“All I’m saying is that he could have lost track of time following up on something. He might even have a flat tire on one of the back roads that?—”
“Don't patronize me,” Nora snapped with her unmistakable fear. “Reed doesn't lose track of time. He doesn't forget to chargehis phone. And he certainly doesn't stand me up for dinner without calling. He also took the truck, not his cruiser.”
Nora’s words had tumbled out in a rush. Hadley pressed her lips together, restraining the automatic reassurances that clearly weren’t helping the situation. Platitudes weren’t welcome when Nora was so upset, and the only way to calm her down was for Reed to walk into the house safe and sound.
“What was Reed doing when you left for the store?” Hadley asked as she spotted another set of headlights in her rearview mirror. She activated her hazard lights so they would know she was at a standstill. “Was he talking with someone on the phone? Did he mention getting a call from anyone?”
“He was reading those journals you gave him,” Nora replied, a door slamming in the background. “He’d been at it for hours, too.”
The mention of Sarah Cox’s journals had Hadley sitting a bit straighter. Reed had promised to review them. She hadn’t been able to locate anything of significance, but she’d only read the entries in the days leading up to and after the eight disappearances.
Had Reed found something of interest? Something significant enough to make him leave without an explanation? Hadley brushed aside those thoughts. Surely, Reed would have reached out to her if that was the case.
“Look, I’m going to drive around town,” Nora shared before Hadley could ask questions about the journals. “If I can’t locate him or his truck, I’m calling Sheriff Turner.”
Hadley stared ahead at the brake lights of the vehicle that had passed a few seconds ago. She was maybe twenty miles from the ramp to the highway that would take her another hour to her apartment.
“Nora, I'm turning around.” Hadley had made her decision, and she pressed the button to deactivate her hazard lights. “I'll be back in Whistlerun in about twenty minutes.”
Nora ended the call by promising to call if she located Reed. When Hadley checked her side mirror, the road behind her remained empty. She pressed the gas pedal slightly, easing the Equinox back onto the road before completing her U-turn.
Once she was cruising at a good clip, she used the steering wheel controls to scroll through her contacts. She found Reed's name and number, which she'd stored on Friday, and pressed the call button.
No ring was initiated, just an automated voicemail message confirming Nora's claim. Reed's phone was either turned off or the battery was dead. While both of those theories were equally concerning, several areas in and around Whistlerun didn’t have cell service.
Hadley didn’t bother to leave a message.
She ended the call, resisting the urge to press on the accelerator. She could easily push the speedometer needle past the posted limit, but she didn’t want to risk getting into an accident. While the road was familiar enough, wildlife was more active this time of year due to their preparation for the winter.
There had to be a reasonable explanation for Reed’s absence. Granted, she’d known him as a teenager, but people didn’t change in their core. He would never have gone into a situation blind.
Unless, of course, he trusted the individual.
Hadley pressed a hand to her chest, wishing she hadn’t ordered takeout from the diner. A slight twist of nausea had made itself known, and now she couldn’t prevent the tension in her shoulders from building with every mile marker she passed. After all, she’d witnessed firsthand how misplaced faith in the wrong person could cause irreparable damage.
18
Hadley Dawkins
October 2025
Monday – 1:14am
The acrid stench of burnt rubber and melted plastic assaulted Hadley's senses before she even stepped out of her SUV. The grotesque odor seeped through the vents and every available open slot of the vehicle. Her body reacted well before her mind could process the scene.
Reed was dead.
There was no preventing her heart rate from accelerating or her muscles from tensing as the sole of her boot came in contact with the ground. She’d been trying to convince herself she’d misunderstood Nick in their phone call, but the flashing lights and emergency vehicles killed any and all hope.
The rural roadside was bathed in flashing blue and red lights, casting an eerie glow on the twisted metal frame that had once been Reed’s truck. Time seemed to slow as Hadley drew closer to the wreckage.
Each step forward was like wading through invisible quicksand, her legs suddenly leaden and uncooperative. The heat from the still-smoldering remains warmed her face despite the night's chill, and thick wisps of smoke continued to rise into the darkness like tormented spirits seeking escape.
She stood frozen, her senses dulled by shock as they struggled to process the horror before her. The vehicle's frame had warped under intense heat, its once-familiar shape now hideously distorted beyond recognition. The steering wheel had melted into a macabre sculpture, its synthetic material flowing down into the blackened driver's seat like wax from a forgotten candle.
Through her tunnel vision, it was impossible to ignore the charred remains in the driver’s seat. The silhouette was unmistakably human, though mercifully indistinct in the wavering light. Her mind briefly tried to reject the evidence before her eyes, attempting to construct alternative explanations that wouldn't end with Reed Langley's death.
A guttural, primal sound cut through Hadley's mental fog. The raw anguish in the cry pulled her attention toward its source. Nora Oliver had collapsed to her knees at the edge of the road, arms wrapped tightly around herself as if trying to physically hold her body together while it threatened to shatter. One of Turner's deputies knelt beside her, a hand hovering uncertainly over her shoulder, clearly unsure how to comfort someone in the grip of such devastating grief.
