Page 27

I parked in front of the high school, the lot already full. It seemed everyone was early tonight. The rain fell softly around us, the sun arcing through the sky and just starting its descent. I preferred the shorter days fall and winter had to offer, never having been a fan of the sun. It was too bright, too exposing for someone as burdened with secrets as I was.

I hopped out of the truck, my boots meeting the wet pavement in a splash, and I pulled my hood over my head as I walked toward the doors.

“Goldie!”

I turned toward the voice to see Detective Ransom jogging to close the distance between us.

“Hey,” I said with a small wave and moved under the awning of the front doors of the high school. He closed the distance between us, soaked from the rain. He shook his head like a dog, rain flying around him.

“Damn,” he mumbled with a smile. “After twenty years, you’d think I would be used to the rain.”

I returned his smile. “Not a fan?”

He shook his head. “Never have been, and I don’t think I ever will be. Thank you for coming tonight. I really appreciate your help. I’ve been investigating this for so long… it… well, it gets hard to do alone.”

My smile turned compassionate. “I’m sorry you’ve had to do this alone all this time, Detective—”

“Darren,” he interrupted. “You can call me Darren.”

“Well then, Darren,” a corner of my mouth quirked at the name, “I’m happy to be here to help. Though I feel like I’ve been completely useless.”

He waved me off. “Not at all. In the twenty years I’ve been doing this, not once have I put together the moon phases thing. I didn’t even think to look into it.” He glanced up at the gloomy, cloud-covered sky. “Maybe because I don’t get to see it all that much.”

I laughed lightly and gestured toward the doors. “Shall we?”

He nodded and opened the door for me. I really felt for the man. It was obvious he held an incredible weight on his shoulders. For twenty years, he had been fighting a force on his own. I followed behind him through the school, so small it was only a couple of hallways and the gym, where the meeting was being held.

The seats were filled, and only whispers and murmurs broke the silence. Apprehension hung heavy in the air. No one knew if another member of their community would be abducted tonight, or if a family would be forever broken—mutilated, even. I took a seat at the back as Darren made his way to the front. People threw him looks ranging from pity to accusation. I was starting to realize that despite the two decades he had lived here, he, too, was an outsider.

He cleared his throat, the room so small a microphone wasn’t needed. He spoke loudly to the gathered crowd, the whispers fading as he held everyone’s rapt attention.

“Thank you all for being here tonight,” he began. “As you know, we suspect the Watcher will strike tonight. I have asked any family with a child around the age of six to leave if possible. For the families that don’t have the means to leave, we have set up watch parties that will rotate throughout the night. Our number one priority isn’t catching the Watcher, but protecting our community.”

A humph sounded from my left. I turned to see a younger man, I would suspect in his early twenties, tattoos covering his arms. His hair was buzzed and bleached, his eyes grey.

“Fucking prick,” he muttered.

Based on the facial expression of the older woman sitting next to him, she heard him, too. I raised a brow and leaned over. “Are you talking about Detective Ransom?”

He eyed me slyly, running his tongue along his teeth as he thought about what his answer would be. I could see the moment he acquiesced. “Do-Gooder Darren, as we call him. The dick was brought in when that first family was attacked. In the twenty years he has been trying to stop this man, Detective Ransom has made zero headway. None.”

“He hasn’t had any suspects? Found any evidence?” I knew the answer, but I had learned over the years it was better to keep my cards close to my chest.

The man shook his head. “He’s questioned everyone, but found nothing.” He looked around to see if anyone was listening in, but most were trained on Detective Ransom’s speech. He leaned in closer, his voice lowering. “The rumor is that he wasn’t the one who figured out it would happen tonight. A couple of podunk journalists fed him the information.”

I held back my laugh at his words. He wasn’t wrong about that. “What’s your name?”

“Brooks,” he said with a slight tilt of his lips. “And you?”

“Goldie. One of those podunk journalists you were talking about,” I explained.

His eyes widened just a fraction. “Damn, I should have guessed. No one new ever shows up in this place, and the people who get out… well, they don’t come back. Rightfully so.”

“Why haven’t you left?” I asked.

He sighed softly, his gaze moving between Darren and me. “The kid who was never found? Silas? He is… was… he was my brother. I can’t leave—not until I know what happened to him. At least not until I can lay him to rest.”

“Shit,” I mumbled. “I’m sorry.”