Page 57 of In Her Wake
Jake glanced up from his phone.“Latest book released two months ago to critical acclaim.Publisher calls it his ‘magnum opus.’No social media presence, no public appearances scheduled.”He scrolled further.“Last confirmed sighting was at a grocery store in Pinecrest three weeks ago.Cashier remembers him because he bought enough canned goods to ‘survive the apocalypse’—her words.”
Jenna nodded.“Consistent with someone planning to isolate himself completely.”
“Making him the perfect target,” Jake added.“No one to miss him.No reason to report him gone.”
“And at the high point of his career, like the others,”
The road narrowed as they left the highway, trees pressing closer on both sides.Jenna checked the GPS—five minutes to the junction where Spelling waited.Her mind kept circling back to the faceless mannequin from her dream, its gravelly voice echoing in her memory: “He told me I was his first.”
Jake’s voice pulled her back to the present.“You okay?You seem...elsewhere.”
“Just trying to prepare myself for what we might find,” she replied, not quite a lie but far from the whole truth.
The junction appeared ahead—a simple crossroads where County Road 42 met Highway 17, nothing but forest and a small gravel turnout marking the spot.Colonel Spelling’s black SUV was already parked there, its official insignia catching the morning light.Spelling himself stood beside it, talking with a uniformed State Highway Patrol officer.Both men turned as Jenna’s cruiser approached.
She parked alongside Spelling’s vehicle and cut the engine.As she stepped out into the cool morning air, her gaze was immediately drawn upward, past the treeline.Her heart stuttered in her chest.Dark shapes wheeled against the pale sky—vultures, at least half a dozen, circling in that distinctive pattern that signaled death below.
Just like in her dream.
Jake followed her gaze.“That’s not a good sign,” he murmured.
“No, it isn’t,” Spelling agreed, approaching with long strides.His tall figure was ramrod straight as always, but fatigue showed in his eyes.“Sheriff Graves, Deputy Hawkins, this is Officer Ford.He’ll be assisting us this morning.”
Ford nodded in greeting—a compact man with close-cropped hair and watchful eyes.
Spelling commented, glancing skyward, “Those vultures are concentrated about a quarter mile into the woods, if I’m gauging correctly.”
“In the direction of Alcox’s cabin?”Jenna asked.
“Yes.The cabin itself should be just beyond that ridge.”Spelling pointed toward a slight elevation in the tree line.“I’ve been there once before, as I mentioned.It’s isolated—deliberately so.”
“How do you want to proceed, Colonel?”Jake asked, checking his sidearm with practiced efficiency.
“I’ll lead the way, since I know the path,” Spelling replied.“Ford will secure the perimeter once we reach the cabin.Sheriff, Deputy, you’ll follow me.If this follows the pattern of the other scenes, we need to document everything exactly as we find it.”
They set off down a narrow trail that would have been easy to miss if not for Spelling’s guidance.The forest closed around them, ancient oaks and pines creating a canopy that filtered the strengthening daylight into dappled patterns on the forest floor.Their footsteps were muffled by years of fallen pine needles, creating an unsettling silence broken only by the distant call of birds.
Jenna felt a crawling sensation between her shoulder blades as they advanced deeper into the woods.The path was too familiar—the same twisted roots breaking through the soil, the same quality of light filtering through the leaves.She’d walked this route before, in her dream, following the sound of typewriter keys.
“The cabin should be just ahead,” Spelling said, his voice hushed as if respecting the forest’s solemn atmosphere.
They rounded a bend in the path, and suddenly there it was—a small structure of rough-hewn logs darkened by age and weather, just as Jenna had seen it.Near the front door, an axe was embedded in a stump, a neat pile of split firewood stacked against the cabin wall.
It was identical to her dream, down to the last detail.
“Someone could still be inside,” Jake observed.
“Stay alert,” Spelling said, drawing his weapon.
They approached cautiously, moving with the coordination of experienced law enforcement.Spelling took the lead, with Jake covering the left side of the cabin and Jenna the right.Officer Ford remained slightly behind, watching their backs.
The cabin door stood slightly ajar—another echo of Jenna’s dream that made her pulse quicken.Spelling positioned himself beside the entrance, then called out, “Missouri State Highway Patrol!Anyone inside, identify yourself!”
Silence answered him.
With a nod to Jake and Jenna, Spelling pushed the door fully open with his foot, weapon raised.“Clear the structure,” he ordered, stepping inside.
Jenna followed, her service weapon drawn, senses on high alert.The cabin’s interior was dim after the brightness outside, a single room containing a small potbellied stove, a narrow cot against one wall, and a simple wooden table beneath the room’s only window.
