Jared nodded. “That fits the theory we’re working with. What else can you tell me?”
“Not much. She was married to Will Horton for fifteen years. He died of cancer, leaving her the farm to run on her own. There are no police reports stemming from the marriage. I know that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but it seemed to be a quiet union.”
“Her husband didn’t report her missing, then,” Jared mused. “What about children?”
“She has one daughter. She’s an adult now, twenty-three, and I believe she lived with her mother up until a few months ago.”
“That’s interesting timing, isn’t it?”
“I can’t answer that. I don’t know a lot of twenty-three-year-olds who want to live with their mothers. She might’ve simply decided it was time to move out, and that left Holly open for someone to move in on her. I mean ... we have nothing to point to anything either way.”
“True.” Jared exhaled heavily. “It’s still all we have. What’s the daughter’s name?”
“Leia Rebecca Horton.”
“Anything else on her?”
“Just that she went to Northwood, a business school in Midland. She’s an only child, and I’m trying to track her credit cards now. It might take a bit. That’s all I have.”
Something niggled at the back of Jared’s brain. “Wait ... what did you say the name was again?”
“Leia Rebecca Horton.”
“Sizzle,” Jared muttered.
Mel was silent a beat on the other end of the call, and then he asked the obvious question. “Sizzle?”
“Yeah. My mind is sizzling. Can you look up another name for me?”
“I guess.”
“I need you to do it right now while I’m on the phone.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“Try Becky Trout ... or Rebecca Trout.”
“Rebecca?”
“Just try it.” Jared gnawed on the inside of his cheek as he waited for his partner to come back with the information.
“I’ve found a Becky Trout up in your neck of the woods,” Mel said finally. “She’s twenty-three and only exists on paper as far as I can tell. There’s a credit card and nothing else.”
“That’s because she’s Leia Rebecca Horton.” Jared was already on his feet, pushing away from the picnic table. “And Holly Horton is her mother.”
“And what does that mean to you?”
“Becky Trout is one of the workers up here. She’s the personal assistant to Harris Turnball. She says he was a friend of her father’s and offered her a job.”
“Hold up.” Mel’s fingers danced across the keyboard on the other end of the call. “That fits this scenario, too. Harris Turnball and Will Horton went to college together at Northwood. I mean, I can’t guarantee they stayed in touch, but they definitely went to the school at the same time.”
“Then that’s it.” Jared moved steadily toward the woods. “Holly is Becky’s mother, and she came up here for some reason, probably to reclaim her daughter. Becky didn’t like that ... or maybe Harris didn’t like that. Maybe they were having an inappropriate relationship. Either way, one of them is guilty.”
“And what’s the motive for killing the other woman? That Leslie woman.”
“That I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to figure it out down the line. Right now, I have to get to Harper. The rest of it will fall into place.”
“Do you need anything else from me?”
“Keep digging if you can ... and thank you. I really appreciate you coming through for me.”
“That’s my job.”
“You’ve gone above and beyond your job. I’m about to lose my cell signal, though. See what you can come up with. I’ll be in touch when I find the rest of my team.”
“Keep them safe.”
“That’s the plan.”
HARPER RUBBED HER FOREHEAD AND studied Holly’s body, a sick sense of dread washing over her.
“Can you tell how long she’s been here?” Shawn asked. He made sure not to get too close. He had no inclination to see what was in the log. The hand was creepy enough.
“I’m not a medical examiner,” Harper reminded him. “I can’t say with any degree of certainty.”
“You know more than me.”
“I guess.” Harper cocked her head. “She’s been here at least a few weeks. I would guess more than a month. She’s been kind of ... entombed ... in this log. There’s moss and other stuff. I’m sure animals have been in here.”
“Okay, that will be enough of that.” Shawn shot her a disgusted look. “We need to leave the scene alone – don’t touch absolutely anything – and get back to Jared. We can’t call this in from out here because cell service doesn’t work this deep into the woods. That means we need to go to him.”
Harper nodded, her eyes briefly drifting to Holly, who seemed fascinated by the sight of her own body. “We need to bring Jared out here. It won’t take us long to get back to the campground and return. I ... um ... do you want to come with us?”
“Hmm?” Holly stirred and shook her head. “There’s no reason for me to go with you. I think my work here is done.”
“Nothing is done,” Harper countered. “Not yet. I ... .” She wasn’t certain how far she should push things, but she wasn’t quite ready to let Holly off the hook. “Can you tell me who did this? Do you know?”
“I know.” Holly’s voice was a remote whisper. “I created the monster who changed my world.”
Harper blinked several times in rapid succession, her mind busy. She was about to ask Holly if her daughter was the one to kill her when footsteps in the foliage drew her attention to the east.
“Oh, excuse me.” Becky stood at the top of the hill, her expression blank. “I ... um ... what are you doing here?”
Harper grimaced. The last thing she wanted to deal with now was the enthusiastic — and dramatic — assistant. Despite that, there was no sense in lying. “We found a body. We need to get back to the campground and tell Jared what we found.”
All the color drained from Becky’s face. “You found a ... wait, is this a joke?”
“Yes, we often
