Epiphany (Legacy of Payne)

by Christina Jean Michaels

  Maybe that was my problem; Aidan was far from a stranger in my mind.

  He headed for the door. “I’ll come by later and walk you to work. If you don’t mind,” he added, making me think he’d picked up on my independent streak. “I want you to be safe is all.”

  “I don’t mind.”

  The door creaked open, and he stood on the threshold for a few moments. Behind his silhouette, dark clouds roiled with a vengeance, a dreary canvas for the gangly trees swaying in the breeze.

  “I should probably tell you . . .” He hesitated and stuck his hands into his pockets. “I followed you last night. I wanted to make sure you got home safely. What you told me about Chloe’s boyfriend worried me.”

  “I don’t know whether to thank you or run in the other direction,” I said.

  “You can thank me by being more careful. You shouldn’t be out walking the streets at night by yourself.”

  “What aren’t you telling me?”

  His jaw twitched. “Try not to worry about Six,” he said, completely sidestepping my question. “We’ll find her. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’ll see you later,” he said. “Don’t forget to latch the deadbolt.” He turned the lock on the handle and pulled the door closed. I forked up another bite of cold eggs, and only then realized that he’d never explained how he just happened to see me break into Six’s apartment.

  Despite the endless questions I had, sleep came easily. So easily in fact that I passed out on my sofa and dreamed of Six’s murder again. Unlike the first time, this dream was so detailed it played out like a horror film. The way he brutalized her body, how he dragged her through the woods naked, pulling her by the noose around her neck. Scene by scene, I watched my friend die. Worse was the realization that it was probably too late. Six had been missing for more than a day, and my dreams still hadn’t revealed who had kidnapped her.

  I jolted awake and sprinted to the bathroom, barely making it in time to throw up the breakfast Aidan had cooked me. I didn’t know how long I lay on the floor, wasting precious, valuable time, alternating between bawling and puking. I finally pushed myself up from the linoleum, depleted of tears and the contents of my stomach.

  The shadows had deepened by the time I re-entered the living room. Sifting through the details of my dream wasn’t easy, but one part crystalized into a vivid image: a rock structure high above the ocean. I pulled my sneakers on, grabbed my keys, and almost forgot my purse. Hysteria chased me around the room, and I was close to tears again when a knock sounded.

  I turned the knob and edged the door open. Aidan waited on the other side. In the midst of despair, I’d forgotten he was coming. Without thinking, I blurted, “I think I know where to find Six.”

  9. Darkness Falls

  “Where are we going?” Aidan asked from the passenger seat.

  “Some sort of rock structure.” As I jabbed the key into the ignition, I recalled the details from my dream. A rocky path winding through an archway of stone, muddied from rain. Blood pooling under Six’s feet . . .

  I jerked the door open and dry-heaved. “I’m too late. He’s already killed her.”

  “You don’t know that. We don’t even know for sure if she’s missing.”

  “You don’t understand, Aidan.” I pulled the door shut with a slam and then pounded my fists on the steering wheel.

  He grabbed my hands, and I met his eyes, imagining what I must look like to him—like a crazed lunatic. “Take a deep breath,” he said. I focused on his soothing touch and forced air into my lungs. “I can’t help if you won’t talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you so certain she’s in trouble?”

  I’d give anything to have a tenth of his composure. “No time. We need to find that rock structure.” I closed my eyes and let the images come again. Darkness. Cold. Stone and mud. Tall trees swaying in the breeze. I inhaled the salt in the air, and I wanted to cover my ears against the roar of the sea. “Somewhere high above the ocean.”

  “A rock structure?” he asked, his confusion palpable.

  “Yeah.” I pulled out of the driveway. The inevitable questions would come now, and there simply wasn’t time to answer them, even if I was willing. I steered the car into late evening traffic. A minute of thick silence filled the air as I drove toward HWY 101, and when we reached the main road, I came to a stop.

  North or south?

  “I don’t know where I’m going.”

  “Pull over at that gas station,” he instructed. “I’ll find out if the attendant knows of any rock structures.”

  I pulled over, and Aidan jumped from the car before we’d come to a complete stop. As I watched his hurried interaction with the pimple-faced kid working the pumps, I marveled at the fact that he was so willing to help, despite his obvious confusion over my hysterics. Doubt gnawed at me—doubt regarding Aidan’s intentions and even the validity of my dreams—yet the intense feeling of urgency in my heart pushed my reservations aside.

  Act now, question later. Six’s life might depend on it.

  He returned a minute later. “There’s a turnoff a few miles down the highway. He said to follow the road to the top, and we’ll find a scenic area up there. He called it a rock shelter. Apparently, it’s a bit of a hike.”

  “We’re going to need flashlights.”

  Aidan exited the car again and rushed into the convenience store. When he came back, he held two flashlights and a package of batteries in his hands. “What makes you think Six is up there?” he asked once we were back on the road.

  I winced at the question. Now was not the time to get into this particular conversation. “Can we talk about this later? I don’t want to miss the turnoff.”

  Aidan busied himself with ripping open the package of batteries, and I sensed his questioning eyes on me every few seconds. A rising sense of urgency pushed me forward, but I slowed anyway, keeping an eye out for the turnoff. Had he not pointed to the sign, I might have missed it.

  “Cape Pointe?” You sure this is the one?” I glanced at him.

  “That’s what the attendant said.”

  The headlights lit the road, catching raindrops in the beams, and trees caged us in on either side, their branches reaching out like long, skinny claws. A chill traveled down my spine before taking residence somewhere in my stomach. I pushed the pedal at every twist and turn, and the last curve was especially sharp; my tires spun on the wet pavement. Aidan braced himself beside me. The top consisted of a circular drive that led to a small parking lot, a brown building I assumed was a restroom, and a few scattered picnic tables. I bolted from the car, and rain drenched me in a matter of seconds.

  “You’ll need this,” he said, tossing me one of the flashlights.

  “Thanks.” I flipped the switch and aimed the beam at each of the three trailheads. “Which one? This could take hours.” I turned to him in desperation. “We need to split up.”

  “Like hell we’re splitting up. A psychopath is on the loose, and you expect me to let you go tromping through the woods by yourself?”

  When he put it like that, it did sound kind of nuts. “Fine, let’s start here.”

  “Mackenzie, wait.” He grabbed my hand. “Let’s give the signs a try first.”

  He was right. Each trailhead had one. I kicked myself for not noticing them sooner. Aidan trained his light on the wooden signs. “Here, this one leads to the rock shelter.”

  We started down the path, our feet covering ground at a fast pace, and I stumbled over tree roots. Every few steps, low-lying branches hit me in the face. Nothing but tall trees and black night surrounded us, and my anxiety rose as getting lost became a possibility. It would be so easy to wander off-trail and not even realize it. I slowed, listening carefully as my eyes darted through the trees . . . so many trees. Wind rushed through the branches, as loud as a raging river, and I could barely discern the sound of the wind from the sea. My senses were on overdrive, heightened by the darkness.
/>   “Something wrong?” Aidan asked.

  “No, just trying not to get lost.” I started off again, registering Aidan’s heavy footfalls behind me. We hurried over mud and leaves, and my stomach tensed as the scenery became familiar.

  “I remember this.” I was sure my words made no sense to him. As I sprinted past the spot where Six had fallen, slicing her knee open on a sharp rock, I knew we were on the right track. The rain hadn’t let up, which made our trek through the woods more treacherous. The ground had turned to pure mud in some spots despite the rocky path, and the trail reminded me of a muddy Slip ’N Slide.

  “Th-this way,” I stuttered, shivering from more than just the frigid air. Fear pressed on me, weighing me down as heavily as my sodden clothing.

  Aidan grabbed my hand and pulled me close, and I was struck with the seriousness of his expression. He swallowed hard. “If you think Six is out here, then I think we should call the authorities.”

  I shook my head. “That’ll take too much time.” As I pulled away, his face settled into a look of resignation.

  Please be alive.

  The silent plea had barely formed when I saw it. Aidan bumped into me, and I gripped the flashlight, staring at the stone structure a few feet away. Tendrils of fog obscured the shelter, and when we crept forward the mist shifted to reveal pale legs dangling in the archway.

  “No . . .” Aidan choked out the plea, a guttural sound that echoed my thoughts exactly.

  No, no, no! Not Six.

  But it was Six. The brightness of her hair, incongruent with the setting, was a sharp disparity to the darkness of the night. A noose had squeezed the last breath from her, and her bloated face, a ghastly blue color, stared back unseeing.

  Frozen, just like me.

  A sob burst free, and when I turned away from the sight, Aidan’s arms sheltered me. I squeezed my eyes shut and clutched the soft leather of his jacket. Unmindful of the emotion racking my body, I shook in his embrace and prayed for numbness. I didn’t want to think or feel. Relentless, the image burned behind my eyes, and I feared the sight of Six’s battered body, left bare for discovery as she hung from the beam of the rock shelter, would forever haunt me.

  * * *

  The scratchy texture of the blanket irritated my neck. I tried to recall who had draped it around my shoulders but drew a blank. The last half-hour had passed in a blessed blur. God had answered my prayers: I was numb. Emotionless. Someone had uttered the word “traumatized.” I’d wanted to laugh at that—was shocked I hadn’t laughed like a freaking hyena. I was only aware of the man sitting next to me on the picnic bench. We were both frozen from the inside out.

  I ignored the people combing the area for evidence. The beams of their flashlights bounced around in the woods, illuminating the yellow tape they’d draped on the trees, as if they were laying streamers and we were all there for a party.

  As if Six would suddenly jump into the center of things—like she normally would—and shout “surprise!”

  “I think I’m gonna be sick.” I jumped up and let the blanket fall to the ground as I heaved into the surrounding brush. Once the dry-heaves passed, Aidan rested trembling hands on my shoulders. I turned around and faced him. Would I be able to pull myself together? Questions were about to start flying in my direction—in our direction. It terrified me to think of what my answers would be. What if I told them the truth and they didn’t believe me?

  “Hey,” he murmured, “come sit back down before you collapse.” He picked up the blanket and draped it around my shoulders again, and we settled back onto the picnic bench.

  A man looking to be in his late forties approached us. His dark hair, trimmed short and sprinkled with gray, belied the youthfulness of his face. Weariness rested in the deep brown of his eyes as he sized us up. Something flickered in his expression when his gaze shifted to Aidan. “I shouldn’t be surprised to see you here,” he said.

  They know each other . . .

  The thought barely had time to register when he introduced himself. “Sheriff Jeff McFayden.” He offered his hand.

  Judd’s father. I couldn’t remember meeting him until now. As we shook hands, I tried to make sense of what I’d just heard. How—and why—had Aidan met the sheriff?

  “I understand the victim was your neighbor?”

  I nodded, and my throat tightened in nervous anticipation. I didn’t have a clue what I was going to tell him.

  The sheriff’s eyes softened. “Did you know Ms. Hunsaker well?”

  “Six and I . . . we were good friends.” I paused and wiped underneath my eyes. “We worked together.”

  “And you reported her missing this morning, correct?”

  “I tried to. The cop I spoke to—your son—wasn’t much help. That’s when I went snooping in Six’s apartment.”

  Ask me anything but how I knew where to find her.

  “You broke into the victim’s apartment?”

  “Yeah, I did.” I refused to back down from his stare. “What I found told me she came home the night of Halloween, but no one’s seen her since.”

  “What did you find?”

  I told him about the guy dressed as Elmo and the costume on Six’s floor.

  “Did you touch it?”

  “Of course not. I touched her computer and her desk drawers but nothing else.”

  “Probably not the only Elmo costume in circulation,” he commented.

  Aidan’s empty laugh startled me. “Sure, Sheriff,” he said. “How many men have you seen lately dressed in Sesame Street style?”

  “Besides,” I added, hoping to defuse the situation, “Six flirted with this guy.” For some reason—a reason I was more than curious about—Aidan didn’t like the sheriff’s line of questioning.

  “Do you know him?” he asked me.

  “No. I served him, but the costume hid his face.”

  “What about a description—anything that could help us track down this guy?”

  “Um . . . he had blue eyes, and he was a few inches taller than me. Sorry, that’s all I remember. Except for his eyes, he was covered from head to toe in costume.”

  McFayden nodded and wrote something down on his notepad. The rain had settled into a drizzle, and the thicket of trees overhead offered some cover, though drops still found their way to the soggy ground. He followed with several more questions, the standard variety. I answered the best I could, but trying to describe the men who came and went from Six’s life was difficult, as she loved men in all their varieties.

  “How did you know where to find Ms. Hunsaker?”

  The question came out of left field, almost as an afterthought, and I was just as unprepared to answer now as I’d been a half-hour ago. “Well . . .”

  “I’m to blame,” Aidan said, and my eyes shot to his.

  Sheriff McFayden turned his piercing gaze on Aidan. “I don’t know why I’m surprised,” he said. “So, you care to shed some light on this matter? How did you know where to find the victim?” His tone had changed. Something simmered between the two of them.

  “I talked her into going for a hike. Never imagined we’d find . . . what we found.”

  Disbelief seeped from McFayden’s stare. I lowered my head, unable to face him any longer. We weren’t fooling him.

  “Because the weather was so perfect, right? Hiking just seemed like the thing to do?”

  “If you must know,” Aidan began, “it was more about being adventuresome. You haven’t had sex until you’ve done it in the woods.”

  My jaw nearly dropped, and I clenched my hands to keep from burying my face in them.

  “You’re not fooling me, son,” McFayden said. “You blast into town asking questions and shoving your nose where it doesn’t belong and now you just happen upon a body?”

  “That about sums it up, yeah.”

  McFayden looked ready to explode. He took a deep breath, and I assumed he was gathering his last ounce of patience. “Come on. Just tell me how you knew where to find her
. I know you want this bastard as much as I do. Tell me what you know, so we can do our job.”

  “There’s nothing to tell.”

  “Dammit, Aidan!” McFayden jabbed a finger in his face. “I oughtta haul your ass in for obstruction! I told you to leave this alone. You shouldn’t even be here, and you sure as shit shouldn’t have dragged her into it.” Everyone within sight stopped and gaped at the scene unfolding. “You have zero objectivity on this. I mean it—go home.”

  Somehow, I didn’t think the sheriff meant Aidan’s house on the beach. I looked at him with new interest, wondering how he was connected to what was going on in Watcher’s Point.

  Aidan remained still as stone, though I sensed something scary festering underneath. “I’m glad we got that cleared up. Are we free to go now?”

  “Sure, as soon as I talk to Ms. Hill alone.”

  Aidan took a step closer to me. “We’ve told you everything we know.”

  “Now I want to hear it from her.” McFayden gestured for me to follow him, and I gulped, shooting Aidan a helpless look. As soon as we had a modicum of privacy, the sheriff lowered his voice. “Are you sure that’s all of it? Anything else you’d like to tell me?”

  “That’s it,” I said, focusing on his muddied shoes. He knew I was lying; there was no way around it.

  “So you guys came up here to fool around? Why didn’t you stay in the car? It’s wet and freezing out here.”

  I shrugged. “I wanted to see the rock shelter. I’d never been up here before.”

  His silence weighed heavily. Finally, he handed me a card. “Call if you change your mind. I’m sure you want justice for Ms. Hunsaker.”

  With a nod, I clutched the card and then loosened my fingers so I wouldn’t crush it. “I’ll call you if I think of anything that’ll help.”

  Sheriff McFayden led me back to where Aidan waited. “Go, but don’t think I won’t be keeping an eye on you.” He waved us off, his mouth set in a hard line.

  Aidan guided me toward the car. “I need your keys. You’re too shaken to drive.”

  And he wasn’t?