Page 47 of Seeking Evil

“Oh, honey, I had no idea. Terrance found it over near the mountains a few days ago and brought it back. He said he figured it belonged to one of the climbers. Take it. Give it to your girl when you bring her home.”

Zeke clasped the necklace in his hand. “I will.”

“More coffee?” Inez set the box beside her chair.

His mouth twisted. “I’d better not. It’s sort of defeating the purpose of trying to get some sleep.”

She laughed. “That it is.”

Zeke wasn’t ready to leave just yet despite the crushing exhaustion. “Did the women who went missing from earlier stay here?”

“Yes. If you don’t want to stay in a motel, I’m your only other choice.” She shrugged. “I hate that such ugliness is connected with our cabins. Terrance and I have worked hard to give travelers a place that feels safe and like home.”

Zeke felt bad for her. He wondered how the killer had known his victims were staying here. Did the cabins have anything to do with his selection at all? His thoughts kept returning to Terrance. He was gone a lot. Probably during the timeline when the victims went missing. He wanted to dig more into the man because something about him didn’t add up.

“The cabins are listed in a climber’s magazine as the place to stay for those climbing the Wind River Range,” Inez said proudly. “I’m sure that’s what brings the climbers here. I have both male and female climbers who return year after year.”

“That could be how he spots his victims, but I have a feeling he follows them to the climbing sites. I’m guessing he must somehow find a way to disable their cars so that he can pretend to assist them.”

“Really?” Inez seemed surprised. “What an awful person.” Her mouth thinned.

Zeke remembered their interview with Flannigan. “How well do you know Doctor Flannigan?”

“Doc?” she asked in surprise. “He’s a nice man. Why do you ask?”

Zeke couldn’t divulge too much. “I can’t go into specifics, just that his name came up in the investigation. Did you ever see him talking to Dawn or Sierra?”

Inez pressed her finger against her lips and considered the question. “You know, now that you mention it, I did see Doc talking to Dawn. It was the day before she went missing. She was going into the diner, and he was coming out. They spoke briefly.”

Flannigan had insisted he’d never met either Dawn or Sierra. He’d lied. Zeke rose. “Thanks for the coffee and cookie, Inez.”

She followed him out to the office. “Is everything okay?”

Zeke told her yes. “You actually might have given us a lead.” He stepped out. Zeke grabbed his phone as soon as he was away from the office and called Jack.

“I thought you were sleeping.”

“I couldn’t. I spoke to Inez, the owner of the cabins. She said she witnessed Flannigan speaking to Dawn, at least briefly, at the diner.”

“He claimed not to have seen her. We’ll get him back in here.”

“I’m coming back to the station.” Zeke started walking. It was several miles, but with the adrenaline rushing through his system now, he believed he could make it in record time.

“What about Cooper and Hannah?”

“I’ll let them sleep. See you soon.” He ended the call and hiked across the highway running in front of the cabins. As he walked, he thought about what Inez had said. Why would Flannigan lie about running into Dawn? Maybe he hadn’t expected anyone to notice. Was it simply a chance encounter, or had Flannigan been stalking Dawn. If so, he’d know she’d frequented the diner like Sierra. Like the others who had gone before them.

Chapter Eighteen

“What have you done? You should never have taken her.” Henry couldn’t believe T had acted so recklessly by taking a young woman in broad daylight.

“I told you I wanted another girl,” T yelled at him. “You think I don’t know you were deliberately stalling me. It wasn’t my fault you screwed up by taking the federal agent.”

T still believed Dawn had tried to escape through the tunnels connecting the house to the mountains and had died when the tunnel she’d taken collapsed.

Henry carried the unconscious woman from the vehicle inside the house. “I screwed up? You could have been caught.” He recognized the young woman from the climb site before it had been shut down.

“No one saw me. She never suspected a thing.” T smiled momentarily as if reliving the capture. “I want the agent to watch what we’re doing. See this girl’s pain. Know that it’s all because of her. She forced me to take another victim.”

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