Page 103 of The Search

“But I . . . liked him.”

“Everyone likes Rudzak. It’s one of the things he does best. I’m sure Chavez liked him too. The lieutenant thinks Chavez was forced to call Helen Peabody this morning to request you to come here and then was murdered. He wasn’t seen at the command post after ten this morning.”

She shook her head. “But he waved at one of the troopers on the other bank and the officer waved back.”

“How close were you?”

He was right. The officer had been too far away to realize the man he was waving at wasn’t Chavez. My God, the boldness of the man. “Smith. I told him about Henry Smith when he said he thought we were being followed, but he couldn’t have killed him. We were together on the lake.”

“Did he use his telephone?”

She thought back and then nodded. “At least once. When we went ashore to give Monty one of his breaks. I thought he was reporting in to the command center. You believe he called someone to kill Smith?”

“I don’t doubt it.”

She shivered. “I was alone with him all afternoon. If he’d wanted to kill me, he could have done it anytime. Why didn’t he do it? And why lead me to Chavez?”

“I don’t know. Cat and mouse? Maybe he didn’t intend to kill you. Maybe he just wanted to show me he could do it.”

“This is all about you, isn’t it?”

“You mean it’s all my fault. Hell yes, do you think I’d deny it? I don’t blame you for being angry.”

“I am angry.” She had been frightened and stunned, but now those emotions were being supplanted by pure rage. “That son of a bitch. He used me. And manipulated me.”

“Rudzak has always prided himself on being able to push all the right buttons.”

“And was killing that poor officer one of the buttons he pushed?”

Logan nodded.

“He’s got to be crazy.”

“I’m not sure he’s insane. I think he was born with something missing. He has no concept of right or wrong as we know it. What benefits Rudzak is right, what gets in his way is wrong.”

“A sociopath.”

“You can’t pigeonhole Rudzak that easily.” They had reached the rest stop, and his hand tightened on her arm when he saw the forensic team going over Smith’s car. “Why don’t we go inside? You don’t want to see this.”

He was right. She didn’t need to see another dead body, and neither did Monty. She headed for the building. “How long do we have to stay here?”

“The lieutenant wants to talk to you and take a statement, but I’ll see if he can send someone to the cabin to do the formal statement. You’re not classified as a suspect.”

She hadn’t thought she would be. “And what am I classified as?”

“Witness.” He shrugged. “Or maybe . . . victim.”

She remembered the terror and helplessness she had felt as she ran through the woods. She had felt like a victim then, and the memory filled her with anger. “The hell I am.”

They weren’t permitted to leave the rest stop for another four hours; by then Sarah was almost as drained as Monty.

“I’ll drive,” Logan said as he got into her jeep. “You rest.”

“I can do it. You have your own car to—”

“It’s Galen’s rental car. He’ll arrange to have it picked up.” He started the jeep. “Stop arguing and climb in. You know I’m in better shape emotionally right now. You wouldn’t want to crack up on that ugly road and hurt Monty.”

She hesitated and then got into the passenger seat.