"Will do." The agent cut the call.

  Connor got on the radio.

  "We've got an ID for Becker's vehicle," he said. "White Audi SUV. He read out the plate details.

  Almost immediately, the radio crackled. It was the other team.

  "We passed a car like that five minutes ago," the cop said, sounding excited. "It was parked up near one of the trail heads. We both saw it and made a note of the plate. The vehicle was unoccupied."

  "He's here!" Connor felt breathless with tension. "What are the map coordinates? We need one officer to remain near that car in case he’s on his way to it. One of you, go back."

  "I'm on my way," one of the others confirmed. As for the rest of us, we might need to reroute. Where are the likely trails that he would have taken from that parking site?"

  This was a huge break. They were getting closer.

  "We'll need to get another team out to help us search," Connor told the rest of the team. "We might need a helicopter too."

  "You think visibility is good enough?" the other cop asked.

  "I know visibility isn't great in the densely wooded areas, but there are a lot of open trails nearby and down at the lake, and right now, we know he's here. The more eyes we can have on this area, the better."

  He opened the map again and took a look at the coordinates of where the car was parked. How did they align with Jayne’s possible routes? Given Becker had parked near the trail head, how should they reroute?

  Narrowing his eyes, he tried to make what he thought was the best decision.

  "I'll reroute," he told the group. "It seems like he would have had to go a mile out of his way to come up this hill. I'll backtrack and go down to the valley and take that other lower trail. It intersects with the main one further along."

  Feeling as if this mission was finally gaining traction, that they had a chance to get this man in time, Connor turned and jogged back down the steep trail. They had him in their sights now. They were going to find him. There were only so many places he could be if he was hunting Jayne.

  It was only at the bottom of the hill that Connor remembered, with a jolt, that he'd had another incoming call while he'd been getting all these developments in the case.

  Quickly, he checked his phone, and felt his heart accelerate as he saw the call had been from Cami. In fact, she’d called twice.

  She'd left a message after the second call.

  "I think I know where Jayne has gone," she said, her voice tight with tension as he listened. "Connor, I'm going to start walking there. It's not on one of the routes you took. I can’t wait."

  Where was it? Where had Cami gone off to on her own?

  He called her back, now feeling his heart racing with urgency. But Cami didn't pick up.

  Connor clenched his fists, his fingers digging into his palms as he listened to the phone ring and ring and ring.

  CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

  Cami had figured it out. At least, she thought she had. She was pretty sure she now knew how he'd tracked—or was tracking—Jayne. And since it was evident that he had non-specialized IT knowledge, Cami now understood the other ingredient he'd used in this deadly mix.

  Patience.

  Because with all these intertwining trails and so many possible routes through the forest, it made sense that Jayne must be a creature of habit. For the killer to have gone in after her, he must have known where she'd be going. And that was because, like many people, Jayne would publish her exercise routes online.

  Maybe she did the same route every time she taught at that school, Cami thought, now intent on exploring this idea. Or maybe she alternated, doing one route one day a week and the other the other day.

  Whatever it was, she was now searching back in Jayne's archives, looking for a published route that she was now confident would be there. And, to her incredulous relief, she found one from a week ago. It wasn’t in her main feed, which is why she hadn’t seen it earlier. It was hidden away in an album entitled, “Vistas.”

  "I do love this walk! What a fabulous view it gives from the top of the hill! My post-coaching ritual!" Jayne had posted, exactly a week ago, with a photo of a forest hilltop surrounded by a sea of trees.

  And alongside that happy comment, she'd posted a diagram of the route, just like many people did online when they wanted to show the world, or their followers, how far they’d walked.

  Immediately, looking at it, Cami saw a big problem. This route hadn't been taken by Connor or his partner. They'd been discussing where to go, and they had picked the two trails that led in the most direct way back to Jayne's house.

  This route was horrendously complicated. It wound its way through the trees, sometimes seeming to veer off the tracks entirely. There was no way anyone logical could have followed it, and that was because it wasn't a logical route, it was a customized route.

  Devised through years of walking the woods, Jayne had chosen this because she liked it the best. Clearly, it met her demands for the distance, the elevation, and the view.

  But it also satisfied someone else's needs. Because it was the ideal route for someone—armed with the basic technology Cami had seen—to monitor Jayne's movements.

  And the killer was using that route.

  He must have monitored her, Cami thought, feeling sick as she considered it. He'd watched Jayne posting her cheerful maps and photos, and he'd decided that it was his own route too. He'd tracked Jayne, and he'd memorized the route.

  "Connor! He has to know," Cami gasped.

  She called him immediately, punching in the number, waiting impatiently for the call to connect. But there was only a busy signal.

  Cami sighed in frustration. Connor must be on another call. Connecting with the office, perhaps some kind of breakthrough had come in. But this couldn't wait. This was way too important.

  And the problem was that from the direction they had gone, both Connor and the other team would be too far away.

  She was closer.

  She tried Connor again, but still no reply, and that meant she had to make a tough decision. She could at least go, Cami thought. She had to try to help. There was no way she could sit here now that she had discovered this bombshell. Every moment that passed could mean life or death for Jayne as she walked her beloved forest tracks.

  Cami knew that she was going to have to head out alone. Hopefully, Connor would call her back as soon as he could, but in the meantime, she left a quick voicemail message saying she was heading out.

  Taking a deep breath, Cami snapped open the locks and climbed out of the police car.

  She felt exposed and scared. No technology, no IT knowhow, could help her now. She was feet on the ground, just like Connor, and she was realizing how vulnerable this left her.

  She didn't have a gun. Not that a gun would be of any use to her. She'd be more likely to shoot herself in the foot than disable a criminal. Her only advantage was that Becker didn't know she was coming. And maybe, seeing she was just one woman on her own and not an obvious cop, that would give her a chance to get there in time, quickly and quietly, to rescue Jayne.

  Her mouth dry with fear, Cami looked around her.

  She was in the upper valley. It was a wide, open area, with a lake glinting in the distance. But she was going to have to go up an embankment and through a dense copse of trees.

  Cami put her phone in her pocket. She put her laptop in the trunk of the car, took out the keys from the ignition, and locked it.

  Then she set off up the hill, with the coordinates and route of Jayne's map fixed in her mind.

  Even with the route in her head, Cami kept glancing around her, fearing to see a dark figure emerge from the shadows. The trees seemed to huddle around her, and she felt that sharp, prickling sensation of being watched.

  Every step was taking her farther away from the safety of the police car. And farther away from the safety of Connor.

  With every step she took, Becker seemed to be growing in her mind, from a cold-blooded killer to a monster.

  A monster who could see her. A monster who could sense her. And he might be looking out for her, she realized. If he was in the woods, he could be waiting and watching, alert for any threat. Her heart thudded hard. This was a level of exposure she was very uncomfortable with.

  Cami gritted her teeth and kept walking. If she wanted to save Jayne, she had no choice.

  Suddenly, she froze. There was movement in the woods. Straight ahead. Cami's heart thudded hard.

  Was that Jayne? Or the killer?

  Her head was turning over, her eyes trying to make out what was there, as she kept moving forward, keeping her eyes trained on the spot of motion.

  And then, as she watched, a deer emerged from the undergrowth, his head turning around to glance at her as he bounded up the hill, leaves and twigs crackling underfoot.

  Cami exhaled and put her head in her hands.

  "You idiot," she murmured. She turned back to her route, intending to keep walking, when she heard a sound so soft that, at first, she thought that she was imagining it.

  It was the faint sound of a scream.

  Cami froze, her eyes widening. She'd heard that sound. Had she imagined it? Was it something else? The cry of a bird, or maybe a big cat had made the sound?

  It had come from ahead and sharply to the right. Which, as she remembered, was the way Jayne's route went.

  As she listened, there was another loud, terrified scream. Cami's heart was pounding with fear, her body frozen to the spot. The scream had been from Jayne. It was real. No question about it. It had happened.

  It hadn't been her imagination. That was her scared self-talking, trying to persuade her not to rush into danger. It had been a scream, and there was only one reason for it—the killer had caught up with Jayne.

  And now, Cami had to catch up too. No other choice. And no time left, either.

  Cami broke into a run, sprinting along the steep uphill track. She felt like she was choking on the lack of oxygen as she pushed herself to run faster, even though she feared it was already too late.

  She dreaded being unable to get there in time to stop the killer. She had to move and move fast. Thinking fast, she also realized that she couldn't risk making any more noise. She needed to get closer without alerting him.

  With that in mind, Cami stopped, quickly turning her phone to silent. That would mean she couldn’t hear Connor’s call. Thinking it might help, she messaged him her location. And then, she ran on again.

  She reached the bend in the track, feeling breathless, cold with fear. There was nobody in sight. Nobody. Gasping, Cami looked around. He'd gone! Had he already killed her? Where was Jayne now?

  Then, she remembered his modus operandi. Through the dense leaves, she could see the glimmer of the lake down a sharply sloping track.

  Water.

  Of course. He must be carrying her there to complete the drowning. And now, Cami had to get there, alone, to try to stop him.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Cami felt a sense of unreality as she powered down the steep hill, trying to move as silently as she could, slipping and sliding over the mud and leaves. She knew that she was on the right track. There, ahead, she could see that there was a dent in the mud, made by something heavy.

  The boot of a killer carrying an unconscious victim, perhaps? That was the image she had in her mind. Was this Becker? Was she on his trail?

  She had to be.

  Cami powered on, launching herself downward, letting gravity do the work where her own strength was running short.

  The mud was thick, wet, and heavy, pulling at her feet and slowing her down. She was making too much noise, she thought, and she worried that she was giving herself away. She forced herself to move more quietly while trying not to sacrifice speed.

  She needed to catch up to them. It was the only thought in her mind. She had to find Jayne, and fast.

  Her heart was pounding, her legs burning. She was running on pure adrenaline now. Her breath was short and quick, and she had the terrible sense that she was too late. And then, as she skidded to the bottom, she saw a splash of color, just a fleeting glimpse through the trees. A smudge of gray among the green. Was that her? Was he carrying her to the lake? She looked again, trying to read the terrain, trying to make sense of what she'd seen.

  Slowing now, with the danger of her predicament weighing heavy on her, Cami stepped quietly through the trees. Ahead, through the dense brush, she could see the deep blue glimmer of the lake. This was where he was headed, she felt sure. The water must be drawing him like a magnet. For certain, it was the closest spot that he could use to kill.

  Gasping in a breath, she saw him. Her hands clenched tightly as she caught sight of the rangy man. For the first time, she caught actual sight of this killer who had destroyed so many lives and who now had Jayne in his arms.

  He was tall, with broad shoulders and a tousled shock of blond hair that looked as if it hadn't been cut or brushed for a long time. He wore ragged jeans and a brown plaid top.

  He was strong. He was carrying Jayne with ease, as if he was just holding a doll. She was unconscious. Her limbs were limp, and she slumped in his grasp as he waded out into the lake. Cami wondered with a terrible clench of her heart whether she was even still alive. He could already have killed her. This could all be for nothing, but she had to try.

  She couldn't see his face. His back was toward her. But he was already knee-deep in the water, and she knew that at any moment, he could drop Jayne, force her under, and she would die quickly.

  He was muttering something.

  "Granny," he said. The breeze carried his words back to her. "Granny, I thought it was you. It isn't, and now I must kill it. Maybe you'll come back then."

  Hearing this deluded man speak to a long dead grandma chilled Cami's blood. Without a doubt, he was haunted by his memories of the crash and looking to find his family again. But he was finding them by killing people, and now Cami thought that the hunt for his family might be no more than a flimsy excuse to kill. That was what he was. A killer. Nothing more. Now that she'd seen him, she was sure of that. The scenarios in his mind were providing reasons for it, leading up to what he needed to do, and that was to murder.

  Fear gripped Cami's heart and she took a long, deep breath, steeling herself for what she had to do. But she couldn't waste time in gathering her courage. He was moving and taking Jayne with him.

  She had to move, and fast. What would she do?

  She didn't have a plan. She needed a plan, but nothing came to mind.

  But she had a weapon. Her gaze rested on a long wooden stick, lying by the side of the water. That must be his stick. He'd used it to attack Jayne, and he'd dropped it before heading out into the water.

  It was something she could use. And she had to be quick, because to Cami's horror, she now saw that Jayne was starting to wake up. Her limbs were flailing weakly. He hadn't hit her hard enough. At least she was alive for the moment, but now there was no time left at all. He was going to drown her for sure.

  Right now, she was being cradled against his chest. Just inches away from the cold water.

  Without thinking too much more about it, Cami raced forward. She grabbed the stick and then, knowing that he'd hear her for sure as soon as her feet hit the water, she jumped into the lake and ran toward him with all the speed she could manage.

  The water was a cold shock on her legs. Sure enough, the splash alerted him, and he twisted around, staggering a little under the weight of the now struggling woman in his arms.

  Yelling at the top of her voice, more because she was scared herself than because she hoped to scare him, Cami rushed him with the stick held high.

  He lifted an arm to defend himself, instinctively. And Jayne's legs slipped out of his grasp. Cami felt a wash of relief that she was, at least, free of him. She landed clumsily, but on her feet, in the water, looking dizzy and sick, immediately stumbling down to her knees. But she was conscious, she was breathing, and the water was shallow enough that her head was above it. Better still, she was now out of his way.

  But now, all his focus was on Cami. She was trapped in his gaze, face to face with a furious, narrow-eyed adversary.

  And Cami attacked, bringing the stick down with all her force, not caring where she managed to hit this terrible, psychopathic man, but only caring that she managed to hit him.

  The first blow didn't land well at all. He saw her attack coming and brought his arm up to block it, managing to deflect it to the side, so it hit him in the shoulder. He yelled in rage. The anger in his tone felt like a physical force.

  But she couldn't stop, couldn't give up. Jayne was still struggling in the shallows, still trying to come around from the blow he must have given her. Cami had to stay in this fight, or he would go for Jayne again, and this time, she didn't doubt that he'd get her.

  Cami brought the stick down again, aiming for his head this time. She needed to knock him out. Otherwise, she was sure that she would be all out of chances, and she didn't want to think about what his retaliation would be like.

  She gritted her teeth, putting all her force into it. But he ducked, twisting desperately aside, and to her dismay, her blow missed. And then, before she had a chance to regroup, he was on her.

  He grabbed her by the shoulders, his face cold and angry. His grasp was like steel. His strength was immense.

  "You're going to drown too," he said, hissing out the words. "You shouldn't have followed me, little girl."

  And with that, he shoved her under the water.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  Cami felt terror like she'd never felt before. The water was shockingly cold, and she hadn't had a chance to take a breath before his attack. Already, her lungs were screaming for air. She tried to fight him off, but his hands were like iron. He was so much stronger than her.

  She had to fight, to do something. This water wasn't deep, Perhaps she could push off from the bottom. Perhaps she could kick out, knock him off balance.

 

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