Page 23 of Face Her Fear

Once Sandrine was gone, Alice strode over and closed the doors, plunging them into darkness. “That’s not going to work,” she mumbled to herself, opening the door a crack to let the light back in. She stuck her head outside and peered around. When she turned back to Josie, she said, “They’re all gone. Tell me the truth. What is going on here, Josie?”

Josie looked down at Meg’s body. A shiver of fear worked its way through her frame. She tried to suppress it, but the cold and her anxiety made that impossible.

“Josie?” Alice said, voice softer now. The wind whipped against the outside of the shed. The door quivered in Alice’s grip.

Josie’s chest felt tight, as if she couldn’t get enough breath. Her heartbeat felt like it was out of rhythm. She was alone. Utterly alone. Stuck on the top of a mountain in one of the most rural counties in the entire state during a blizzard. Even if they could reach 911, it might still be days before anyone got to them and there was a murderer among them. Josie was walking a tightrope with no safety net. Sandrine’s words came back to her:the real issue here is trust.

Could she trust Alice?

“Josie, I know something is up.”

Josie swallowed. The inside of her mouth felt like sandpaper. “We’re in the middle of a blizzard.”

Alice laughed, battling the wind to keep her grip on the door. “No shit. It’s been coming down at least an inch per hour out there all night long and it’s still going strong. I think everyone here knows that this is a blizzard. Obviously, Sandrine dropped the ball, and Cooper? Well, for all we know, he got sick and tired of hearing all this new age, self-help, I’ve-got-issues crap and decided he’d spend the rest of the week drunk in some local bar while the rest of us toughed it out up here. You know that’s not what I’m talking about. What is going on?”

It didn’t really matter whether Josie trusted Alice or not. She already knew something was very wrong. It wouldn’t be long before she figured out what—whether Josie told her or not.

“Someone strangled Meg.”

Alice didn’t gasp or show any outward signs of surprise or shock, but she went very still. The door hinges whined as she nearly let go. For a second, Josie couldn’t tell if she was still breathing. Lips barely moving, she said, “How can you tell?”

“Ligature marks under her scarf,” Josie said. “Petechiae in her eyes.”

Alice swallowed, the only movement visible on her entire body. “Her clothes—do you think she—do you think that someone—”

“I don’t think she was sexually assaulted,” said Josie. “But I can’t be sure. I think that the clothes and other items were staged to make it look like she had hypothermia.”

Alice’s body relaxed slightly. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. “What you’re saying is that someone here, someone at this retreat, strangled Meg to death but tried to make it look like she walked into the woods and froze to death.”

Josie nodded.

Alice swallowed again. “Are you sure?”

“I wish I wasn’t.”

The door shuddered again in Alice’s hand. Snowflakes burst through the opening, twirling in the shaft of light. “But who? It had to be Brian, don’t you think? I bet it was him. He was always talking to her even though he’s married. She didn’t give him the time of day, but he kept talking at her. Face it, he’s just a giant douche. I don’t know what Nicola sees in him. Or what if it’s her stalker? That Cawley guy? No one has seen him for months. He’s crazy. What if he followed her here? Wait, wait! What if it was Cooper? He seems so mild and fatherly but maybe he’s really not. Maybe that’s why he didn’t come back. He killed Meg and rather than face us all, he just left. But then why make it look like she died of hypothermia? I mean, that’s what this killer did, right? Made it look like natural causes? Who would know to do that?”

Josie edged around Meg’s body, navigating the small space until they were face to face. “Alice, stop.”

“You haven’t thought about this yet? You’re a police officer.”

Josie had learned a long time ago that in homicide cases, the only thing that mattered was the evidence, and she didn’t have enough evidence to form any theories as to who had killed Meg. “There is no point in speculating.”

Alice pursed her lips. The fine lines at the corners of her eyes crinkled. The green flecks in her irises shimmered.

“What is it?” Josie said.

With the sleeve of her coat, she wiped a wet strand of hair from her forehead. “I saw something this week. I didn’t think it was important or that it meant anything, but now…”

“Tell me.”

Alice took a quick glance out the door again then turned back to Josie. “Cooper and Meg. I saw them talking. Privately. Behind her cabin. Three times. The last time was yesterday right before he left.”

Josie felt the muscles in her shoulder blades tense. “Did you hear what they were talking about?”

“No. I was too far away.”

“Did they see you?”

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