Elowen would be his wife, the mother of his children, the woman who kept him company as they grew old. She was his, and it was almost time to make it so.
Chapter 26
Griz steppedout of the conference room and grabbed his phone. Exhaustion had caught up with him about an hour ago and he was glad they were headed home.
Elowen had sent him two texts, the first one telling him how much she missed him, the second one she said she couldn’t wait to see him and she gave him her schedule for the day so he knew when she might be free during the evening to talk.
He would send a text when he arrived home, that way it wouldn’t be way too early. She had a full day ahead of her with the new guests showing up. Living with her at the cabin would be good. He could help her get the place ready for guests, then they would be able to spend time together.
After a quick shower, he stretched out and sent her a quick note before closing his eyes to fall asleep. He slept until the sun was no longer slanting into his bedroom, waking to find a text from Elowen.
Elowen:New guests show up at one today. I’m glad you are sleeping some. I’ll be around this evening if you want to talk. I hope you have a good day.
He smiledto himself as he read over the text then checked the time, seeing it was right at one. Not wanting to bother her, he took a shower then grabbed a sandwich. After he ate, he checked the time again, and saw it was close to two, but he still didn’t want to bug her.
If he was there, living with her, how would it work? Would she still be the main contact with the guests? He wouldn’t stay hidden, but he didn’t need to be the main focus.
When he finally sent the text, he felt like he was going to explode. He wanted to tell her everything he felt, but it might be too much.
Griz:Hey, I miss you. I got some sleep. I hope you have had a great day. I’m at home until tomorrow morning. I’d love to talk to you tonight.
Elowen:I’m glad you got some sleep. The guests are checked in. They are nowhere near as cool as you. I’m taking them on a hike tomorrow morning. I’m in town buying some lumber so I can get forms set for a woodworking space I want to build. I’ll call at six. Is that okay?
Griz:That’s cool about the woodworking space. And yes, six would be great. I can’t wait to talk to you later.
Griz decidedto do a quick workout, that was really more of a stretch than a full-blown workout. Even when he retired, he would need to work out just to keep limber. He’d spent a long time with his body working as a well-oiled machine. The machine had to stay oiled or it would break down. That meant he would have to keep moving.
He was in the middle of doing pushups when his phone rang. It was Thario. He answered, happy to hear from his buddy.
“Hey, man, what’s up?”
“Did you enjoy your vacation?”
“I did. It was very relaxing. You’ll have to come visit once I move there.”
“Sure. That would be great.”
Griz sat up but stayed on the floor. “Can I do anything for you?”
“Not really. I was just looking at information for that area again. Two women have gone missing in that area in the last five years. I know. I know, it’s California and there are millions and millions of people who live here and millions who drive through every day, but it’s odd.”
“Huh. So do the police have leads in those disappearances?”
“No. Disappeared into thin air. They were young women, about the age of Elowen. Pretty, too, just like Elowen. They were athletic?—”
“Just like Elowen.”
“Yeah. I’ll see if I can dig deep enough to find the police files. The first victim disappeared five years ago. The second was eighteen months. I don’t like the coincidences. I’ve found there never are any when it comes to killers.”
Griz scratched his beard, thinking about the information Thario had just delivered. It wasn’t good. “Fuck. I don’t like this.”
“Neither do I. I’m going to dig as much as I can. Would you be okay if I went up there, introduced myself to the police and asked a few questions?”
“Absolutely go. I’d appreciate it. I don’t want to be paranoid, but I’m worried about her. The cameras still bug me.”
Thario grunted. “Good, I’m glad you’re okay with me going up there.”
“Why did you think I’d have an issue?”
