e she paused at the entrance to the soup kitchen, he had the trap set.
The soup kitchen had finished serving meals for the night and Aunt Betty’s Café would be taking last orders. He slipped inside the café, and purchased two coffees and two pulled pork sandwiches. As he dropped the sleeping pills into one of the to-go cups, he kept her in sight as she peered at the menu. Snow glistened off her dark blue hoodie. She had no place to go and not enough money to buy a meal. As she walked away toward the church, hunched against the cold, he collected his order and slipped outside. He followed her, walking a little faster, and then cleared his throat to say something but she spun around. “Oh, excuse me.”
“Are you following me?” She glared at him with her chin stuck out in a belligerent attitude.
Hello, Delores, don’t you recognize me? He smiled at her; it always put her off guard when he smiled. “Ah, no. Just making my way back to my truck.” He indicated with his chin toward the dark alley. “If you’re heading for the church, it’s closed for the night. I have to get home to my wife.”
“You close the church, what sort of a priest are you?” She wiped her red nose on her sleeve. “Well, open it. I need a pew to sleep on. I’ll die out here.”
“I can’t do that, I’m sorry.” He stepped into the alley. “I’m not a priest but I can help you. Are you hungry?” He offered her one of the sandwiches. “I have a spare coffee too.”
“Yeah.” She snatched it from him and ate like a dog, stuffing the food into her mouth. “I need a place to stay.” She ignored the trash can close by and tossed the empty bag on the ground. She peered at him as she sipped the coffee. “You’re a minister, or whatever, you’re supposed to help me.”
He’d set the bait and all he had to do was reel her in. He smiled again. “I’m sure my wife wouldn’t mind if you took our spare bedroom for tonight—as it’s an emergency. I’ll be able to find you a place to stay in the morning.” He waved a hand to his truck. “Our house is at the other end of town.” He walked to the door pressing his key fob. “Unless you want to sleep on the church porch?” He opened the door and climbed inside, not looking at her, and started the engine.
The passenger door opened and she tossed her backpack on the floor and climbed inside. She sipped the coffee and yawned. “I sleep with a knife, so no funny business.”
He backed out into the dark still night. She hadn’t changed, her tongue was still as harsh as he remembered. The tattoos on her hands looked new and would enhance the design he had in mind. He nodded. “Once you’re safely in your room, you won’t see me until the morning.”
No, she wouldn’t see him coming—until it was too late.
Eight
Ava Price climbed into the truck, looked around at the pristine interior, and sipped her coffee. She’d gotten rides from all types. Some men had been fine and even offered her cash but she’d had her share of the predators. This guy, the minister or whoever, seemed okay. He had a wife at home and that was always a bonus. She watched him closely as he wasn’t saying much. He was clean shaven, unusual in these alpine towns in winter, and plain-looking. Nothing about him, his manner, or speech made her wary. Heck, if she had landed a place to stay, she would be set. She cleared her throat. “Do you have kids?”
“Unfortunately, no, we don’t.” He flicked her a glance. “Don’t worry, you’re not taking anyone’s room and my wife is used to me bringing home strangers. She will be more than happy to make you comfortable.” He turned up the heat.
Warm air filled the cabin and Ava nodded, stifling a yawn. The idea of staying with this couple was getting better by the second. “I don’t want charity; I’ll work to pay for a room. I can get a job if I have a place to stay.”
“Well, maybe we can come to some arrangement.” He smiled at her. “There’s always chores need doing on a ranch but it will be hard in this weather, chopping wood, cleaning out stables, and the like. Have you had experience working on a ranch?”
“I learn fast.” Ava emptied her to-go cup and wished she had more. The sandwich had barely filled the chasm in her belly. “Is it far?”
“Not much longer.” He looked at her. “What’s your name?”
She waited a beat and then shrugged. “Ava.”
“You can call me Preacher.” He flashed her a grin. “Everybody who stays over knows me by that name.”
Ava yawned. “Sure, nice to meet you, Preacher.”
“Would you like me to contact your family in the morning, to let them know where you’re staying?” Preacher sighed as if it was a chore to talk to her. “Although, I do understand if that’s a problem. We have a ton of people who come to Black Rock Falls to disappear. You should know, there are quite a few homeless, addicts, and battered women and men just wanting to live off the grid here. We also have places to help you as well. You chose a great town to stop by.”
She blinked at him, her eyelids so heavy she had to force them open. “That’s good to know.”
Tiredness engulfed her and she leaned her head against the window. Fighting against the sleepiness, she shook her head and looked at him but his attention had fixed on the snowy blacktop winding ahead of them into the night. Darkness surrounded them and the headlights lit up a forest, so dense she couldn’t see any space between the tall pines. She’d close her eyes for just a few seconds, what could possibly happen?
Nine
Tuesday
Breakfast was just a pleasant memory by the time Jenna and Kane had finished canvassing the guests in the outlying cabins. The person who’d displayed the body parts on the tree must have been a phantom, as not one person they’d interviewed had seen anyone at all on the backroad at any time from Sunday to Monday afternoon. Exhausted from trudging through snowdrifts, Jenna stopped to catch her breath and scanned the sky. Although the snow had ceased for a while, the clouds promised more before long. She dragged her aching legs back to Kane’s truck, creating a cloud of steam around her. The late night and early morning had taken its toll and right now all she wanted to do was get warm. Her feet had become way too cold inside the thick socks and her lips needed a coating of ChapStick. Of course, she’d left the latter in her other coat pocket, which was damp from the previous evening. The idea of returning to the resort was alluring but they’d checked out and thanks to another killer in town, their vacation was officially over. She stamped the snow from her boots and climbed into the passenger seat. Leaning back, she let out a long sigh. “Well, that was a complete waste of time.”
“At least we left no stone unturned.” As if reading her mind, Kane offered her a ChapStick from a packet in his console. “Need this?”
“Thanks.” Jenna applied the balm and sighed with relief. “That’s better. Let’s get out of here.”
“Where to? The office or do you want a ride home?” Kane turned up the heat.