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Theo figured it wouldn’t take long before Allen realized that they weren’t here just because the missing women had opted to buy something in his store. He finally crossed his arms as his gaze flickered to the display on Theo’s phone.
“Three weeks ago? I was with your sister, remember? That was the weekend we went to Las Vegas with Tom and Valerie.” Allen didn’t seem to notice Erika’s subtle exhalation of relief. He was too busy focusing his attention on Theo. “Do you think that I had something to do with the abductions of these women? Were they all murdered? Did you find their bodies? Why would you think that I—”
“Allen, it’s not like that,” Erika said as she attempted to reassure her future brother-in-law that he’d gotten the wrong idea. “We happened to notice that they stopped in here to purchase hiking equipment, and it’s standard procedure to follow up on these things.”
Theo debated on whether or not to interrupt Erika’s speech, but he decided against it. He used the time to send a message to Bit regarding the approval of accessing the shop’s security system. Within seconds, Bit responded that he was on his way.
“…would tell you if there was anything to worry about. There isn’t, Allen.”
“If it helps to reassure you, we’re taking the next few days to speak with other shop owners,” Theo said as he tucked his phone back into one of his pockets. “My colleague should be here any minute to take a look at your security footage.”
“It’s only three years old,” Allen replied reluctantly as he switched his attention back to Theo. “There isn’t much crime in Moonshine Valley. I only bought the security camera because someone broke into the bakery once. Turned out to be the owner’s underage son who wanted cash to buy some booze down at the corner store. Of course, we didn’t know that at the time. Spent two hundred dollars on that camera, and there were no refunds.”
“You never know, Mr. Brixton. That two hundred dollars might just help solve a federal investigation.” Theo detected a reduction of tension in the man’s shoulders. “Is there anything else that you can remember about Helen Beckham? You mentioned that she purchased sunscreen, but you believed at the time that she only did so out of guilt for bumping into the display case. Did she and her friend come inside the shop for anything specific?”
“Not that I remem—” Allen snapped his fingers. “Wait a second. She was looking for a trekking pole, but she decided against it. Honestly, I think she was too embarrassed to stay around to choose one.”
“A walking stick?” Theo asked, needing confirmation. Granted, Bit would be able to pull up the footage, because Helen’s disappearance was in the time frame that Allen had set up his security camera. “Are you sure?”
“Trekking pole, hiking pole, walking stick. They go by a lot of names, but yes. It’s all coming back to me now.” Allen glanced over at the display of various trekking poles. “The woman said she saw some guy on the trail with one, and she thought it would be nice to have one if she were to hike the harder trails later that day. I think he even suggested she come here, but I don’t know if I’m remembering our conversation right. It was shortly after she bumped into the sunscreen display.”
“Theo, that would mean…”
“Helen Beckham spoke to her abductor two days before she went missing.”
Chapter Seventeen
Brooklyn Sloane
October 2023
Monday — 5:59pm
“Youwereright.Griffin lawyered up the second after I asked about Hummel’s water bottle.” Otto released an exhausted sigh that practically resonated through the cell phone. “The search party didn’t find anything today. Riggs is taking a group out tomorrow.”
“About that,” Brook said as she weaved her way through a few tables to reach the exit of the bar. She’d waved to Wyn, but he was in deep conversation with his son. She almost stopped and made her way over to the man, but Bit had mentioned seeing Riggs walking into the bait and tackle shop a few minutes ago. “I’d like it if Riggs could join Theo on searching the area around the location where Helen Beckham’s blood was found on the floor of that cabin.”
Brook opened the door and couldn’t brace herself in time. She’d known that it was raining, which only made the efforts to locate Darlene Hummel’s body all the more difficult. While some might think the woman was still alive, Brook didn’t have such expectations. What she hadn’t anticipated was how severe the drop in temperature could be from earlier today.
“Damn,” Brook muttered as she reached back and pulled the hood of her jacket until she was covered enough to release her hold on the door. “It feels like winter out here.”
“It’s the end of October in the Smoky Mountains. If you don’t like the weather, wait a day.”
“I hear you,” Brook muttered as she began to walk down the sidewalk. She grimaced when she noticed the media vans lined up in front of the diner. “Listen, there’s a good chance that the woman who was with Helen Beckham can give us a description of the unsub. Apparently, Beckham stopped into Moonshine Outfitters searching for a trekking pole. The two of them mentioned running into someone while they were hiking on Friday.”
“And you believe that particular individual is the killer?”
“Maybe.” Brook figured she shouldn’t be too offended by the weather. The rain was preventing members of the press from making her life difficult at the moment. She wasn’t looking forward to when they were informed that the rooms above the bar were being rented out to the consultants of the FBI. It was only a matter of time, and there was a really good chance that they were already aware of such arrangements. “Could be a coincidence, but there was a mark on the wall at a very specific height.”
“I don’t need to remind you that many hikers use trekking poles, right?”
“Reach out to Darlene Hummel’s friends,” Brook suggested, purposefully ignoring Otto’s question. “Chances are she told one of them that she was ending things with Griffin this weekend.”
“Hummel’s parents should be arriving sometime this evening.”
“Friends, not family.”
“I will, though probably not until tomorrow. I have limited staff, and you’re about to borrow my best deputy once again.”
