Page 28 of Let Her Live

Fiona held her breath, watching Jake for his reaction.

Jake's face fell as he listened to Gwen's response. "I see," Jake said, his voice low. "Thank you for telling me, Gwen. I appreciate it."

"What did she say?" Fiona asked, impatient for answers.

"Jonas killed a snake on their way to the campsite," Jake said. "That's three now."

Fiona's heart raced. "So it's not just a coincidence?"

"It's beginning to look like it's not," Jake said.

They had a possible connection. But the question now was: where to even begin?

***

With no other leads to go on, Fiona and Jake returned to the hotel and got to work researching. Fiona still felt anxious from the scene they'd witnessed earlier; the forensics team was still working on collecting evidence, and later on, Fiona would be called in to examine the body with the country coroner. Until then, she sat with Jake in the hotel room, each of them on their laptops at the hotel's small table.

If the killer was targeting people who'd killed animals, then Fiona wasn't quite sure where to start looking. Animal rights activists, maybe? She'd already tried pet store workers, but there was only one shop in town, and it was owned and run by an elderly woman with no criminal record.

The media had been in an uproar over the group of animal rights activists who had stormed onto a farm and freed the chickens. The farm had been recently approved for selling the eggs to the public, and the activists had freed the chickens, claiming they were mistreated. The story had gained a lot of traction, and there had been news reports on it every week on the evening news. But those involved had been caught and charged; it turned out they were a bunch of teenagers. Fiona didn't see a connection between the MOs.

She looked up at Jake. His brow was creased as he kept searching. "Any luck?" she asked him.

"None yet," he replied. "Just looking into animal rights groups."

"I was too," Fiona said. "I don't see anyone yet."

Maybe this was the wrong angle; maybe it wasn't an activist but simply a civilian. She went online and looked into animal killings that had occurred in the surrounding areas. A few articles came up, but one stood out:

TROPHY HUNTERS ATTACKED BY PARK RANGER.

Fiona’s breath caught, and she began reading the article:

A Florida man has been charged with assault after two trophy hunters were attacked by a park ranger. The hunters, who had killed a large buck on protected land, were confronted by Henry Mitchell, the ranger, who demanded they leave the area. When they refused, the ranger allegedly assaulted them with a hunting knife. Both hunters sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. The ranger was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Fiona leaned back in her chair, her mind reeling. Could it be possible that the serial killer was someone with a vendetta against those who killed animals for sport? It wasn't unheard of; there were many who believed that trophy hunting was unethical and cruel.

"Jake," she said urgently, "I might have something.”

Jake looked up from his laptop, his eyes narrowing with interest. "What is it?"

"There was an incident a few months ago," Fiona said. A group of trophy hunters were attacked by a park ranger. It says here that the park ranger was angry because the hunters had killed some of the local wildlife, including some endangered animals."

Jake sat forward. His expression was intense. "That could be it. Do we know what park this happened in?"

Fiona scrolled down to the bottom of the article. "It was in the national parkabout forty minutes north. He was arrested and charged with assault, but he claimed he was doing it to protect the animals."

"Do you think he could be our killer?" Jake asked.

"It's possible," Fiona said. "It fits with the idea that the victims were all somehow connected to animal killings, and he has a motive for it."

Jake's fingers clacked against the keyboard. Fiona stood up and walked over to his side of the table, leaning over him as he pulled up Henry Mitchell's file. Her heart raced with anticipation; Henry was in the right vicinity to have committed any of the crimes, and it was possible he had the motive. He clearly cared greatly for wildlife, hence why he'd dedicated his life to being a park ranger. And he obviously knew the outdoors.

Henry's file loaded, showing a man in his fifties with graying hair and sunken cheeks.

"He's out on probation," Jake said. "The guys he assaulted pressed charges, but he's walking free right now, and he can't leave the state." Jake kept scrolling. "Looks like he's still working as a ranger. The national park respected what he was trying to do, and never fired him."

"So he could be there," Fiona said.

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