Page 26 of In Her Fears
Once they were settled in the car, Jake pulled away from the curb, navigating the quiet residential streets.The silence stretched between them until he finally broke it.
“You’re running on fumes, Jenna,” he said, glancing at her briefly before returning his eyes to the road.“When was the last time you actually slept?And I mean really slept, not just closed your eyes for an hour.”
Jenna rubbed her temples.“I don’t know.I don’t think I’ve slept much since Martin Holbrook’s murder.”
“That was a month ago,” Jake continued, his voice softer now.“I’m worried about you.You can’t keep pushing yourself like this.”
“I don’t have much choice,” she replied.“Not with Alexis missing, not with...”She trailed off.
“Not with what?”Jake pressed.
“Not with the feeling that this is just the beginning,” she finally said.“That dream wasn’t random, Jake.The timing, the connection to the full moon, the warning about someone making ‘another masterpiece’...It’s all connected.”
Jake turned onto Main Street, heading toward the Melody Junction Music Shop.“Connected to the Pinecrest murder?You think whoever killed Martin Holbrook took Alexis?”
“I don’t know,” Jenna admitted, frustration coloring her tone.“I just know that I’ve learned to trust these...impressions.And right now, everything in me is screaming that Alexis is in serious danger, if she’s even still—” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
Jake reached across the center console, his hand briefly squeezing hers before returning to the steering wheel.“One way or another, we’ll figure this out.”
Jenna appreciated his confidence, even if she couldn’t fully share it.Her exhaustion was making each thought harder to form, each connection more difficult to trace.Yet amid the fog of fatigue, one certainty remained—they were up against something they hadn’t faced before.
“There it is,” Jake said, nodding toward a storefront ahead on the right.A painted sign hung above the door: MELODY JUNCTION MUSIC SHOP, with a treble clef worked into the design.
Jenna straightened in her seat.Alexis’s boyfriend might have answers they desperately needed, whether he realized it or not.And if he was somehow involved...well, she’d dealt with killers before, even when she wasn’t at her best.
Jake pulled into a parking space directly in front of the shop.Through the large front window, Jenna could see display cases filled with musical instruments and a figure moving around inside.They got out of the car and went into a cramped space filled with instruments hanging from walls and perched on stands—guitars in various finishes, brass instruments catching the morning light, a keyboard display in the corner.
A young man looked up from behind the counter where he’d been restringing an acoustic guitar.He had slightly shaggy hair that fell across his forehead, a lean build, and was wearing a flannel shirt rolled up to reveal forearms covered in music-themed tattoos.
His eyes widened slightly at the sight of the Sheriff's uniform, hands freezing mid-motion.
“Ryan Kimball?”Jenna asked.
“That’s me,” he confirmed, setting the guitar down with careful hands.“Is this about Alexis?Did you find her?”Hope and fear tangled in his expression.
“I’m Sheriff Graves, and this is Deputy Hawkins,” Jenna said, approaching the counter.“We’re investigating Alexis’s disappearance.When did you last hear from her, Mr.Kimball?”
Ryan ran a hand through his already disheveled hair.“Last night, around ten.I was playing at the Centaur’s Den, and I texted her during my break.”He pulled out his phone and brought up the message.“Here.”
He held out the phone for Jenna to see.The text conversation showed the note from Ryan: “Just finished first set.Miss you.”Alexis had replied: “Miss you too.”
“And that was the last contact you had from her?”Jake asked.
Ryan nodded, taking the phone back.“Yeah.I tried texting her again after my second set, around eleven-thirty, but she didn’t respond.I figured she’d fallen asleep or decided to stay home.”
“That didn’t concern you?”Jenna asked, studying his face carefully.
“Not really,” Ryan said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.“It’s happened before.Sometimes she says she’ll come over, but then she gets caught up in a book or falls asleep early.Especially when she’s had a long shift at the café.”
“So you didn’t check on her?”Jake’s tone was neutral, but the question had unavoidable implications.
Ryan’s shoulders tensed.“I didn’t want to wake her if she was sleeping.And honestly, I was pretty beat myself when I got home.The Den was packed; we did an extra set.”His eyes darted between them.“Look, if I’d had any idea something was wrong—”
“When did you become aware that Alexis was missing?”Jenna interrupted.
“This morning, when Chloe called,” Ryan said, distress evident in his voice.“Around seven, maybe?She asked if Alexis was with me, and when I said no, she told me Alexis wasn’t at home either.”
His concern seemed genuine, but Jenna had encountered skilled manipulators before.She found herself second-guessing every impression, analyzing and re-analyzing his words and body language.
