Page 3 of A Not So Merry Rescue
“My front bumper is currently making out with a tree on the side of the road.”
“Eep. That’s bad. How’d that happen?”
I regale her with the tale, starting from getting a late start to the snow to the animal sacrificing its life to cross the road in a blizzard. When I finish, I feel marginally better.
“Oh shit. I was expecting maybe the rest stop didn’t have a vending machine or something. Do you have a plan? What can I do to help?”
I laugh humorlessly. “What exactly are you going to do from one thousand miles away?”
“I can’t help my instinct to save you from your troubles. I can call AAA.”
“Beckett’s on his way.”
“Beckett?” she poses incredulously. “How are you already on a first-name basis with . . . whoever this Beckett character is?”
I blow out a breath. “He mentioned his name when I called roadside assistance. I don’t know him. He’s probably some creepy guy in his fifties.” I sit up straighter as the words come out. “Oh my gosh. What if he’s creepy? And he has my phone number. And my location.” Once I start, I can’t stop the illogical questions or the nonsense streaming out. “What should I do? Try to move the car? Try to drive away? He could be a serial killer.”
“Willa. Breathe,” comes across the line. “I’m sure it’s fine.”
“But you can’t know for sure. It’s imperative you stay on the phone until he gets here to make sure I’m not abducted.”
Clem’s laugh resounds in my ear. “I thought you were going to dial back listening to the true crime podcasts.”
“Did I say that?”
“Several times. Glad I didn’t hold my breath. I’d be dead many times over by now.”
My mouth opens to refute her, but it closes quickly. It’s an obsession, one I’ve tried to curb over the years to no avail. I can’t help what my mind wants to listen to. The kind of information it craves. Because for a variety of reasons, I’m holding on to it with everything I have.
Bright lights shine on the opposite side of the road.
“I think the serial killer is here,” I whisper, as if I didn’t, he could hear me.
“You better go deal with him. Call me once you know your plan. I’ll have my phone next to me in case you need me.” Like before, the line goes dead without a goodbye.
Nerves dance through me. I’m about ninety-five percent surehe won’t be a serial killer, but it’s the pesky five percent worrying me the most.
I send up one last petition to the universe to keep me safe.
A week before Christmas is a bad time to kick the bucket.
2
beckett
The dark LexusSUV straddles the edge of the road, the front passenger bumper lodged into a tree. It’s iffy if it’s drivable, but with tonight’s conditions and the way the driver sounded panicked on the phone, the best course of action is a tow to the shop so I can assess it in the garage in the daytime.
I drive past the car, turn the truck around, and point it back toward the car, backing it up into position to lower the flatbed when needed. Pulling on my hat and gloves, I exit the vehicle, bracing against the frosty elements. I don’t bother with the driver’s side, instead knocking on the passenger side window. When it lowers, a pair of terrified eyes glares at me. Though the overhead light is still on, I can’t make out the color beyond dark.
“Beckett Nicholas.” I point at the undamaged door. “Mind if I sit a minute while we discuss what happens next?” It’s too cold to do both—make the plan and then execute it.
“Uh, yeah.”
She’s bundled in a zippered evergreen coat. Her round face is devoid of makeup, but a natural beauty radiates from her. Her chestnut hair is loosely secured in a messy bun, a few strands fallen in her haste to secure it or the stress of the current situation. A rosy glow stains the apples of her cheeks.
I jiggle the handle, but it’s locked. “You might want to unlock it.” I keep my tone level, steady. She’s frightened enough. No need to make it worse. However, the longer the window is open, the more snow drifts in.
“Oh, right.” Trembling fingers work the button. First, locking it again before she tsks and moves it the other way. Her cheeks flush a deeper shade of red, and her fingers rub the lobe of her right ear.
