Page 112 of Everything She Feared

A woman’s face appeared.

“Hi, is this Ryan, Ryan Gardner?”

“Yes.” He kept his eyes on the road.

“Hi, Ryan, I’m Sonya Rule. My brother, Shane, and I host an online true-crime show calledTell-Tale Hearts. I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it?”

“I’ve heard of it. Hang on, I need to pull over.”

After pulling into the parking lot of a fast-food place, he said: “Okay, we’re good.”

“Okay, good. Ryan, we’d like to have you on as a special guest.”

Surprised, Ryan glanced around the lot, thinking.

“Sonya, how did you get this number?”

“Well, like you, we have sources.” Sonya had a nice smile.

Ryan nodded, still considering the invitation.

“Seriously,” she said. “One of our recent guests was Beatrice Clearfield with theFinding Magdagroup.”

“Beatrice, yeah, I know her. Did she pass my number to you?”

“I can’t confirm or deny, as people say.” Sonya flashed that nice smile again. “Our episode with Beatrice was very well received. So, I continued researching Magda’s case and you. TheVanity Fairpiece you did a while back, about your search for Carrie, broke my heart. It was so well done, so moving.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the invitation but, look, I like to keep a low profile. I don’t like people knowing where I am or what I’m doing. Don’t want to tip them off, you know?”

“I get that. Totally. We wouldn’t reveal anything like that. We’d disguise you, your voice. It’ll add to the intrigue.”

“I don’t know.”

“Ryan our audience is in the millions. We’ll promote the show and we’ll offer a call-in segment. You never know, someone out there may know something. We’re talking millions of people.”

“Hmm.”

“You just wear a Covid mask, dark glasses and a ball cap, we can alter your voice. We’ll use your real name and you can tell your story, but nobody will know what you look or sound like. And we won’t reveal anything about your location.”

He stroked his chin.

“Ryan, Magda scammed the system. She beat the death penalty, broke her deal and is living free, while the families of the people whose lives she took—well, I don’t have to tell you—”

“I’ll do it.”

51

Seattle, Washington

“What’s your takeon Gilbert Croft?”

Benton, at the wheel, asked Pierce once they got onto the freeway back to Seattle.

“I don’t know,” she said, biting her bottom lip and consulting her notes. “He’s seventy-nine, he seemed a little confused.”

“And working in the garden, he could barely lift the brick, which would be about the same weight as the stones on the cliff.”

“Yeah, but...”

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