He had spared me, and I wasn’t sure why. The question had swirled in my head since that very day, when my entire life flashed before my eyes. On that day, my life had truly ended. I was convinced of that.
“Because…” I swallowed down a nervous lump in my throat. “They think that Colton Kilhouser is a lie—a made-up boogeyman for the papers. They never released any photos of him, only odd sketches. It was a name they could blame for the massacre to protect me. Why? Well…people always questioned how I survived. So, they think that I’m the person who killed my family.”
CHAPTER 5
DECEMBER 5TH
The snow kept coming down like it wanted to bury the whole damn town, and maybe it should’ve, once and for all. I was riding with Detective Castillo into town in an effort to find Angela and to spread the word again.
The police car’s wipers squeaked uselessly against the windshield, smearing more snow than they cleared. Eventually, she turned them off.
The roads that led out of Whisper’s Creek were sealed in a shell of ice, and every other officer in Whisper’s Creek was either busy keeping cars from skidding into ditches or helping the ones that had already fallen into one. That meant we were on our own.
“I appreciate you doing this again,” I told her, my voice low. “I know you’re stretched thin.”
Castillo just nodded, eyes locked on the road. She looked tired, same as me, but there was steel in her—she was tough. “We’ll find her, Lenny. She’s out there somewhere.”
When we pulled into the square and parked, the town was wrapped in lights and color, like there was a Christmas festival taking place. Giant plastic candy canesembedded into the snow, lifelike Santas propped up near the retail stores, and a fully decorated Christmas tree in the center of the plaza with every ornament you could think of—glass balls and sparkling angels that shimmered in the light, metallic ribbons and artificial snowflakes that complemented the rest of the tree.
As we stepped out of the car, the sweet aroma of chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon drifted out from the bakery across the street from us.
Angela loved all of it, and she would’ve wanted to see all of this. I needed to find her before it was too late. Even if I had to play their sinister game. I refused to spend Christmas without her.
Castillo and I went from shop to shop again, showing people the photo of Angela on her phone, asking if anyone had seen a woman in a red coat with dark hair, about five-foot-six. The answers were all the same again—shakes of the head, worried looks, polite no’s. I followed her, half-focused on the people we were asking for information and half-lost in thought, while I maneuvered around hills of piled-up snow.
The last time I saw Angela was on the morning of December 1st. I tried to think of why she could’ve been abducted, but no answers were coming to mind. It just didn’t make sense. It must’ve had something to do with me.
I tried to tell myself she was just fine—that I’d find her before Christmas Day and everything would go back to normal. But the truth was, Whisper’s Creek was a strange town, and it felt likethe type of place where people went missing and never returned. I thought about Clara’s mysterious fate, and that’s what frightened me the most.
“Lenny!”
The familiar voice caused a chill up my spine. I turned around reluctantly.
Joseph was standing near the giant Christmas tree in the center of the square, a duffel bag with jingle bell symbols draped all over it strapped across his shoulder. His dark blue work coat was zipped all the way up, and his eyes examined me with concern.
“Dude, I heard,” he said, walking toward me slowly. “Angela’s missing? Why didn’t you tell me?! What the hell is that all about? That’s wild as hell!”
I nodded, my jaw tightly clenched. “Yeah, it’s been the worst. She wasn’t home later that day, on December 1st—when I went shopping for her Christmas gift.”
His face scrunched up with worry, and he looked like someone had punched him in the gut. “Holy shit, Lenny. That’s so awful. I can’t believe it. Where could she have gone?”
“I just don’t know. We’ve been asking the whole town,” I sighed. “I’m hoping she’s just holed up somewhere; maybe she got lost because the roads areblocked coming into town. Anything but…” I trailed off, unwilling to say what I feared most.
Joseph nodded slowly, his eyes looking me up and down. There was a pause before he asked, in a soft tone, “You two...were things okay between you? Everything good at home?”
The question hung between us like a thick fog. I couldn’t believe he had just asked that. “Of course, everything is fine, you damn idiot!” That’s what I wanted to yell into his smug face, but I chose to keep my temper in check.
My stomach tightened. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what you mean. We were just fine. We weren’t fighting or anything. Is that what you were wondering?”
He’d better back off before he says something else that's just as idiotic.
“No, I didn’t mean—” he started, holding up a hand, indicating peace. “I know that married couples fight. Shit happens, man. It’s happened to me, too. But did she ever talk about leaving you or anything?”
I took a step toward him, not believing that he was continuing with his intrusive line of questioning. “No, she did not. She never would.” I angrily pointed a finger at his face. “I had nothing to do with her going missing—if that’s what you’re getting at.”
Joseph flinched backwards, taken aback by my harsh reaction. I was on edge.
Yeah, that’s right. I’m not rolling over, buddy. Especially when you talk to me in an accusatory manner.
