Her gaze dropped to his pistol, and sweat beaded on her forehead despite the chill in the air.
She was scared.
Good.
That should keep her in line while he figured out what to do next.
If he’d let her walk away a minute ago, he wouldn’t be in this mess—except that would have been a mistake too. Her expression had telegraphed her suspicions loud and clear, making it obvious she hadn’t bought his explanation about the bracelet. And who could blame her? No one took an expensive piece of jewelry on a spelunking expedition.
If she wasn’t best buds with the sheriff, their encounter might not have been as much of an issue. Natalie wouldn’t have questioned his explanation if Cara brought the incident up to her.
But Brad Mitchell would.
And he didn’t want the man asking any more questions. Mitchell had grilled him about his whereabouts the day Micah died, and while his alibi was sound, anything that cast further suspicion on him could be damaging. The sheriff might dig deeper. What if he somehow found out the identity of the late-night trespasser?
That would open a whole new can of worms.
No, Cara couldn’t talk to him about this.
And there was only one way to stop her from doing that—just as there’d been only one way to stop Micah from potentially thwarting his plans.
Cara had to die.
There was no choice.
His stomach gurgled, and he swallowed past the sour taste in his mouth.
Another killing hadn’t been in his plans.Nokillings had ever been in his plans.
But he was in too deep to back out.
What he needed to do was put other concerns aside and focus on how to accomplish the task.
It had to look like an accident, as Micah’s had. That was a given.
With the lake close at hand, that was the easiest solution. But drowning wouldn’t work a second time.
So what could happen to a healthy young woman that would appear accidental and raise no red flags?
“Steven, whatever is wrong can be fixed.” A tremor ran through Cara’s voice. “You don’t have to—”
“I said, shut up!”
Hands clenched at her sides, she pressed her lips together and watched him.
Keeping the pistol pointed at her, he considered scenarios.
A car crash could work. The narrow, winding roads in this area were accident alley.
That would be hard to stage without advance planning, though.
She could trip on the path while hiking, hit her head. That kind of injury could be fatal.
But it was possible she’d survive that—and survival wasn’t an option.
What could he do that would—
He froze.
