Page 32 of The Familiar Stranger

“She will have justice, Henry,” I said. “It’s what she deserves.”

“Guess you’re right.”

“Okay, we gotta run, but listen, until Kim’s killer is caught, be careful, okay? Keep yourself safe.”

“I’ll do my best. Take care of things in Savannah, and I’ll see you soon.”

Maddie and I said our goodbyes, and I ended the call.

“You ready to analyze this case?” Maddie asked.

“More than ever,” I said. “Let’s talk about this note. Like you were about to say, it’s got a bit more juice to it than the other ones.”

“Dr. Beetle again, though?”

She looked doubtful, and I understood her point. The likelihood the elderly root doctor had made the rounds through the Southeast was … well, it was almost zero. And even if she had, to what end? She had no beef with me. Or Maddie. If anything, she’d helped us during our Savannah case.

“My conclusion? Even if it is Dr. Beetle’s symbol, it doesn’t mean she’s behind these notes,” I said. “I think someone else is writing them, and for whatever reason, they’re doing it in her style, her tone.”

“Yup. But—” She collected her hair into a high ponytail and secured it with the hairband on her wrist. “I think we still should go see Dr. Beetle. You never know what kind of input she’d have for us, maybe something useful. She knows Grady and Andi too, which all ties in with what’s happening right now.”

I screwed up my face. “Are you serious? I mean, I like her, but she’s intense. Don’t you think? All that hoodoo voodoo.”

She wagged her finger. “I know you believe in it just a little bit.”

I shrugged.

“I still think she put some sort of nasty juju on Hugh Barnes,” she continued. “She was there for us in her own root-doctor way. She also knows all the key players, like Andi, her dad, and sweet Grady. And she knows this town, all the inner workings. We’re going.”

“The same could apply to the police around here,” I said. “They did a great job, including keeping in touch after the case was solved. But there’s not much for us to take to them at this point. Andi will call them about her note, just to be sure, but I doubt they can do anything with that. We’re the only ones who know all the troubling chain of events. Well, besides the psycho who’s messing with me, of course. He seems to know everything.”

“And so will we, soon enough,” Maddie said as she threw her arms around me. “I just hope this doesn’t progress into some awful showdown.”

I flexed my arm muscle and winked. “Whatever we need to do to take this guy out for good.”

She turned her attention to the note. “Let’s look at the first line. I think ‘Number two, who are you?’ serves a dual purpose. It’s a clue that reveals Kim was the second person to get a note—and the second to die by the blade. Grady was the first.”

“Morbid but true.”

“I’m just giving it to you straight,” Maddie said. “The next part seems to answer the who are you part. Like, you are a friend to Danger. You think Kim was into something sinister maybe?”

“Dangerisme, Maddie.”

Maddie’s face was a mix of emotions, indicating a hint of doubt.

“It makes sense,” I said. “She’s friends with me, and going to the third line … It’s an explanation about me, Danger. Because we weren’t always friends. We’d just gotten to know each other, so ‘once was a stranger,’ would make that doubly accurate.”

“Huh, I wasn’t moving in that direction,” Maddie said, “but I can kinda see where you’re going with it. But what’s with that ending line? It doesn’t even rhyme. It’s different than the other notes.”

“From what I’ve seen, even the rhymes all have varying tempos and number of words. They’re all over the place.”

“So this is just a warning.”

I gave her a flat look. “Maddie, think. It’s more than a warning.”

Using the pen, I pointed at the line—Don’t get choked up!

“He doesn’t want us crying over it?” she guessed. “Oh, wait … He doesn’t want Kim crying that she’s dead. Or Henry?”

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