Page 146 of Stalkers Anonymous

She holds the gloves out to me when I reach her. “Let’s do this.”

It’s nine minutes from the moment I put on the gloves until the moment Lars Winters is in a tarp.

In those nine minutes, Zach has documented, photographed, and bagged every loose piece of evidence within a ten-foot radius of where Lars went down. Jessica has produced, from the backpack, a checklist. An actual paper checklist on a clipboard. She’s going through it with the team and checking items off.

“Phone.”

“Got it.” Zach holds up Lars’s phone, sealed in a plastic bag. “Powered off. Battery pulled.”

“Wallet.”

“Got it.”

“Anything in the pockets we don’t recognize.”

“Cigarette lighter, half a pack of cigarettes, fourteen dollars cash, folded napkin with a phone number on it.”

“Bag the napkin separately. Austen will run the number tomorrow.” She scribbles that down on the checklist.

In the last ten minutes, I’ve come to realize two things: Jessica’s job is to keep everyone organized and on task, and Tyler is the cleanup driver. The latter dawned on me when he disappeared and came back five minutes later with a second beat-up brewery van. This van is full of cleaning supplies, shovels, flashlights, gasoline, and its very own neon Stalkers Anonymous sign.

This one is blue.

The body goes into the back of the van. Zach shuffles things around inside to make room for it. I help Tyler lift, and so does Grant. Dead Shitbag doesn’t resist and slides in easily.

Tyler closes the back doors and turns to me. “Take Austen and Hailey home in the tech van. I’ve got it from here. He’ll turn up in the morning. Hit-and-run on a frontage road outside Greeley. Cops will run his plate, find his hideout, and what looks like a half-packed bag, like he was getting ready to skip town. There won’t be a single thing about it that points anywhere near a single one of us.”

Tyler climbs into the driver’s seat of the van and reaches for the door. Just before he closes it, he leans out and looks me dead in the eye. “Tell anyone about this, and we really will have to consider rebranding to Killers Anonymous.”

“Got it.” I give him an awkward smile. “Lips sealed.”

“Good.” He smiles, slapping his hands on the steering wheel. “Well, we’ll see you at the next meeting with Tracey.”

Before I can say anything else, he slams the door shut, starts the engine, and begins driving off. Just as I’m about to turn to walk back to Hailey in the tech van, Tyler slams on the brakes and throws the cleanup van into reverse. He manually cranks the driver’s side window down.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“I really like Hailey. She’s a good one, and now that I’ve seen how the two of you look at each other… I understand why you did everything. We’d all go that far to protect someone we love.”

“Thanks, man.” I bump his arm with my fist. “See you Tuesday.”

Tyler nods, then pulls his head back inside the van and drives off into the night. I watch the taillights until they disappear completely, then go to check on the girl of my dreams.

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Hailey

Cole locks the door to my apartment behind us and steps out of his shoes.

I sit on the couch slowly, careful with my ribs. I’m so sore all over again, but it’s nothing some ibuprofen can’t help.

Jessica had a new set of clothes waiting for me in the van, which I promptly changed into after she showed me how to use the outdoor shower. There were a lot of things about tonight I didn’t expect, but vanlife content hitting Tyler’s algorithm has got to be at the top of the list. He really thought of everything, including pomegranate body wash.

Chewy migrates from the back of the couch to my lap with a soft, indignant chirp, like he’s offended I’ve been gone all day. I scratch under his chin, and he leans into my touch.

“I should put coffee on,” Cole says from the kitchen, more to himself than to me.

“It’s nine at night, Cole.”

“Tea, then.”