My instincts take over. He ran this way. I know it the way you know a storm is coming, even before the wind picks up. Justus stops, aiming his light at a heel mark that scars the ground at the edge of the path. Someone stepped too far to the left and hit mud. It’s the only print but it’s enough to know we’re on their trail.
Justus nods at me. “Follow and I’ll swing wide to cut him off.”
I hesitate for a moment, debating whether splitting up is wise, but it makes sense if he can get ahead of him. “If you find him, get him to the cabin. This time the tools will get used.”
He nods in acknowledgment and veers off the trail, his shape dissolving into shadows almost immediately. The beam of his flashlight fades, swallowed by trees and distance.
The dark rearranges itself around every tree and slope as I continue, my steps falling faster now that I know I’m on the right course. The ax bumps against my leg, a steady,grounding weight. I won’t kill him quickly. He’s going to pay for what he did to Silver, and he’s going to tell me where Isla’s body is or I’m going to hack off parts of his until he does.
I’m careful to keep an eye on the ground as well as my surroundings in case another print or clue appears, but none do. This guy is either good or lucky. When I start getting near the boarded-up cabin, I pause to listen. There’s no sound of movement ahead. Just the creak of bare branches in the wind.
Fuck, did he manage to get away? I haven’t heard any motors, and as quiet as it is, I’d hear a vehicle on my road or a four wheeler in the woods. Maybe he was smart enough to hide, knowing we’d struggle to find him in the dark.
Hoping that Justus may have gotten the drop on him, I continue down the trail toward the cabin. As I walk around a bend, I see it happen right in front of me.
A shadow steps out from behind a tree, grabs Justus’s gun and hits him on the head with it. Justus stumbles to the ground. His flashlight lands a few feet away, the beam cutting sideways across leaves and debris to cast shadows and light on both of them.
He lies on his side with one knee bent, and one hand planted as he tries to push himself up. The man’s arm comes up, and I bolt toward them, not concerned with the noise I’m making. He’s going to shoot Justus.
He doesn’t hear me until I’m right behind him, and half turns in my direction, giving me the perfect opportunity. There’s no room for thought or planning. My mind is emptyof everything but distance and timing as I raise the ax. It comes down with my full weight behind it.
The blade enters his chest near his left shoulder with a sickening wet crunch that vibrates up the handle and into my arms. Blood erupts outward, dark and sudden. It spatters my face and clothes, then gushes out hot and thick over my hands. The coppery meaty smell is sharp enough to taste in the air.
His arm instantly goes limp, and the gun drops to the dirt while the man utters a short, broken noise that cuts off mid breath. His body drops straight down, hitting the ground with a heavy boneless thud, his head crooked in an unnatural angle. I wrench my ax free with a jerk, and it comes loose with a sucking sound, the whole thing slick and heavy, the blade coated dark and dripping. More blood follows it out, soaking him and the forest floor around him.
Justus scrambles to his feet, his hand clutching his bleeding head. “Lee, fuck, I thought I was dead.”
He watches as I quickly search the guy for a weapon and remove a gun from his waistband. When I hand it to him, he curses under his breath. Justus is lucky to be alive. He could’ve shot him before either of us ever knew he was behind that tree.
“Are you alright?” I ask, keeping my eye on the body, though I know he’s dead. Nobody loses that much blood and lives. My mind flashes to the crime scene photos the cops showed me of Joss Wynne’s car soaked in Isla’s blood, and I try to shake the image from my head. There’s too much to be done. It’s going to be a long night.
“I’ve had worse,” he says, yanking his shirt off. He balls it up and presses it to his head to slow the bleeding.
Silence slams into place. I stand there with my chest hammering and ears ringing. It feels like we’re the only people left in the world while the woods lean in around us, watchful and indifferent.
Justus retrieves his gun and flashlight, then shines it on the body at our feet. I kneel down to search his pockets. What remains of his inner jacket pocket is filled with blood and contains what’s left of his phone. The ax sliced through it before getting to his chest, leaving only two halves and broken glass. Justus points the flashlight at it, revealing the gray and metallic inner layers that are exposed like jagged steps, and the battery that’s warped and half swollen.
He snatches the battery and tosses it away from us into the mud. “Keep the rest. I highly doubt anything will be recoverable but stranger shit has happened.”
There’s a set of keys in his pocket, so his vehicle must be parked somewhere nearby. The only other thing he’s carrying is a wallet. Luckily, the puddle of blood he’s lying in hasn’t soaked through the contents and the name on his driver’s license is clear.Matthew Wynne.
Justus looks up at me, the glow of the flashlight throwing hollows under his eyes in the darkness. “He’s related to Joss.”
I know who he is. “His younger brother. Fuck.”
“This was revenge.” Justus glances around us. “The rest of his family could be coming for you.”
“He didn’t have any other family. When they were looking for Joss as a suspect, I remember the news reportingthat he was the guardian of his brother, who was put into foster care.” Just like Lacey would’ve been if I’d been killed. Christ, they’re even about the same age.
“Lee, you didn’t have a choice,” Justus says as we head for the boarded-up cabin to get some plastic sheeting.
“I know.” I’m not sorry for any of it. Not for Joss and not for killing a man who tried to drown Silver and shoot Justus. But as we wrap his body in plastic, it’s hard not to see how young he is, not even twenty-three yet. He never had a chance after being raised by a piece of shit, then tossed into the system alone. I’m not sure how he knew that I killed Joss, maybe he only suspected like others did, but it doesn’t really matter. He was born to be a tragedy. Sometimes I think we all are.
Once we have him wrapped up, Justus looks over at me. “I’m sorry. He came out of nowhere.”
I look down at the lump that will soon disappear into the earth forever. The only man who could possibly tell me where Isla’s body is. It wasn’t supposed to go like this. “It’s not your fault. He’s not a threat anymore. That’s what matters.” Silver is safe. My family is safe. This nightmare is finally over.
We use the plastic sheets to move him without leaving a blood trail. The spot I choose is far from any path, in a small clearing where we won’t have to dig through tree roots. No one will find him here. We’re supposed to get heavy rain over the next few days. With any luck, the blood where he died won’t last long. I text Landon to let Silver know that things are taken care of, that she’s safe, and that I’ll be back later.
