Page 57 of Go Alone

Kate checked the crawlspace for creepy-crawlies before entering. She didn’t freak out at the presence of spiders the way her mother did, but she wasn’t in love with the idea of a bug crawling through her hair.

Fortunately, the killer had kept the place pest-free. Kate would get dirt on herself, but not bugs.

She crawled into the alcove and quickly searched the bedroll. She found nothing. Not even clothing. Either he stored his clothing elsewhere, or he didn’t have any other pairs. Or maybe he was at a laundromat right now.

For some reason, that struck her as funny. She pressed a hand to her mouth to stifle a chuckle, but she didn’t need to fight very hard because when she turned to leave, she smacked her knee against a rock sitting in the middle of the crawlspace.

She winced and pressed a hand to the knee.

It went through the ground.

Her eyes widened. She backed up and saw a hole in the dirt where the rock had stood a moment ago. At the bottom of the hole was a leatherbound notebook with a ballpoint pen clipped to the outside.

She pulled the notebook out and opened it. Her breath caught in her throat.

The very first page was a transcribed message from the Lawgiver. Included in that message was an exhortation to leave a message for the “sacrificial lamb” in each cipher. “Something that communicates the false witness’s actions. Make it relate to the crimes committed by your targets. It will apply even if you don’t know why.”

Cox was still after her. His near-death from Marcus’s bullets—the second time he’d nearly died while attacking her—wasn’t enough to stop him. She’d hoped he was dead, hoped the nightmare was finally over, but she knew it wasn’t. She knew it couldn’t be. This was fated to end between them. One way or another, they would meet again, and one of them would be destroyed.

Or both of them.

The next page had a list of names. Kate passed them and moved on, flipping through the pages looking for anything that explained what Cox believed her father had done, anything that told her why he was obsessed with him seemingly as much as with her.

She found nothing. The other pages were blank.

She cursed and returned to the list of names. The first four were crossed out, listed in the order in which they were killed: Howard Greer, Deborah Holt, Raymond Brannigan, and Martin Cole.

Kirke Andersen’s name wasn’t on the list. The fifth name was someone named Shawna Allman.

“God damn it,” Kate cursed.

She rushed from the crawlspace, taking the notebook and reaching for her phone. The officers noticed her and frowned. She waved them close so they could hear what she was about to say to Marcus.

Marcus answered. “Yeah.”

“I found the killer’s hit list. It’s not Kirke Andersen.”

“What? Who is it?”

“Someone named Shawna Allman. He has the first four victims crossed off in order, and the next one is Shawna. Kirke’s not even on the list.”

“Shit,” Marcus cursed. “Damn it. Spell that name.”

Kate did, and the officers next to her immediately got on the radio to call it in. Kate looked to the west and saw the last sliver of sun disappear behind the horizon.

Anita and Marcus jogged to meet her a moment later. Marcus was flushed. Anita was ashen.

“Who’s Shawna Allman?” Anita asked. “How has she not popped up yet?”

“I don’t know,” Kate said. “She might not be related to the others. There are over twenty names on this list, and he was working with the Lawgiver.”

Marcus frowned. “You mean Cox.”

“Yeah, Marcus, I mean Cox,” Kate snapped. “Now’s not the fucking time.”

“Keep it together you two,” Anita said. She called to the nearby officers, “Hey, do we have an ID on Shawna Allman yet?”

The lead officer turned to her. His expression did little for Kate’s comfort. “We have four Shawna Allmans. If this is related to the tenth commandment, then the most likely candidate is a former Columbus city councilwoman who now lives in Circleville, forty-five minutes south of here.”