Page 25 of Just Right

"The malware is a crime on its own. And you're going to be charged for it," Connor told him harshly. "People deserve for their personal information to be kept private, and not have individuals mining it and selling it. So, the police here are going to be dealing with that." He sighed. "However, I see that you do have your time accounted for last night and the previous afternoon also. You could not have been committing the murder at the aquarium, or the murder out on the hiking trails."

Cami let out a disappointed breath.

This hacker was not their killer. But as he'd been speaking, as Connor had listed those locations all over again, Cami felt as if the pin drops had created a pattern in her mind.

A pattern.

Quickly referring to her laptop, sitting in the interview room while Connor led the hacker out to the main police station, Cami checked to see if her hunch might be accurate.

Here was where the first murder had occurred, on the trails north of the city. The second had occurred near the city center, at the aquarium. And the third had taken place south of the city.

It was as if the killer was moving swiftly, in a southerly direction, through Milwaukee and on a route that would eventually take him to Chicago. Without a doubt, there was a pattern here.

But Cami had no idea what it meant. Was this killer en route somewhere and choosing victims as he went? Or was he plotting a path based on his victims' locations?

She didn't know that, but based on the map, she had a good idea where he might strike again.

It would be ten or twenty miles further south, if her guess was right, out in the countryside beyond Milwaukee.

Was there any way we can prevent another death?Cami wondered, feeling that for the first time, they might be catching up.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The stars were calling to the lost man, and now he felt sure that he knew which way he was supposed to go. He had the route fixed in his mind. Finally, he had guidance once more.

"This is it, what I need. I can reach it this way. Find them," he muttered as a picture of them flashed briefly into his mind.

"But what if you can't?" the devil that always seemed to sit on his shoulder asked.

"I will," he insisted, fighting this unwelcome voice. "If I get it wrong, I know what I need to do. I've done it before, and I will do it again. Every mistake gets me closer."

He didn't want to think about those mistakes again, the violence inherent in those moments, the way he felt as he did what he needed to do. At the time, it was strangely satisfying and even felt addictive. But afterward, he felt regret, and tried to convince himself that he took no joy in what he’d done. They were mistakes, and they needed to be fixed in order to make things right again. That was all.

Once he’d killed all the imposters, all the lookalikes, then the people he was seeking would remain. That was his logic, and he knew that he could rely on it.

The moonlight shone down on him, its silvery glow illuminating the landscape. It was so bright that the lost man could see his path clearly now. His body was aching, his legs were protesting, and his mind was darkening, but he needed to keep going.

It had been a long time since he'd been outside of the city limits. He had no idea what to expect from the country. The sky seemed to stretch out endlessly above him. It felt like he could reach out and touch the vastness of space.

Strangely, the world felt easier to navigate as well. He knew where he was going, and he was able to drive toward that goal.

It was a long drive, but it didn't take him as long as he'd anticipated, as he thought he knew exactly where he was going. He hoped so, at least.

He had his route clear now. He knew the way forward, even though it was through what felt like the unknown. But it was not unknown, of course. It was all too familiar.

"You should stop this," the voice in his head told him as he drove along, his headlights bright in the dark, glancing up at the stars every so often before returning his veering course to the road.

"I'm not going to stop it," he insisted.

"You're never going to find what you need," the voice told him, and there was a confidence there he didn't like.

"You're just following what you think you know. You're lost, and every step you take is getting you further from where you need to be."

But the lost man knew that that was the point. He had to find what he was looking for, no matter what it took. He had to find it. Ever since the memories had surged into his mind, and he’d realized how badly he’d strayed from his place in the world, he’d known this had to be done.

He knew how this story would end. He just needed to get there.

"I'm not lost," he insisted, shaking his head as he held his phone and his GPS. He was certain that this route was correct. He was certain that he would find what he needed to fix his mistakes.

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