Chapter Seven
Logan stared at the map displayed on the huge screen on the wall. He’d been looking at it for a long time. Too long, really. His vision had gone blurry and his neck hurt.
No fucking progress.
He could stare at the map all day long, but the answer wasn’t going to jump out and smack him over the head. He wanted to beat the shit out of Wade and that anger had taken up residence in his aching shoulders.
“You need to take a break.”
His amazing wife was surely right but somehow he couldn’t seem to stop. He wanted all of this to come to an end so he could take his family home. Or maybe to Disney. They deserved something good after dealing with his crappy past.
Ava held out a mug of steaming coffee. “This might help.”
He accepted it, looking over the rim to check the contents. “I don’t suppose there’s any whiskey in here?”
“No, but I can get some if you want. Spoiler alert. I don’t think booze is going to help. Caffeine might, though. It’s always been my go-to answer when I’m stuck on a story.”
“This isn’t writer’s block.”
“Isn’t it?” She perched on the edge of the desk and turned her gaze to the map. “You’re trying to see the next steps that your antagonist is going to take. Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing here? Trying to keep up?”
“I’d love to be one or two steps ahead,” Logan snorted. “But you do make an interesting comparison, wife. If Wade were the villain in one of your mysteries, what do you think he’d do next?”
“He’d never be a villain in one of my mysteries. Fiction has to make sense and reality doesn’t always do that. My killers commit murder because of the usual reasons. Money, revenge, love. There are other reasons but those are the big ones. Wade, on the other hand, is playing on a whole different field. His reasons for killing aren’t logical except to him.” She tapped her chin and smiled. “Having said that, if I were ever so foolish as to write a character like Wade I’d think his next move would be to send you a message. He’d want to show off, make you afraid. He wants to be better than you, so he’d want you to know how great and wonderful he is.”
“That makes sense. Do you think Marilyn’s death was a message?”
Ava shook her head. “No, she has no real connection to you and the body dump site didn’t either. I’d think he’d go someplace that you both remembered. That had meaning to you.”
“That would be back to Corville and I can’t see him heading there. He’d be spotted too quickly. The fact is I can’t see how he’s traveling around now. His face is plastered on the news several times a day.”
“He may have altered his appearance,” Ava warned. “Dyed his hair. Maybe a fake tattoo. He could even pad his clothing to make him appear heavier.”
“I never thought that Wade could be this smart,” Logan marveled. “I thought he was a soft, rich businessman. Now he’s a cunning killer on the run from the law and a master manipulator of people that should fucking know better. I never saw it coming.”
“I’m guessing that he saw his father manipulate his mother for years before he pushed her off of that balcony. In business he probably needed to find the weakness in people and exploit it. Then he went to prison and received an education on how to do all of that on steroids. I didn’t see it coming either but if I’ve learned anything from this it’s that you never really know your friends. You can spend years with someone, but we don’t know anything about what’s going on in their private lives. Not unless they show it to us.”
That was a strange statement for Ava to say. “Where did that come from? You don’t usually talk this way.”
“Let’s just say that I was surprised today.”
There was only one person here in this house that could do that.
“Is Kaylee okay?”
There was a long pause before Ava answered. “I don’t know, but I think she will be. I’m worried about her. And Reed, to be honest.”
“Reed? He seems fine.”
“He does and that’s why I’m worried.”
Logan had long ago learned not to question his wife when she was like this. He trusted his gut as a lawman and he trusted Ava’s gut about their family and friends.
“Is there some way we can help them?”
His wife’s smile faded, her lips turned down at the corners. “No, and that’s the shitty part. All we can do is be there for them. Listen and encourage. It would be great if we could wave a wand and make it all better, but we don’t have that power.”
“Maybe there’s something. Let me know. They’re our friends.” He didn’t want to make the offer but he did anyway. “I could talk to him, if you want me to.”
“You hate talking about your feelings. I’m sure Reed does, too. No, we need to stay out of this. They need to work through this together.”
“Whatever you say, boss.”
That made the smile reappear. “Damn right. Now tell me what you’re looking at here. Is that red dot the last sighting of Wade?”
There had been many Wade sightings. Too many to count. He couldn’t be in all of those places at the same time. “That’s where the vehicle and Marilyn’s body was found. I’m trying to figure out where he might go next.”
“Here?”
“You’d think that’s where he’d head but the tip line has sightings going in the opposite direction. I’m thinking you may be right. He’s going to show off a little bit before he comes here for me. The question is what is he going to do next?”
“Well, let’s think about this. Wade never really matured after he saw his mother being murdered by his father. He sort of got stuck back there. Did anything happen that year that you can remember? Or that Wade would definitely remember? Did he win a science fair medal or get cut from the soccer team? How about a girl he had a crush on or a favorite place to go fishing?”
It was so long ago. How was Logan supposed to know what was important to a little shit like Wade? He’d always been an arrogant prick even when they were kids. He’d liked showing off how rich–
Wait a second. Wade liked showing off how rich his daddy was… Logan, on the other hand, never had any money. They’d grown up as brothers but that had been a line between the two of them that Logan couldn’t cross. There were some things that Wade was able to do that Logan couldn’t.
Like go to summer camp.
“You’re thinking about something,” Ava said, excitement rising in her tone. “I can tell by the look on your face. What is it?”
“Right after Wade’s mom died, his dad sent all three brothers to summer camp. At the time I thought it was stupid as shit. We lived in Montana, for fuck’s sake, in the middle of nowhere. Every day was summer camp. But his dad was adamant, so they went to this fancy camp near Yellowstone. It was for rich kids. I know that because Wade wanted me to be able to go so his dad offered to send me. He talked to my mom about it but she wouldn’t do it.” Ava was giving him a strange look. “I know what you’re thinking. He was my dad too, but I just don’t think of him that way. He was Wade’s dad and my mother’s killer. That son of a bitch is no relation to me.”
She nodded and then stood, walking over to the wide screen on the wall. “So where is this camp? Do you think Wade would go there?”
Logan also stood and pointed to the spot on the map. “It’s definitely a possibility. Griffin and Jason are headed that direction. I think they need to go there as quickly as possible.”
Ava’s brows shot up and the blood drained from her face. “Oh my God, are there kids there still? Would Wade hurt children?”
Wade had a strange sort of honor code. A weird one, but he followed it just the same.
“I don’t think so, but where there are kids there are going to be adults.” Logan pulled his phone from his shirt pocket. “I’m going to warn Griffin and Tanner, and I have you to thank.”
“It was the least I could do.”
“You’re brilliant.”
“I know.”
“And beautiful.”
“Of course.”
“And modest.”
That made Ava laugh as she turned toward the door. “I’m that, too. I’ll leave you to make your calls. Do you want me to send Jared and Reed in?”
“Yes, please.”
A lead. Finally. It wasn’t for sure, but it was more than they’d had fifteen minutes ago. It was handy to be married to a murder mystery author. Ava just might have saved some lives this afternoon.