"We know Logan’s in there with you," Blair answered, positioning herself directly below the window. "Open up and let us in."
"I can't."
Blair and Matt exchanged a quick look. "Can’t or won’t?" Blair asked, her heart racing.
There was no immediate response from Whitney, but Blair could hear the urgent murmuring of voices in the background. "Logan’s in there," she mouthed to Matt. "He's telling her what to say."
"Whitney!" Matt called out. "Open the door now or I'm gonna break it down."
"No!" Whitney yelled back. "We have knives!"
"That confirms it," Matt growled. "He’s in there with her."
Blair tensed. "You don't think Logan would hurt her if we break down the door, do you?"
Matt rubbed a hand across his jaw. "He’s hurt her before. We can't take that chance."
"Whitney, is Logan threatening you?" Blair asked.
After a protracted silence, Whitney gave a high-pitched laugh that sounded almost hysterical. "You’re an interfering cow, you know that. Go back to your trailer and leave us alone."
Matt scowled and strode over to the window where Blair was standing.
"I know you can hear me, Logan, so listen up," he shouted. "If you as much as lay a hand on Whitney, I'll make sure it's the last time you hurt anyone."
The window snapped shut cutting off all communication.
“Worthless coward!" Matt pounded a fist on the window in frustration. "Getting a sixteen-year-old girl to negotiate for him."
"We can't risk confronting him like this," Blair said. "He’s a loose cannon. If we break in, he could put a knife to Whitney’s neck and use her as a hostage."
Matt squared his jaw and gave a curt nod of agreement. "We’ll give them some space for now. Lull them into a false sense of security. But the minute we get a chance, we need to get Whitney away from him. She has no idea how dangerous he might be. And neither do we."
Back at their trailer, they filled the others in on what had unfolded.
Harvey moved his jaw side-to-side. "I don’t like it one bit—leaving that girl alone with Logan. Her life’s at risk. Even if he’s not the killer, he’s got a violent streak."
"I agree," Matt said. "I still think he had something to do with Hazel’s disappearance. But we can't just charge the trailer and break the door down. They’ve armed themselves with knives. Someone could get hurt."
Rob gave a worried shake of his head. "We need to get Whitney out of there somehow. She’s fooling herself thinking she's safe with him."
"We’ll have to wait until night to strike—when they're asleep," Matt said. "That’ll give us the element of surprise."
"And there's more of us than them," Sam added. "That counts for something."
Harvey frowned. "We’ll need to arm ourselves."
"If we go in there with knives too, it’ll only end up in a bloodbath," Rob said. "Knife fights never end well. I say we figure out a way to open the gun safe in the camper van. Staring down the barrel of a gun will soon change Logan’s mind."
Matt got to his feet. "First things first. Sam, Blair, and I are going to drive out to the road and see if there's any possible way to climb over the mountain and get help."
Rob and Harvey exchanged uncertain looks as they got to their feet.
"Stay in your trailers until we get back and keep your doors locked," Blair warned them. "Logan’s bound to hear our truck pulling out. We can't trust him not to take advantage of the situation."
"I'll leave Duke in my trailer," Sam offered. "If you hear him barking, it's a good indication someone's sneaking about the place or heading your way."
Blair laid a hand on Harvey's arm as he was exiting the trailer. "We’ll take care of Sandy when we get back, I promise."
He gave a stiff nod but said nothing as he descended the steps.
A few minutes later, Matt, Blair, and Sam piled into the truck.
"Do you seriously think Logan’s the killer?" Sam asked as they drove out of the campground, wipers on full speed.
Blair leaned forward to join in the conversation from the back seat, "He did have a motive to harm Hazel."
Sam rubbed his brow. "It’s possible we're dealing with two separate incidents. The body we found might have nothing to do with Hazel's disappearance."
"I’ve been wondering about that too," Matt mused. "None of us even knew him. I think the guy who owns the camper van killed him. That’s the only explanation that makes any sense to me."
"One of the hunters could have killed him. We've only got Rob's word for it that they were all on good terms," Sam said. "And we can't trust anyone’s word around here."
Matt threw him a sidelong look. "You got that right."
Blair prodded him discreetly from behind.
"What’s that supposed to mean?" Sam questioned, narrowing his eyes.
"I know about your friend’s climbing accident," Matt said. "The one you’re under investigation for. We found a newspaper cutting in your trailer."
Blair clenched her hands into fists. What was Matt thinking? They couldn’t do this now. They needed Sam on their side if they were ever going to figure out a way to get out of here.
Sam turned and stared out his window for a long moment. "Andy was my best friend. I had nothing to gain from his death. I'd give my right arm to have him back."
Blair’s heart lurched at the choked-up agony in his voice. Surely, he couldn’t be faking that.
"Why did the cops say the ropes had been tampered with?" Matt asked.
Sam gave a despondent shake of his head. "I don't know. I never got to examine them afterward. I was distraught when the paramedics and cops arrived. My only concern was Andy, and how I was going to tell his family he was gone. The cops confiscated everything as evidence." He let out a deep sigh. "Andy didn't have any enemies that I know of. He was well respected in the climbing community—we both were." His voice trailed off. "That’s all changed. I even lost my sponsorship. I don't know if I'll ever be out from under this cloud of suspicion now. Once a rumor like that starts, it's hard to shake it."
Matt rolled to a stop a few feet from where the mudslide had ripped out the road. He gripped the steering wheel and stared straight ahead of him. "I want to believe you, Sam. But I'll be honest, I’m having a hard time trusting anyone right now."
Sam nodded knowingly. "That's what I love about free climbing. You only ever have to trust yourself." A flicker of grief crossed his face. "Or your climbing partner." Without another word, he opened the truck door, jumped out into the rain, and walked over to the washed-out section of the road where he stood appraising the imposing wall of granite he’d have to scale in order to climb around the slide.
"You shouldn't have brought it up," Blair grumbled, as Matt undid his seatbelt.
"Why not? I needed to hear what he had to say about it."
"And?" Blair pressed.
"I don’t think he had anything to do with his buddy’s death. And I don’t think he’s the killer either—he doesn’t have the stomach for it."
"But it was a climbing knife in that guy's belly."
Matt tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Like you said before, anyone could have taken it out of Sam's tub."
"Hey! Are you two coming or what?" Sam yelled, signaling to them to join him.
They hurriedly threw up their hoods, clambered out, and made their way over to where he was standing.
"What’s the verdict?" Matt asked.
"Hard to say for sure until I get into the climb,” Sam replied, gazing up at the rock face. "But I’m optimistic there are enough cracks and handholds for me to scale it."
Matt scratched his jaw, looking unconvinced. "What happens if you get stuck halfway up?"
Sam gave a rueful grin. "Unless you’re offering to come and get me, my only option will be up and over at that point."
"You don’t have to do this," Blair said. "It’s more dangerous with the rock being so wet."
"I need to try,"
Sam replied. "We've got an unsolved murder, a dead body, a missing woman, and a potential killer on our hands. If we hang around here much longer, no one’s getting out alive."
"Up to you, man," Matt said. "I don't want you risking your life if you’re getting in over your head."
Sam smoothed a hand over his jaw. "I think it’s doable. I’ll get my gear ready tonight and tackle it in the morning. The light will start fading soon."
Matt started up the engine and they retraced their route to the campground.
"I’ll fill Rob and Harvey in on the plan," Blair said when they pulled up outside their trailer. She crossed the road to the camper van and rapped on the door, then peered through the window when no one answered.
She tried the door handle, and the door swung wide. Blair pressed her lips together in disapproval. So much for Matt warning everyone to keep their doors locked.
"Rob? Are you sleeping?" She stuck her head into the bedroom and bathroom but there was no sign of him.
Just as she was about to exit the camper van, her eye fell on a note on the kitchen table.
20
With a growing sense of foreboding, Blair reached for the note and read it.
Gone to look for my brother.
Her stomach plummeted. She scrunched up her eyes in disbelief and groaned out loud. What an idiot! Now they were going to have to go out in the pouring rain and look for him—with only two hours of daylight left, at best.
With a resigned sigh, she returned to her trailer and handed the note to Matt. He read it aloud to Sam and then crumpled it in his fist. "Forget it! We're not going after him. We already pulled him out of the mud once. This is on his head."
"We did promise we’d help him look for his brother today," Sam pointed out.
"Only if the weather cooperated," Matt shot back. "And so far, it hasn't. He’s lost his mind heading out there in the rain in his condition."
"I suppose we can hardly blame him for wanting to look for his brother," Blair piped up.
"We don't even know if he has a brother," Matt growled. "What if Rob’s the killer? Or what if he and his brother are both in on it? Those gashes and scratches on Rob’s face could just as easily have come from wrestling with the guy he strangled for all we know."
"Now you're being ridiculous," Blair scolded.
"I have to agree. Rob doesn’t strike me as the killer type," Sam added.
Matt tossed the note into the sink. "You can't take anything at face value. Anyone’s capable of killing given the right set of circumstances."
They glanced up at the sound of someone outside the trailer.
"It’s Harvey," Blair said, peeking out the window before opening the door to him.
He pulled down his hood and nodded to them, water dripping from his rain gear onto the floor. "Thought I heard you come back."
"Rob’s taken off to look for his brother," Blair said.
Harvey let out a grunt of disapproval. "Doubt we’ll see him again in that case. He’ll never survive out there tonight." He frowned and scratched his head as if something had just occurred to him. "He still has my spare key."
Blair’s fingers instinctively pressed against the cold metal in her pocket. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t returned the key—maybe because they hadn’t had a chance to search Harvey’s RV, yet. Or maybe because she felt obligated to Hazel to follow up on her suspicions.
"What's the verdict on the climb?" Harvey asked.
"I think it can be done," Sam answered. "I won't know for sure until I get into it. I'm going to make the attempt tomorrow."
Harvey gave a grim nod, his eyes darting around the group. "I could use some help in the meantime." He hesitated, tugging on his beard before continuing. "We talked about moving Sandy’s body to Logan's truck, but I suppose there's not much chance of that now that he's barricaded himself in his trailer."
"We’re going to force our way in tonight and get Whitney away from him," Matt said. "As soon as we have the keys to his truck, we can move Sandy's body."
"It’s just that … it can't wait." Harvey cleared his throat. "The smell … you know."
Blair traced her fingers lightly across her brow, her stomach roiling. "We can move her to our truck until we have a better option."
Matt frowned at her, but she shot him back a defiant look. "Why don't you and Sam help Harvey take care of that right now?"
Masking his initial irritation, Matt accompanied Sam and Harvey across the road while Blair sank down on the couch, exhausted from their ongoing ordeal. It was an unending mental game of survival. A maze of uncertainty and indecision. Not knowing was the hardest part—not knowing if Hazel was dead or alive, not knowing if anyone knew they were trapped at Bird Creek, not knowing the killer’s identity, or whether he was still out there or not. And now there was Rob with his broken arm wandering around in the rain searching for his brother—another thing to worry about, thanks to her mother-hen instincts. Doubtless, it would be another long, restless night.
She got up and made her way into the bathroom, her mood plummeting when she noticed the holding tank was registering full. Using the outhouse was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things, but not one that she relished from either a sanitary or safety point of view at present.
She filled the kettle to boil some water for a cup of tea, watching discreetly out the window as Matt unlocked their truck, and Sam and Harvey carefully slid Sandy's tarp-draped body into the covered bed. Guilt pricked at her. This had to be especially rough for Matt—triggering painful memories of loading his buddies’ bodies into an armored truck to bring them back to the base. She moved away from the window before the men caught her watching them. A moment later, the door opened, and a drenched Matt trudged inside.
"Is Harvey doing all right?" she asked, filling her mug with hot water.
"Yeah, I think so. He’s not the touchy, feely sort, so he’s not saying much." Matt eyed the kettle. "I'll take a tea if you've got one going." He let out a weary sigh and slumped into a chair. "It’s been a long day and I barely slept last night."
"No surprise there." Blair retorted. Matt still struggled with insomnia, wrestling well into the early hours to fall asleep. On several occasions, she’d woken up and found him pacing the room, or standing guard in the doorway like a sentry. The chronic lack of sleep and paranoia had become a vicious cycle, one feeding into the other. "Are we still planning on breaking into Logan's trailer tonight?" she asked, handing him a steaming mug.
Matt slurped his tea with satisfaction. "Yeah, I told Harvey and Sam to meet us at my truck at 2.00 AM. We can't leave a sixteen-year-old at Logan’s mercy. Not after he left those bruises on her. It wouldn't take much for him to choke a lightweight like Whitney in a fit of rage."
Blair shivered and interlaced her fingers around her mug. "Maybe we shouldn't wait until tonight."
"Breaking in while they’re asleep is the best chance we've got of making sure no one gets hurt."
"They’re bound to wake up," Blair objected.
"We’re not literally going to smash the door down," Matt responded. "I can remove the lock quietly while they're asleep at the other end of the trailer."
"Where should we put Logan this time? We can’t put him back in Hazel’s trailer as long as that window’s broken."
Matt drew his brows together and thought about it for a moment. "We’ll move him into the camper van. If Rob shows back up, he can bunk in Hazel's trailer."
Blair nodded and sipped her tea. After a moment of silence, she asked, "How are you holding up?"
Matt threw her a sharp look. "Are you afraid I’m going to crash and burn?"
Blair gave a helpless shrug. "You can hardly blame me. This is the worst possible scenario, the very thing we planned this trip to get away from—death, high-octane, adrenaline-charged missions, invisible enemies."
Matt set down his mug and ran his fingers through his hair. "Things happen for a reason. Maybe I was meant to be here. I need to stay strong for
the others. This isn’t about me anymore."
Blair smiled across at him, biting back tears. She was immensely proud of Matt, but the selfish part of her was loath to sacrifice her husband’s mental wellbeing to save any more lives than he already had.
The 2:00 am alarm shot through Blair like a bolt of electricity. She sat straight up in bed, forgetting momentarily where she was and what she was doing.
Matt was standing by the door with his coat zipped up, tool bag in hand. They’d both gone to bed fully clothed, so it only took a moment for Blair to pull on her wool cap, jacket, and boots and declare herself ready. After locking the door behind them, they joined Harvey and Sam who were waiting by the truck.
"Any sign of Rob?" Blair asked.
Sam shook his head. "I took a quick peek in the camper van before I came over. He hasn't been back."
"Chances are he won't be," Harvey muttered. "In his condition, he’s liable to succumb to the elements."
"Let’s dispense with the gloomy predictions and get busy doing what we’re here to do," Matt said.
Aided by their flashlights, they wound their way along the road and waited in the trees at the edge of Logan's and Whitney's campsite for a few minutes to make sure there were no lights on, or signs of activity inside the trailer.
"Looks like they’re out for the count," Matt said. He picked up his tool bag and was about to make a move toward the trailer when the door opened. Whitney stepped out, the collar of her jacket pulled up tight around her mouth. She threw an apprehensive look around the shadows before turning on a flashlight and scuttling off down the road in the direction of the outhouse.
"This is our chance to get inside," Blair whispered to the others. "She left it unlocked."
Matt gave a grim nod. "Harvey, wait by the road and intercept Whitney on her way back. Make sure she doesn't get past you until we have Logan under control."
Blair’s blood thundered in her veins as she and Sam crept toward the trailer, following in Matt’s footsteps. She had no idea what lay ahead of them. Logan could be awake and armed—waiting just inside the door, for all they knew. But there was also a chance he was snoring his head off, oblivious to the danger Whitney had put herself in by venturing to the outhouse on her own.
You Will Never Leave: A psychological suspense thriller Page 14