Page 54 of Crossing Lines

The absence of wildlife wasn’t a big surprise, because they’d arrived to find two cars in the driveway. The fact that there were two cars was a bit of a surprise though.

Two cars? A serial killer team?

He kept his eye on the cabin as they donned their bulletproof vests, making sure to put Lucy’s on first. It was a log structure similar to Sam’s, except this one was painted dark brown with green trim. There was a porch on the front, and a river-rock chimney stuck up out of the middle of the roof. He scanned the windows for movement inside but didn’t see anything.

They crept toward the front, guns in hand. Lucy kept to his side, her rigid posture indicating she was on high alert.

As they got closer, they could hear voices coming from the back of the house.

“I won’t let you do this.” The man’s voice was muffled, and Sam couldn’t make out who it was, nor could he hear the reply.

He tilted his head toward the back of the cabin to indicate they should proceed there. Not that he had to. Jo and Lucy knew exactly what to do, and they were already tight up to the side of the structure, moving along slowly.

“You can’t stop me!” The high-pitched voice was that of a man in a panicked state.

The next sound, a shotgun being cocked, chilled Sam’s blood. He jumped out, his gun held in front of him. “Hands up in the air!”

Sam didn’t quite know what to make of the scene. The yard was carpeted with pine needles from the stately scotch pines that towered over the cabin. Large rocks ringed a fire pit in the center of the yard. A rusty chair sat off to one side, along with a weathered Adirondack settee. An old picnic table in faded barn-red paint sat near the fire pit.

Robert Summers stood to one side, a shotgun raised up to his shoulder. In front of him lay Vicky Thompson, her body still.

Sam’s stomach lurched. Were they too late to save her?

But it wasn’t Vicky that Robert was pointing the gun at. It was his uncle, Charles Bascomb.

The two men were clearly in a standoff, but which one was the killer?

“Put your guns down, and we can end this peacefully.” Sam kept his tone even and measured.

Lucy vibrated with energy at his side. Her ears forward, eyes alert, muscles tensed, she was ready to spring toward the assailant. Whoever that was.

Jo stood next to Lucy, her gun steady, gaze shifting between Robert, Charles, and Vicky. Sam knew she was trying to figure out how to get to the victim without triggering one of the others to shoot.

“Chief Mason, thank God you’re here.” Charlie kept his Glock raised toward Robert. “He’s sick. I tried to stop him.”

“What? You’re the sick one!” Robert shouted.

“Why don’t you both put your weapons down, and we can talk this out,” Sam said. He didn’t trust either one of them. For all he knew, they were in on it together, and this was some sort of act they’d conjured up to confuse the police.

“I knew he had problems but never that it was this bad.” Charlie looked down at Vicky. “I knew when he snuck out of the house that he might be up to something. He had problems when he was younger, but I thought the medicine had helped.”

Robert’s face turned red. “That’s a lie! I never left the house!”

“Except you’re here now,” Charlie pointed out.

“Only because I figured out what you were up to. When I saw that someone had turned off the surveillance cameras at the cabin, I knew it was you.” Robert glanced over toward the cabin, and Sam followed his gaze to a camera mounted on the side under the overhang for the roof.

Charlie shook his head, pity in his expression. “Now, son, you know that’s not true. How would I even know how to turn off the surveillance or gain access to the camp? You did it. Why don’t you just confess? I’m sure Chief Mason knows all about your juvenile criminal record.”

But something didn’t make sense. The timing didn’t add up. Wyatt had been watching the Summers house, and Robert had been at home when Vicky was abducted.

Robert wouldn’t have had time to grab her then drive back to the Summers place in time for Wyatt to see him leaving the house.

“I was only following in your footsteps, Uncle Charlie. Good thing I came to my senses before I actually hurt anyone.” Robert sounded sad.

“You’re delusional. Everyone knows about your mental condition. Now put the gun down and let me help the girl like I’ve been trying to do,” Charlie said.

“I’m the one that was trying to help her. That’s why I came here. I saw the key missing from the library, and it all came back to me. I knew what you were up to. I remembered. Yes, that’s right. I saw what you did five years ago. I followed you that day after golf, and I saw what you did to that girl. Right at this cabin. She was in the tarp...” Robert choked on his words.

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