facade, considering their next move. Many kinds of answers were hidden among the shadows and dust of old records and forgotten stories in that building.

“Let’s go over everything again inside,” Jake suggested. “We might be missing something, a detail that could blow this whole case open. We should be able to track something on your computer.”

It sounded like a good idea, although Jenna couldn’t imagine where they’d start their search.

A fleeting shadow passed over her vision as they went into her office. She blinked it away, attributing it to weariness, but the sensation lingered, a whisper in the recesses of her mind. Then the vague, nagging feeling grew stronger. It was an itch, a puzzle piece waiting to be placed. But it was there—a link, a clue that taunted her with its obscurity.

“Jake,” she started, her tone hesitant, “Birdie’s overdue book. And what Lucas said about Birdie and Sarah being readers, always at the library.” A pause; Jenna searched for the elusive thought that seemed just out of reach. “And then there’s Mark Reeves, aspiring writer, lover of words.”

“Are you thinking there’s a connection with books?” Jake queried.

Jenna nodded, her gaze distant. It seemed too significant to ignore—the passion for reading binding the victims together in a macabre tapestry.

“Emily Carson,” Jenna murmured. “The library… there has to be a connection with the books.” Her thoughts were like leaves caught in a whirlwind, each one fluttering close to revelation but never quite landing.

Jake’s presence was a grounding force, and he turned to her, his eyes encouraging her to continue. “You’re on to something. What is it?”

She hesitated, biting her lower lip. “I’m thinking we should revisit the library, get Emily’s help once more.” But Jenna’s voice trailed off, a sudden doubt clouding her judgment. Why did a terrible uncertainty nudge at her now? She cleared her throat, trying to dispel the fog of confusion.

“Go on,” Jake prompted, adjusting his posture to face her more directly.

“Looking back,” Jenna started again, slower this time, “there’s something off about Emily’s behavior. She reached out to me at Whispering Pines with information, pinpointing where Sarah might have been taken.” Jenna paused, grappling with the implication. “It was almost too precise, as if she knew more than she should have.”

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