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She shrugged. “Sorry. We could walk out to those rocks and see if we can catch sight of him on one of the trails that runs along the edge of the lake. Or maybe he did go for a walk to sort things out and he’s sitting near a tree right at the edge of our property. Let’s go.”

We went outside and walked between the border of trees and the back of our property. The area was filled with pebbles and dirt, covered by pine needles. The ground was still wet from the storm, so we walked slowly and carefully, skirting around puddles and soft-looking earth.

As we walked, my fear increased. I felt useless. He wasn’t here. He’d definitely gone on a long, isolated hike or had started out and been grabbed by the killer. Unless the killer was Jordan. Maybe she’d lured him into their house while Linda was asleep, and he was locked in the basement. But why? Why would they want to kill him? Why was he next? I was the one who handled the real estate transaction for the house, if they were upset about some facet of that. Patrick and Emily and Keith did nothing but sign paperwork.

We turned toward the outcropping of boulders and over the lake. The trees shaded us, but it was still hot.

“We just have to wait for him to come back,” Keith said. “We’re not going to find him.”

I stepped closer to the edge of the large, flat rock where I was trying to see down into the water. At the far side, by a pile of smaller rocks, lay Patrick’s day pack.

THIRTY

SAMANTHA

Seeing Patrick’s day pack abandoned near the edge of the rocks felt like a punch in my throat. I couldn’t swallow. I couldn’t inhale, I could only breathe out, making it feel as if my body was collapsing in on itself.

“Should we… do you think he just left it here because it was a bother and he’d already eaten?” Emily asked.

“That’s the most logical explanation,” Keith said. “If this was about the threat in that ridiculous note… we still don’t have any reason to believe the note was directed at us. In fact, chances are that it wasn’t.”

Keith was wrong. The additional notes had made that clear. I opened my mouth to tell them about the other notes.

“Let’s go back to the house and wait,” Emily said. “If he went on a ten-mile hike, it would take all day.”

“I agree,” Keith said. “We’ve let fear take over.”

“Patrick’s a firefighter!” Emily said. “He knows how to take care of himself.”

Stating the obvious did not make me feel better. I knew my husband was strong, and more capable than most in treacherous situations. I knew he was resourceful. But seeing his pack there still made me feel as if one of those boulders was sitting on my chest.

Keith picked up the day pack and unzipped it. “There’s nothing but a power bar and a bottle of water. So he already ate his lunch.”

“And he never would have gone hiking for the day without food,” Emily said. “That’s settled. He just didn’t want to carry it anymore. He probably has his refillable water bottle and didn’t need to keep the backup with him.”

“Especially if he was headed toward rockier terrain along the shore,” Keith said. “He wouldn’t want the weight. A pack can distort your balance.”

I wanted them to stop talking. They had so many opinions, so many certainties about what was in my husband’s mind. “I think I need to call the sheriff,” I said.

“Why?” Emily asked. “We just said⁠—”

“They won’t do anything,” Keith said. “He’s only been gone for… what, maybe nine hours? They’ll tell you it’s too soon to think anything happened to him.”

“His pack is absolutely a reason to think something happened!” Were they dense? They’d talked themselves into believing they knew why the day pack was abandoned. But they didn’t know. They were guessing, overflowing with wishful thinking.

“We told you⁠—”

“You’re just hoping. But you have no idea,” I said.

“It’s not just us hoping,” Emily said. “The sheriff will see it that way too.”

“Look how the deputy was about the vandalized window,” Keith said. “She flat-out told him they wouldn’t even bother looking for the person because there was no camera footage or witness. Do you think they’ll send out a search team for Patrick when it’s clear he’s wearing hiking boots, he hikes solo all the time, and he took a day pack that still has extra supplies in it?”

“When we tell them he abandoned the pack, and how long he’s been gone, they’ll realize something’s wrong.” I heard the lack of confidence in my voice. I wasn’t sure I wanted to call the sheriff. I was scared for Patrick, but our friends’ wishful thinking and guessing felt logical and true. If I called, I would have to tell them about the note. It was the main reason I was so scared. The pack scared me a little, but mostly it was that note. And once we told them about the note, we’d have to tell them everything. Maybe my friends were right. I was letting fear swallow my logic.

Emily took the pack out of Keith’s hand. She handed it to me, then put her arm around my shoulder, pulling me close. “Let’s go back to the house. We’ll have a glass of wine, relax on the deck, and before you’ve finished your wine, he’ll come walking out of the woods.”

“What if he doesn’t?”