He took the tissue from her and kissed her forehead. “Don’t read anything into this. With all the times we’ve been back and forth to Harper’s Peak in the last three months, it would be weird if we didn’t hit something.” Again, he glanced up and down the empty road. “I didn’t see any residences or businesses or anything on the way back from Harper’s Peak, though. No one we could ask for help.”
Josie took her cell phone from her pocket and tried calling one of her team. Both of them worked for the Denton Police Department, Noah as a lieutenant and Josie as a detective. Josie knew that the other detectives on the force, Gretchen Palmer and Finn Mettner, would come help them at a moment’s notice. “I can’t get any service,” she said. “Let me see your phone.”
He handed it to her. “Try making a hot spot.”
Josie tried making hot spots with both their phones but got nothing. No internet, no service at all. She walked back and forth along the road, holding the phones in the air, trying to get a signal, but there was nothing. They were in a dead zone.
Noah held out his hand for his phone and Josie returned it. “You stay with the car. I’ll walk toward town and keep trying to get a signal. If I get any bars, I’ll call Gretchen or Mettner. If I don’t, I’ll stop at the first house I see and ask to use the landline,” he said.
“I’ll go with you,” said Josie.
“It’s cold,” he said. “It’s starting to sleet. Stay in the car where you’ll be dry and somewhat warm. I can cover two miles in no time.”
Under her coat, her body shivered. The icy rain had turned heavy and wet. Each drop that splattered into her black hair plastered her locks to her head. She looked at the car, longing to get back in. “Do you feel dizzy?” she asked him. “Light-headed?”
Noah laughed softly. “I’m not concussed, if that’s what you’re worried about. Get in the car. I’ll be as quick as I can.”
Josie kissed him before climbing back into the driver’s seat. It wasn’t much warmer inside the car now that the engine was off—and now that it had been totaled—but it was wonderfully dry. She watched Noah jog down the road until the sleet against the window blurred him into a dark speck. Then he disappeared.
Again, she tried to get service on her phone, but there was nothing. A few minutes after Noah vanished from the horizon, she heard a noise that made her insides quiver. Josie climbed out of the car and went back to the deer. It lifted its head from the ground and emitted a high-pitched mewling that went right through Josie’s bones.
Agony.
“Shit,” she said, looking around. Everything in her wanted to respond to the sound of the animal’s pain with action. If it were a person, she’d be on the ground rendering aid or at least comfort, but that wasn’t possible. There was no choice but to stand by and listen to the poor doe’s last noises. They were both helpless—animal and woman. Josie hated that feeling more than any other feeling in the world.
By the time she registered the sound of a vehicle approaching behind her, she could barely swallow over the lump in her throat. Turning, she saw an old, white pickup pulling up behind Noah’s car. Its engine idled loudly. At the back of the inside of the truck cab, affixed to a gun rack, was a shotgun. The driver put the four-way emergency blinkers on and hopped out, leaving the gun behind. A woman in her early fifties walked toward Josie. She was taller than Josie and curvy, wearing faded jeans, heavy boots, and a thick rain jacket. Her long, curly brown hair was threaded with gray. Brow furrowed, she said, “You okay, miss?”
Josie motioned toward the deer and explained what had happened.
The woman extended a hand and Josie shook it. “Lorelei Mitchell,” she said.
“Josie Quinn.”
Josie waited for a spark of recognition. She was semi-famous in Denton for having solved some cases that were so shocking, they’d gained national news coverage. Also, her twin sister was a famous journalist. But Lorelei Mitchell only said, “How long ago did your fiancé walk off?”
Josie took her phone out to check the time but realized she didn’t know. She’d been too upset about the deer to keep track of how long it had been. She felt as though she’d been standing alone on the road with the keening animal for hours, but it was probably less than five minutes. “I’m not sure,” she told Lorelei. “Maybe ten, fifteen minutes?”
Lorelei pointed to her truck. “Why don’t you hop in? My place is back less than a half a mile. I get cell service there, believe it or not. I’ve also got a landline you can use to call for help.”
“We didn’t see any houses,” Josie pointed out.
Lorelei smiled. “I know. The driveway’s hidden. I like my privacy.”
“Thank you,” Josie said. “But if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather wait for my fiancé.”
“I don’t normally recommend that women get into vehicles with strangers, but I promise you’ll be safe with me,” Lorelei added.
Josie smiled tightly. “I appreciate that, but I can wait.”
Lorelei was quiet long enough for the deer’s cries to fill Josie’s ears again. She went back to her truck. Again, Josie’s attention was drawn to the gun, although she didn’t know why. But Lorelei didn’t even glance at the gun. Instead, she returned with a photo in her hand. An actual photograph on glossy paper. She handed it to Josie. “Those are my girls. They’re eight and twelve. They’re waiting back at the house for me. It’s just us. Hence all the privacy. Got
