AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Silence followed until Sloan realized the call had dropped.
“Dammit!”
She quickly redialed and listened through the static until her mother answered.
“Sorry. Cell service is terrible up here. What happened on Monday?”
“I had a patient ask about you,” her mom said.
“A patient?”
“She pretended to have a toothache and came in as an emergency. Once I was alone in the exam room with her, she said she was a journalist and wanted to speak with you. She gave me her card, and now I see that she’s the lady with the podcast.”
“Ryder Hillier?”
“That’s her, yes.”
“Christ Almighty! Mom, why are you just telling me this now?”
“I didn’t want to worry you. I thought she was a local reporter who was just fishing for information. I didn’t know who she was. So you’ve heard of her?”
“Yes, Mom. She has the biggest true crime podcast in the country, with millions of listeners. She’s the one who broke the story.”
“How? Agent Michaels said they were keeping the investigation quiet.”
“No idea. Did you tell her anything?”
“No. But now there are news vans parked outside the house.”
“Oh my God,” Sloan said. “This is spiraling out of control. I’m sorry, Mom. This is such a mess I’ve caused.”
“We’re just worried about you. Are you okay?”
“Yes. No one’s found me here—I mean, no press or reporters. But it looks like it’s only a matter of time.”
“Just be careful, honey. And if you need us to come out there, we will.”
“No, just do your normal life, Mom. Go to work. Tell the reporters that you’ve got no comment for now. I’ll figure this out today and call you later.”
“Okay, sweetie. We love you.”
“Thanks, Mom. Love you, too.”
Sloan walked back into the cabin. “News vans are parked outside my parents’ house in Raleigh, and waiting for me outside the medical examiner’s building.”
“How long do you think it’ll take for them to come to Cedar Creek?” Eric asked.
“Not long. Even if they haven’t figured out that I’m here yet, they’ll want to track down Tilly and Reid Margolis to get sound bites from them. I’d better warn them, and Nora.”
“You’re welcome to stay here,” Eric said. “No one will find you out here.”
Sloan thought about the offer and agreed that there was no better place to hide from the press than Eric’s isolated cabin.
“Thanks. Let me go see Nora and tell her what’s going on. Then I’ll talk with Tilly and Reid. We’ll make a plan, and I’ll call you.”
“Okay. I’ll wait to hear from you.”
A minute later Sloan was pulling down the long driveway and heading back to Cedar Creek. She worried that Ryder Hillier was lurking out there somewhere, but was wholly unprepared for what was actually waiting at her rental house.
