Page 32 of Clear Path

Sadie shrugged. “I’m just saying it’s awfully convenient that he shows up in small towns where there are deaths and solves them.”

“I say this with love: you havegotto stop listening to true crime podcasts.”

The store manager snorted. “Okay. Forget about him. What about those other two?”

Diana couldn’t vouch for Tripp and Lucas, but she said, “You’re right. We don’t know what their agenda is. Under ideal circumstances, I wouldn’t bring them along. But we need the help. And let’s not pretend everyone else has the purest of motives for joining the search. Julie can’t be thrilled that Rory documented the demolition of the Hudson house. She’s probably coming along to do damage control. And it’s an open secret that there’s bad blood between you and Rory.”

“It’s not bad blood,” Sadie protested. “I have nothing against her.”

Diana snorted. “Please.”

“I’m serious. My beef isn’t with her.” Sadie’s eyes flicked to Aaron.

As a rule, Diana didn’t give unsolicited advice. But she’d been where Sadie was, so she made an exception. “Look, Aaron’s charming. Everyone loves him. He’s friendly, a great guy. You know who else everyone says is a great guy? Ron. They appointed him as police chief because, and I quote, he’s the kind of man you’d want to have a beer with. That may be so, but it didn’t make him a great partner. And I mean that both as someone who worked with him for twenty-odd years and as someone who was married to him for even longer.”

“Aaron’s not Ron.” Sadie’s nostrils flared. She clearly didn’t appreciate the comparison.

“I’m not saying he is. I’m only trying?—”

“—Let’s focus.” She gestured toward the men.

Diana shook her head. She’d tried. Some people had to learn the hard way.

“I was the chief of police for a long time, Sadie. Turning in the badge doesn’t mean I turned in my instincts.”

Sadie opened her mouth and then closed it.

“Listen, my vision may be poor, but I go to the firing range every weekend. Center mass on an adult man is a pretty big target. Hard to miss, even for me.”

“Do you have your gun with you?” Sadie asked in an undertone.

“Of course.”

Sadie blew out a breath. “I’d still feel better if we were doing this in the daylight.”

“We can’t wait. If Rory’s seriously injured, she could be dead by morning.”

21

Somewhere in the darkness

Rory’s eyelids fluttered open. Her head throbbed with each beat of her heart, and for a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was. Complete darkness greeted her, thick and disorienting. She strained to focus but couldn’t see anything, not even shadows.

“Hello?” She croaked in a raspy whisper.

No response.

She reached up to touch her aching head and connected with something wet and sticky that was matting her hair. She pulled her hand away and caught a whiff of the metallic scent of blood. A fragment of a memory flashed through her mind: the cave, someone calling her name, a sensation of falling.

But where was she now? Not in the cave. Not in the woods.

The surface beneath her wasn’t hard, cold stone. She reached down and ran her hands along it. Worn, rough-hewn floorboards. She inhaled. Instead of earth and decaying plant matter, she smelled stale air. She listened, but didn’t hear thefaint rustle of leaves or the familiar nocturnal birdsongs. She heard the creaks of a house settling.

“Hello?” she called again, still faint, still hoarse.

There was still no answer.

She lifted her head slowly and tried to push herself upright, bracing her palms against the floor. The world spun wildly, and nausea rolled through her in a violent wave. She turned her head to the side just before she retched, bringing up nothing but bile that burned her throat.

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