Page 161 of You Found Me
Think of it like a show, she told herself.You’re onstage. You can entertain any audience. That’s all he is. An audience.
Lester beckoned. “Sit down. You can have a snack before you fix your hair. It’s not much. We don’t have a lot of time. It took you longer to wake up than I anticipated.”
“We…time for what?”
“To hit the road.” He shook his head. “You can’t stay this close to your old life. It won’t want to let you go, and we both know you need to leave it behind.”
It was so close to something she’d thought herself that tears stung her eyes. It was unnerving to think this psycho had picked up on something she hadn’t fully grasped herself.
She’d been lonely. That was true. She’d thought that meant she wanted a new life.
Now she knew that was bullshit.
She didn’t want to leave her life behind. She wanted to expand it. She wanted real, meaningful connections. She’d found those while working with Piper on her small venue shows. She’d found it writing songs with Mattie.
She’d found it in Wires Crossing.
She didn’t want to leave that—any of it—behind. Ever.
Where are you, Ward? I need you.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Ward pulled onto the shoulder of a two-lane cow trail that edged along a sliver of Lake Champlain and killed the engine. They’d driven as far east as they could get without leaving New York and entering Vermont, unless they wanted to go for a swim. In the twilight, he couldn’t see a damn thing except trees, the bend in the road, and the rolling drop to the water.
They were about a hundred miles from Albany, and three miles west of Princess Point. Population: 1,203. Home to people who clearly didn’t like other people around.
Civilization had given up here, leaving the countryside abandoned except for farmland and fishing cabins. What the Industrial Revolution had given, time and technology had taken away.
Why the hell had Hume brought Della here?
Ward moved to the back of the van. “Princess Point? Really?”
“Ironic, I know. Maybe he was making a statement?” Spencer pointed at the main monitor where he’d circled an area in red. “According to the data dump from our stop earlier, she’s within this five mile area. If she’d moved outside of that range, she’dhave pinged off towers here, here, and here.” Spencer pointed at distant locations on the map. “The fact that she didn’t indicates that she’s stopped moving. That retro gas station had fiber optic cable, so the data’s solid. At least, up until we pulled it anyway. I love the oil and gas industry.”
“Five miles of empty countryside is a hell of a lot of ground to cover, Spence.” Ward raked his hands through his hair. “So why are we sitting still?”
Spencer shifted to another monitor. This one featured miniature towers with colored rings around them. “These three towers provide reasonably good triangulation. The infrastructure here has been improved over the last five years to allow for remote work, which is the primary source of income.”
“Spence…the point?”
Spencer turned to face him. “The point is that the signal didn’t drop. It was cut off. I think he’s stopped for the night and they’ve gone inside a structure that includes thick building material that blocks the signal, like concrete or steel or even insulated glass if it’s industrial strength. Or…”
“Or…,” he prompted.
Spencer took a deep breath. "Or he’s discovered that the necklace is a tracker. Like Annie said, he’s crazy, but not stupid, and he does have skills with electronics. What would he do then?”
“Hell.” Ward let out a frustrated growl. “He could have tied it to a dog or a deer. He could have pitched it into the river or left it in a trash can or tossed it into the bed of a truck at a rest stop and that person has now made it home, put the truck in the garage. If any of that happened, Hume’s onto us. He’s gone off-grid, and we’re screwed.”
“I can rule out the dog or deer scenario at least. The movements would have slowed and become erratic. That didn’t happen. I have to admit, transferring the necklace to someoneelse’s vehicle makes the most logical sense.” Spencer glanced away.
Ward closed his eyes. “It all boils down to one question: Does Hume know the necklace is a tracker?”
Spencer leaned back in his chair. “There’s no way to know for sure.”
“No. There isn’t.” Ward leaned against the console and stared at the monitor. “So we assume the necklace is intact and still with Della.”
It was the only scenario he could live with.