Page 6 of Storm Surge

To her credit, Elizabeth appeared to be protective of her niece.

She moved to the younger woman. “You should go inside. I’ll be there in a moment.”

Jamie turned to go, but Will stopped her. “Just a minute. Who else is in the cabin?”

Elizabeth swung toward him. “No one. There’s no one here but myself and my niece.”

Jamie’s gaze latched onto his. She narrowed her eyes as if trying to pull something from her memory, and his heart exploded in his chest. Though he and Lizzy had only known each other for a short time, had been married less than a month, that look on Jamie’s face now reminded him of his wife’s.

Their eyes held for the longest time before she shook her head and went inside without another word.

All the questions he couldn’t ask went with her.

“Who are you?Why do you think my niece is someone else?” Elizabeth Franklin rounded on him as soon as the door closed. “Where is my brother?”

Will gathered his fleeting thoughts and forced his attention on the older woman. Before he could answer a single one of her angry questions, his phone alerted him to a message. He pulled it out. Both Henry and Garrett came over. Will turned away from Elizabeth and read the message.

“The sheriff and his men are here,” he told his people with a sigh. “We need to speak with him.” Will stuffed his phone back into his pocket and returned to Elizabeth. “I’ll be back in a little while and we can talk more. I’ll need you to answer some questions. Until then, don’t try to leave the property. You or your niece.” Will faced Henry. “Stay here with them. Make sure no one leaves the place.”

“Roger that,” Henry said and escorted Elizabeth back to the cabin.

While Henry stood guard outside the door, Will and Garrett started for the entrance of the property.

“What was that all about, brother?” Garrett waited until they were out of earshot to ask.

Will had no idea how to explain the past that she had churned to the surface. “I don’t know where to begin.” He shook his head. He needed to stay focused on getting the sheriff and his people lined out. Needed to check in with Josh about the wreck, yet all he could think about was the woman in the cabin who’d ripped open the wound he’d thought had finally healed.

“You called her Lizzy. That was your wife’s name, right?”

Will stopped walking and faced Garrett. “Yes, it was.” He glanced back at the cabin. “And that woman back there looks exactly like her.”

The surprise on Garrett’s face was clear. His piercing gaze locked onto Will’s. “But Lizzy is dead, correct?”

“That’s just it. Lizzy’s body was never found. She was believed to be another victim of a serial killer who was operating in the D.C. area around the time.” He started walking again. His hands shaking from the encounter. “All the other victims were found within days of their disappearance.”

Garrett kept his focus up ahead. “Has there been any new murders since Lizzy’s disappearance?”

“None. It’s as if the killer simply disappeared into oblivion with her.” Will kept in touch with the agents working the Van Gogh Killer case, named after the artist because he cut off the ear of each of his victims and sent it to the FBI. Since Lizzy’s disappearance, there’d been nothing. While Jamie wasn’t missing an ear, a copy of Van Gogh’sStarry Night, another MO of the killer, was found inside his and Lizzy’s apartment.

Garrett clamped a hand on his shoulder. “I’m sorry, my friend. I can’t imagine how difficult this is for you, but I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation. We’ll find it, no matter where it takes us.”

Will sure hoped so because right now all he could think about was the woman whom he’d loved with all his heart, the one whom he still mourned, the one who might be the daughter of the country’s most wanted criminal.

As they neared the property entrance, four sheriffs’ vehicles approached in a row. When the first cruiser spotted Will and Garrett, it stopped, and the driver got out. The rest of the vehicles followed suit.

The man coming toward them appeared to be in his fifties. He wore a cowboy hat and jeans, a leather jacket over his shirt. There was no doubt in Will’s mind this was Langston Callahan.

“You Will?” The sheriff asked once he was near. His men came up beside him.

“Yes, I’m Will, and this is Garrett Craig.”

“Langston Callahan.” The sheriff stuck out his hand. “These areDeputy Bobby Allen, Lange Ingles, and Travis Hollins.”

“Nice to meet you all, and thanks for coming so quickly,” Will said. Through the trees an enormous three-story log home appeared. How many other houses were on the property? “What can you tell us about this place and its owners?”

Sheriff Callahan hitched his thumbs into his belt. “Not much. As far as I know, there are just the woman, Elizabeth Franklin, and her niece. I have no record of anyone else living here.”

Which wasn’t a surprise. Collins wouldn’t want anyone else knowing he was around. “As I said on the phone, we have reason to believe the true owner of the property is Martin Collins.”

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