Page 11 of The Girl He Wanted

He was getting closer to Sarah now, his anticipation building. He must have made some small sound, though, must have scuffed the sidewalk with his shoe or something because Sarah started to look around towards him.

He had a moment to curse himself for clumsiness, then he closed the distance between them in an instant, knowing that there was no more time for quiet stalking. This was the moment to act.

He clamped a hand over her mouth, stifling her attempt to scream. He pulled her off balance so that she wouldn't be able to fight back. He plunged the syringe into her neck in the same movement. Sarah struggled for a moment, but he simply held onto her as she did so, knowing that it was only a matter of time now.

Soon enough, the drugs took effect, and she went limp in his arms, the way the others had. The sudden limp weight of her was almost enough to make him drop her, but he didn't. He was stronger than that. It felt like he was stronger every time. He picked her up, carrying her back to his car and sliding her into the trunk.

This was the most dangerous moment because if anyone saw him now, he was lost. There would be no way to talk his way out of it. He would have to fight, or run, abandoning Sarah. It would have been easier just to kill her in the spot where he'd abducted her, but he couldn't—that wasn't how this worked.

He had to do this right. The right way, in the right place. He couldn't kill her yet, but soon, it would be time for Sarah to meet her fate.

CHAPTER SIX

"I think I've found something interesting," Paige said as she sat at a desk in the Winterly PD, staring at a computer screen.

Detective Johnson had put her and Christopher in an office in one corner, away from the main bullpen of the place. Paige didn't know if that was so that they wouldn't be disturbed, or so that they couldn't interfere with the other business of the department.

"What have you found?" Christopher asked as he waited, holding a phone, trying to get through to someone who would know who had done maintenance on the water tower.

"I've been looking through the social media of Bea Milling and Ellie Kane," Paige said. "It looks like Ellie was a member of a climbing club. Detective Johnson didn’t flag it because he had no way of knowing that it was relevant."

Christopher put the phone on speaker as the line rang on the other end. "That's interesting," he said to Paige. "One thought, did she post anything about either of the locations where the murders took place, the clock tower or the water tower?"

"You think they might be spots for climbers?"

"There are urban climbers, right?" Christopher said. "People who like to scale buildings rather than rock faces?"

Paige had heard of that. It was generally illegal, so that climbers had to do it in secret, but if Ellie was involved in it, then it might provide a connection between her and the locations where she and Bea Milling had been murdered.

Paige scrolled through Ellie's social media feeds, looking out for anything that featured either the water tower or the clock tower. "I don't see anything specific about the water tower or the clock tower, but she did post pictures of her climbing gear and talking about climbing locations around Winterly. So, maybe it’s possible?"

"Is there anyone specific she seems to have spent a lot of time climbing with?" Christopher asked.

Paige shook her head. "Not that I can see. There are a bunch of different people in her photos. But it's a lead. Maybe we could interview some of her climbing partners, see if anyone had problems with her."

"Do you have any information on the club?"

Paige nodded. She’d looked that part up the moment she’d seen the fact that Ellie Kane was a member. "It's called Winterly Climbing Club. They have a social media page, and it looks like they have a pretty active community. Ellie posted photos of her climbing with them, and there are a few comments from other members."

Christopher nodded, looking pleased that they had that much, at least. "That's great. We can start by getting a list of members and cross-referencing them with anyone who has worked on the water tower or the clock tower to see if anyone was at both locations the victims were taken to."

Paige nodded. "Exactly. I'll keep digging through social media and try to find any connections between the victims or the killer."

Paige searched the page, trying to find contact details for anyone connected with Winterly Climbing Club. She found a phone number tucked away at the bottom and called it.

"Hello, Winterly Climbing Club, this is Kate," a woman answered.

"Hi, my name is Paige King, and I'm with the FBI. I was wondering if I could speak to someone about the club?"

There was a moment of hesitation before the woman responded, obviously taken aback. "The FBI? Why would the FBI call here?"

"I'm investigating a case, and your club has come up in connection with it. I was wondering if you could give me a list of members or put me in touch with someone who could help me with that."

"I'm not sure if I'm authorized to give out that information, but I can check with the president of the club and get back to you."

Obviously, she wouldn’t just give out details of the club’s members to a stranger.

"Kate, did you know Ellie Kane?" Paige asked. Her only hope was to appeal on a personal level, and to hope that Kate understood the importance of this.

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