AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re talking about Brook’s situation.”
Truthfully, Theo hadn’t been talking about Brook’s relationship with her brother, but even he could admit that her childhood was the perfect example. He would never betray her by discussing her personal demons with someone else just to make a point.
“I’m talking about every case in general. As I said before, we’re looking into any and all connections. Hiker’s Haven is just one of many. What if all the victims shopped at these stores? What if they all ate at the diner? Or drank at the pub? Just because there was no financial transaction confirmed on their bank statements doesn’t mean that they didn’t visit other places and use cash.”
“But I know Allen, and he isn’t capable of murder,” Erika insisted as she slowed down her pace. Theo finally came to a stop, because it was becoming clear that she couldn’t bring herself to cross some invisible line that she’d drawn in the sand. “Please trust me when I say that he couldn’t have done this. Why aren’t we focusing on Ned Proehl? He’s still missing, and he fits the profile.”
Theo studied Erika as he thought through the different ways to explain the benefit of having her with him when he questioned Allen Brixton. Not just Brixton, either. The list of individuals who Theo needed to speak with over the next couple of days was long, and having someone next to him who knew the townsfolk was imperative. Erika would be able to sense when a local wasn’t being truthful, and she also had facts about them that could be useful in such interviews.
A park ranger wasn’t used to handling an investigation of this magnitude. The dynamics of such brutal crimes were outside of her realm of expertise. Unless Theo was able to change her perception of the case, she would only be a detriment to him.
“Erika, forget Allen Brixton right now.” Theo slid his hands into the pockets of his jacket. “Besides physical features and age, the victims also enjoyed hiking. It was the reason that they were in town. Bit was able to link two of the victims to Moonshine Outfitters—Carissa Norman and Helen Beckham. According to their credit card receipts, they both made purchases at the shop. We need to know if Luna Breen entered the store at any point during her weekend stay at Hiker’s Haven. Did she buy something using cash? Did she just browse through the aisles? Did she ask a store clerk any questions? It would help to know if Allen Brixton or maybe one of his employees noticed her that weekend. If they don’t recognize her from the picture on my phone, do they have a security camera? Are they willing to give us the footage or do we need to obtain a warrant? And just because there is a chance that all three victims were customers of Moonshine Outfitters doesn’t mean that anyone connected with the shop is guilty of murdering them. Look around you. For some of these serial killers, all it takes is a glance to stir them into action. There’s a post office across the street. For all we know, someone inside has been monitoring the shop for potential victims.”
Theo had needed to prove his point, and he might have just succeeded. The way that Erika was looking across the street at the other shops told him that he’d made some progress.
“We have a lot of ground to cover today, Erika. It would help to have someone with me, but I can interview these suspects solo if you want to ask Brook for another assignment.”
“No,” Erika replied instantly with a shake of her head. Technically, she fit the physical attributes of the victims. The only difference was that her strands contained a reddish hue, but there could have been several other reasons that the unsub hadn’t set his sights on the park ranger, such as they personally knew one another. “I get it now, Theo.”
“Okay, then.”
Without another word, Theo continued to close the distance to the front entrance of Moonshine Outfitters. He opened the door and stood back, allowing Erika to enter the shop first. The moment he crossed the threshold behind her, a heavy scent of leather hit him. There was also an underlying fragrance of coconut, which emanated from the display of sunscreens near the entrance. The smell of leather clearly came from a section of hiking boots near the back. Tents, sleeping bags, trekking poles, and other miscellaneous hiking equipment were all on display to catch the attention of a customer.
Theo and the team had stopped into the shop on their first day in town to buy the essential items needed to hike to the crime scene. He didn’t recall meeting or even seeing Allen Brixton. The picture that Bit had pulled up on the screen had displayed a thirty-one-year-old man who’d lost his hair at a young age. Either that, or he’d purposefully shaven his head for other reasons.
“Allen?” Erika called out when it was obvious that no one was manning the checkout counter. There was one person sitting in a chair near the hiking boot section. He was an older man, maybe in his sixties. “You around?”
“In back,” the man responded gruffly as he leaned down to untie his shoes. “How you doing, Erika? Any word on that missing woman?”
“No, Stanley. Hal and the others are out looking for her now,” Erika replied before making a proper introduction. “Stanley Schneider, this is Theo Neville. He’s investigating the murder of Luna Breen.”
“I don’t envy you, son.” Stanley removed one shoe before reaching for the laces on the other while keeping his focus on Theo. “Now with this other gal gone missing, I guess the rumors are true. There’s a serial killer hunting hikers in those mountains.”
Theo managed not to react to the man’s statement.
“Are you any closer to finding the son of a bitch?”
“We’re working on it, sir.”
“Well, I’ll be joining the search party. I’ll be breaking in a new pair of boots, too. My old ones are shot.” Stanley set his other shoe to the side. “The first group left the meeting spot around ten o’clock this morning. I guess they haven’t found her yet, which is why Riggs requested another group.”
“We appreciate your help, Stanley,” Erika said as she unzipped her jacket. Theo had done the same upon entering the shop. The difference in temperature was quite stark. “You aren’t going up tonight, are you? Sunset is less than three hours away.”
“We’re meeting at dawn.”
“You’re in luck, Stanley. I have one pair of those boots in a size eleven, and—” Allen stopped talking mid-sentence after he’d spotted Erika. He smiled as he closed the distance between them. “I heard the chime above the door, but I didn’t expect to see you today. Need something special? Stanley was just telling me that there’s another missing woman, and she was staying at Hiker’s Haven.”
“Hi, Allen.” Erika leaned in to kiss the man on the cheek. She quickly made another round of introductions before gesturing toward Allen’s customer. “You finish up with Stanley. Theo and I just have a few questions about your security camera.”
“Sure thing.” Allen didn’t appear to be nervous or upset over the statement. If anything, he came across as wanting to do what he could to help his future sister-in-law. “You want to wait in the back office?”
“No,” Theo answered for Erika. His intention was to keep Brixton relaxed enough to talk. “We appreciate the offer, but this won’t take long.”
Theo took a step back before he began to browse some of the display items. Erika quietly followed him around while they patiently waited for Stanley to try on the pair of boots that Allen had brought out from the backroom.
“Does Allen do a lot of hiking?” Theo asked as he came to a stop in front of the trekking poles.
“Maybe once a month? Unless it’s to help out the mountain rescue team. Allen has one employee—Huck Rishi. You can usually find him at the pub every night. We can speak with him after our other interviews.”
