Page 127 of Distress Signal
Lifting my phone from the couch at my side, I made my first call.
“Reagan?” Lane asked when he picked up. “You okay?”
His concern surprised me, but maybe all of the brothers were on high alert after I’d been run off the road and nearly killed.
“I’m fine,” I assured him. “I’m calling because, before the accident, I finally read Lainey’s journals, and I think I found something. Would you be able to come out to the house?”
“Sure…” he said, slowly. Skeptically.
“When should I expect you?”
“I’ll leave the department now.”
“Great, see you soon.”
Next, I called Aspen, relayed the same information, and made the same request.
She beat Lane to the house, but only by a few minutes.
“Alright, what’s this critical piece of info you found?” Lane asked dubiously.
Ignoring his tone, I flipped through the pages of Lainey’s most recent journal until I located the section in question.
Then I passed it to Lane.
“Where did this come from?” he asked. “I’ve never seen this one before.”
I waved him off, not having the energy to argue. “Not important.”
He eyed me warily but flipped to the page I’d bookmarked and began to read.
Aspen scooted closer, reading alongside him.
“Know anyone with those initials?” I asked, tapping near the line that mentioned “LT”.
“Not off the top of my head,” Lane admitted, and Aspen nodded in agreement. “But I can run some census records and see what pops.”
“What about the couple Lainey was supposed to shoot? Any luck there?”
Lane shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t even think they exist.”
“What?” I asked dumbly.
“The number has been disconnected. Emails bounce back. Addie hasn’t been able to track down any Idaho residents—or even residents of adjacent states, for that matter—with those names.”
“You don’t think…” I trailed off, a horrifying realization occurring to me.
Lane nodded solemnly. “I think it’s a safe bet whoever booked this photo session did so as an attempt to lure your sister out here.”
“That makes no sense, though.”
“What do you mean?” Aspen asked.
“We traded off trips. It was the one ‘rule’ we had. Alternating who got to travel. This one was supposed to be mine. But I came down with the flu a few days before I had to leave, so Lainey took my place last minute.”
“I don’t think that matters,” Lane said. “I’m not a profiler, but…I think he wants both of you.”
Before Aspen or I could respond, he pulled out his phone and made a call.
