“We might have a problem,” Ramos said, getting directly to the point. “Hadley's cell phone is pinging from the Telfort property, not the Hobbs farm. Their land backs up to one another, and?—”
“I’m driving out that way now,” Nick said, turning away from Gus and proceeding toward the door. “I’ll have some deputies meet me out there, but we might need you. Bring backup. Your theory was right, but we got the wrong family. I’ll explain everything when I see you.”
After Nick yanked open the door and stepped outside, the cool night air was awfully silent…just as the legend foretold. Only this time, it wasn't theThreshing Mancollecting his due. It was something far more human, and all the more terrifying for it.
33
Hadley Dawkins
October 2025
Tuesday – 6:46pm
Hadley held her hands up in a placating gesture as Kalen Telfort came to terms with his situation. She was grateful for the brief respite, as she, too, needed a moment to consider her options. Preferably, ones that involved making it out of this cabin alive.
When she’d first realized that Kalen Telfort had the upper hand, cold dread had flooded her system. At first, she couldn’t bring herself to follow his directive to lower her weapon. It wasn’t until he pressed the barrel of his weapon more firmly against the back of her head that she didn’t have much of a choice.
The faint metallic clink of chains drew her attention to the corner, where Missy Claymont lay on a narrow cot, her thin frame draped in an old-fashioned nightgown. The girl's vacant eyes stared at nothing. Absolutely nothing. It was as if she’d drifted off to another world…far, far away from reality.
Had he drugged her?
“Kalen, let me help you.”
Hadley had to start somewhere, and talking sounded good right about now. She didn’t want him to come to some fatal conclusion without her knowledge. She certainly didn’t want him to grasp her level of fear.
“Missy is safe,” Hadley pointed out, raising her hands a little higher when he did the same with his weapon. Her heart rate joined in. “You haven’t hurt her, and I can see from the dishes on the table that you’ve been trying to get her to eat.”
“I’m trying to get her to love me,” Kalen exclaimed in frustration. “Why won’t she love me?”
The air inside the cabin was stale and heavy. The reeking odor was a mixture of uneaten food, unwashed bodies, and something else that threatened to kick in her gag reflex. Hadley had to swallow a few times before she could respond to him.
“Is that why you took Missy? You want someone to love you?”
“Yes, like Sandy loved my father.” Kalen’s eyes glistened, but no tears fell as he met her gaze. “He was able to make my mother love him, and now it’s my turn.”
Hadley tried to make sense of his words, fitting them into a construct that she and Ramos had discussed earlier on the phone. The theory held, but she’d gotten the family wrong.
She kept coming back to the woman’s name.
“Sandy? Sandy Richardson?”
“My mom loved us. Missy should love me.”
“Where is Sandy now?”
Kalen’s face almost crumbled, and Hadley braced herself for an unwelcome response. His index finger was resting on the trigger, and he was clearly rattled by her unexpected appearance.
“Kalen, do you know why I’m here?” Hadley asked to prevent his frustration from getting the best of him. “We’re searching for the burial sites of seven women.”
She had adjusted her count to exclude Missy. If Hadley could distract Kalen long enough through conversation, she stood a chance of finding a weapon of her own. Hers was currently tucked into Kalen’s waistband.
“The others didn’t love him, so they needed to go away.”
“I understand wanting to be loved, Kalen,” Hadley replied, keeping her voice soft. She’d intentionally avoided responding to his statement for fear he would believe she was judging him. She once again glanced at Missy. The girl’s blank stare had nothing to do with drugs. It was obvious that she had experienced some type of mental dissociation that came from prolonged captivity. A year of being chained to that cot had hollowed her out from the inside. “Everyone deserves to be loved.”
There was no other exit, which meant Kalen stood between her and freedom. One wrong word could set him off, so Hadley stopped searching for a weapon and concentrated solely on him.
“Youdodeserve to be loved, Kalen. So do I,” Hadley shared as she slowly lowered her hands. Her act of submission appeared to appease him, and he lowered his arm a fraction of an inch. “Talk to me. Maybe I can help.”
