Page 87 of Run for Her Life
“I heard his boots when he walked in.” The space between her eyebrows wrinkled. “I asked him why I was there. And he… mumbled something under his breath but I didn’t quite catch it. I was about to pass out again but then I heard a foghorn.”
Aiden frowned. “A foghorn?” She nodded, her eyes still closed. “Okay, just once?”
“I heard it again when he was loading me into the car. It was very clear, very distinct, which I thought was odd since I couldn’t smell or hear the ocean.” She opened her eyes, tears glistening. “And then I was in that new place that smelled like a basement. Who is he? Did you catch him?”
“Not yet…” Zoe said, remembering how she’d almost had him. “But the sheriff and her team are on site looking for any clues that might lead us to him. Did he say anything about putting that headset on you? Did he do that before in the woods too?”
“Only in the next place, not in the woods.” Her voice was breathy. “But I know he wasn’t comfortable in the woods. I could tell he was always pacing, mumbling. I don’t know why.” Her breathing began to even out as the sedative took over.
Aiden walked out of the room—too fast. Zoe excused herself and followed him outside into the hallway. His jaw was locked tight and eyes ablaze. “Aiden, what are you thinking?”
“Jackie killed Annabelle but this killer, maybe Spector, killed Jackie. And he hesitated with Amy.”
“Maybe it was easier to kill Jackie because she was also a killer. Does that mean Spector didn’t help Jackie kill Annabelle?”
“I don’t know…” Aiden rubbed his forehead. “I would say he was more a passive participant or a witness. He was enticed by the violence.”
Zoe shifted on her heels, impatience clawing at her when her phone rang. “Ethan, what’s up? Find anything?”
“Agent Storm, have you heard from Lisa?” His voice was urgent and wavering.
“No… Isn’t she at the scene with you?”
“Damn it!” he growled. “She never made it here. I’ve been trying her cell but it’s turned off and she isn’t at the station. Buther car is still there. A deputy told me a letter arrived fifteen minutes ago.”
Nerves rattled in Zoe’s stomach. “What letter?” Aiden’s eyes flew to Zoe.
“‘Ticktock goes the clock. No more truths and no more lies. Only silence and goodbyes.’”
FIFTY-THREE
Zoe’s heartbeats were tied in a strangling knot in her throat. She didn’t realize Aiden had snatched the phone from her. She tipped backward, her back pressing into the cold wall, trying to catch her thoughts but they were spiraling into an incoherent mess.
“Storm.” Aiden’s strong, deep voice pulled her back and centered her. “This is good.”
“He took Lisa, Aiden. How the hell is that good?” she yelled, not caring there were witnesses around.
“He’s panicking.” Aiden leaned closer in her face. “You almost caught him. We rescued Amy, and Ethan just told me that they found the prototype at the storage locker. Taking Lisa wasn’t part of the plan. Hence the short poem too.”
She patted her cheeks, her muscles spasming everywhere from the panic. “His poem doesn’t contain a riddle this time. No puzzle for us to solve.”
“He doesn’t know what to do. He just fucked up big-time,” Aiden said darkly. “Amy mentioned the foghorn.”
“Yes. Amy was taken to the woods before he moved her to the storage locker. She reported hearing a foghorn on two separate occasions. She said it was very clear,” Zoe said.
“Foghorn?” Ethan said, and Zoe realized she’d had him on speakerphone the entire time. “There is a lighthouse on the bay. Whenever a ship passes by, it sounds off. It’s a few miles from the forest, though. Did she hear it clearly? You sure?”
“She was certain. She heard it twice.”
“Do you have a topographical map of the area?” Aiden asked, his eyes brightening with an idea.
“Yeah, back at the substation. I’ll get someone to send you a picture right now. Hold up.” He put them on hold.
“One of my brothers is an environmental scientist,” Aiden explained to Zoe. “Over many holiday dinners, he talked about how sound loves long low clear paths. It travels poorly uphill or through dense uneven forests.”
“So we can narrow down the region around the lighthouse,” Zoe said. “She heard it distinctly twice. It couldn’t have been a mistake.”
Aiden’s phone pinged just as Ethan’s voice came through the phone. “You should have it now.”
