The air is still and quiet as I rack my brain for answers.
“Can you rewind?” I ask. “To the golf cart.”
Imo looks between Ava and me like she’s not sure if she should, but Ava nods, so Imo presses back until we can see the person from the golf cart appear on-screen. She pauses and we stare at the device, trying to make out who it could possibly be. “I wish I could zoom the fuck in.”
“Is thereany wayto tell who this is?” Ava asks.
I break out of Ava’s arms and get close to the screen. I point to the bottom corner where you can see their hand grasping Heller’s ankle tightly. I fight back vomit.
But it’s useless. All we can see is darkness, the shape of a human. Nothing to hold on to.
Imo is about to close out of the file when Ava stops her. “Hold on,” she says. “Right there.” She points to the person’s torso and suddenly I see what she sees.
A striped piece of fabric peeking out from below their sweatshirt.
We’d all know that pattern anywhere. It’s an Alpine Lake senior staff shirt.
I shake my head but the truth is obvious now. Heller’s killer works here, among us, and has all summer.
All of a sudden, a branch snaps in the distance. “Did you hear that?” Imogen asks, whipping her head around.
Ava’s face goes pale and she grabs my wrist. She presses one finger to her lips and motions for us to be quiet.
Voices. A few of them. And they’re headed right this way.
Imogen shuts down the receiver and throws it back into a box. We scramble out of the office, but as we’re about to head through the front door Ava freezes. Whoever’s there is heading right for us. We’re trapped. Ava spins on her heel and motions for us to turn around and retreat farther into the cabin.
Panic pounds in my chest and I know we’re screwed. So fucking screwed. Imogen and Ava feel it, too.
But I know this cabin like I know my own home. There’s a back door off the kitchen. If we can get close, we’ll be able to make an escape. The voices get louder and I know there’s no time.
“In here,” I whisper, motioning to the walk-in closet off the hall. “You two stay here.”
“But—” Ava says.
“Go!” I shove them inside and retreat to the kitchen pantry, which is big enough for one. I wedge myself inside, under shelves full of canned soup and jelly jars.
“Ah, I must have left the light on,” someone says, joyous and slurry as they swing open the door loudly.
Crap.
I can’t quite make the voice out yet but I can tell it’s young and male, too buoyant to be Stu, which is odd since I don’t know anyone else who has the code to get in.
A woman laughs at the entryway, shutting the door behind her.Who is it?
I slide down the wall, hoping to make myself as small aspossible. But as I hit the floor, something vibrates in my pocket.Shit.
I must have automatically connected to the Wi-Fi here, meaning a bunch of texts and emails are now coming through. I fumble for my phone and silence it, but not before I see six texts from Cal pop up on the screen, each one with more urgency than the last. The most recent one is frantic.
Check your fucking email!
I tap over to my inbox and wait what feels like a million years for the messages to load. There’s a ton of spam and one from Cal with no subject. The email is blank save for an attachment. It starts to download, but the Wi-Fi here isn’t that strong—thisisRoxwood—so it takes a bit.
Footsteps make their way down the hall and I hold my breath, trying to be as quiet as possible.Who the hell is here?
All I know is that there’s a man and a woman, and they seem to be helping themselves to Stu and Mellie’s bar cart. I hear the sounds of ice clinking against glass and the fridge opening. Whoever it is starts making kissy noises and I roll my eyes. With my luck, it’s probably my parents who found the code and use this cabin as a bone pad. Barf.
I glance back at my phone and see that Cal’s attachment has loaded. I’m about to open it as I get another text from him.
