Page 8 of Serial Love

Walking back out to the porch, he looked around carefully as he waited for his ride back. The gravel lot in front of the main lodge meandered off to the right and he could see the first A-frame cabin in sight amongst the trees. Having studied the area before he purchased his property, he knew the gravel drive circled a small lake covering several acres and had ten A-frame cabins along the way. The road came back into the main lot from the left. The water had a few canoes and paddleboats, now tied to a dock. The place looked neat and well-kept, but the years had taken their toll on the buildings.

The Saint’s SUV pulled in front of the lodge, and he hauled himself into the passenger side, nodding to Luke, who was driving again.

“They okay?” Luke asked.

Jack nodded slowly, his eyes still sharply looking around. “You all get anything yet?”

“Yeah, thought you’d want a debriefing when we got back.”

“Good. I hate like hell that woman got through, but she exposed a weakness in our facility that we can learn from.”

A few minutes later, he and Luke joined the rest of the men in the basement command center of his house.

Chad began, “We went back to the fence where Mrs. Bridwell crossed. We need to increase the security cameras to focus on that wooded area, near where the creek is. Almost the entire perimeter is on camera and yet she managed to find the one area that was mostly out of sight.”

“Going to take care of fixing the problem tomorrow, boss,” Cam said with Bart nodding.

Luke, looking up from his computer screen asked, “You want to know what I found out?”

Jack nodded and turned his attention to his computer expert, knowing Luke would be able to ferret out all the information.

“Ann Bridwell, widow of Martin Bridwell. They married in 1957 and bought the land in 1958 with his Army savings. Loans were easy for military personnel to get housing and property back then. They built the lodge to live in and then the other cabins. Did most of the work themselves and hired local help with the more difficult construction. As soon as they got one cabin built, they rented it as a private honeymoon location. Did really well for the times. Ended up with ten cabins to rent and have continued to be a steady cabin rental locality since they are close to the mountains for hikers, campers, fishermen, and then skiers in the winter. Martin died about three years ago and his wife has run the place by herself with part-time help from her granddaughter, Bethany, when she wasn’t in college.”

Luke stopped and Jack looked over at him. “That’s it? That’s all you got?”

“Not much there, Jack. They pay their bills, the mortgage is paid off, they pay their taxes. The cops have only been called a few times when someone partied too hard, but other than that, there’s nothing.”

Blaise spoke up, “You figure Alzheimer's? Is that what we saw today with Mrs. Bridwell’s confusion?”

With a few more clicks, Luke said, “Nothing yet onher medical record although her insurance claims indicate she’s been to the doctor several times in the past couple of months.”

“What about the granddaughter, Bethany?” Monty added. “She’s a real firecracker.”

Bart laughed, “Jack, you should have seen your face when she came tearing out of the woods like a mama bear.”

“And you caught her in mid-air,” Marc said, joining in the laughter.

Jack grinned at the memory before his body reminded him of the way she felt in his arms. Even as she struggled, his body reacted to hers.

“You got more on the granddaughter?” Monty asked. “I’d like to know what her deal is.”

“No,” Jack said firmly, causing the other seven men to focus on him. Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, he was aware of their perusal. “No one looks into her. Except me.”

The men eyed each other, and grins spread among the group. In the couple of years they had been working together, Jack rarely went home with one of the women from a bar when they had all gone out. While most of them worked hard and played hard, Jack had been the one to go home early wanting to make sure he was doing all he could to build his business.

Luke shut his computer down, said, “Yes, sir.”

“I hate to bring up unpleasant news, but before all this was happening, we were looking into the murders,” Blaise said.

“Exactly,” Jack agreed. “Thank you for helping withthis morning and with securing the perimeter again, but Blaise is right. I still need you on task for our next briefing tomorrow morning about the possible serial killer.”

With that, the men dispersed for the day leaving Jack alone.

That evening as the sun descended over the mountains in the background, Bethany settled Ann in one of the rockers before joining her. The Welcome Center officially closed at five p.m., but the renters knew that she lived above the main common area and could be found if needed. Thankfully, it appeared to be a slow evening.

She glanced to the side, watching Gram’s face beaming in the sunset.

“This was your grandfather’s favorite time,” Gram said. “We would sit here and watch the sun set over the mountains and see the colors flash across the lake.” Sighing heavily, she admitted, “I miss him.”

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