“Was she a night crawler?” Spencer immediately asked.
Tristan shook his head.
“Murdered?”
This time he nodded.
One of those crawlers somewhere in the woods shrieked like a stuck pig. Tristan immediately killed the flashlight and handed it back to Spencer.
“Let’s go!” he whispered, a pain slicing through his head. He was pretty damn sure he did have a concussion, but Tristan also knew he didn’t have time to sit around whining about it, either. Their group was in trouble. Night crawlers were like mindless serial killers. However, this person had experience, opportunity, and cognitive abilities the crawlers no longer possessed. They were relatively easy to outsmart. This serial killer had to be apprehended. Maybe there was more than one. That thought actually scared him, and he never scared easily, or ever.
Spencer led the way, moving faster this time. Kaia occupied the second position, and he brought up the rear. He could hear some of those things in the woods somewhere to their right. He’d thought they’d gotten rid of the ones in their area, but more must’ve moved in. This wasn’t very close to their homes; however, it was too close for his comfort.
He lagged behind slightly, his headache becoming more severe. It wasn’t the worst idea to stay back a bit. Clustering up was never strategically smart.
Suddenly in front of him, Kaia came to a dead stop, skidding in the process. She swung to her right, raised her bow, and fired off an arrow with lightning speed. Tristan hadn’t even seen the night crawler approaching. It was moving fast and silent, apparently. Kaia nailed it center mass. Immediately, it fell backward dead. Even Spencer stopped to make sure she was okay. She just gave a nod.
Then they were moving again. He was glad when their road came into view. He was gladder when their gate came into view three miles later. Spencer pried it open without using the electronics and locked it again after they were through. The house was pitch dark, the barn, as well. They paused to discuss their next set of plans and decided to share it and their findings with the group in the morning.
He and Kaia went to the house, and he was relieved that no more sounds of those things were coming from the direct vicinity around the property. Once they’d hit the road home, the sounds faded into the distance behind them, which was also a relief.
Abraham let them in and locked up after they entered. They both removed their snow-covered outerwear and boots to dry on the mat above the register vent. He told Abraham what happened, and her brother nodded and quietly left them. Tristan could tell he had a lot on his mind. Everyone did with this lunatic out there running free.
“Good job out there tonight,” he praised her. “Good shooting, too.”
She just nodded. “We have to find this creep.”
“I know,” Tristan nodded with a stern scowl. “And we will. His days are numbered. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Kaia looked slightly skeptical but ducked her head and offered another single nod. He couldn’t fault her for the doubt. This man had already taken two lives and hurt another person in their group. And now another woman, maybe others, too.
“Go to bed,” he told her. “Get some rest.”
When she was gone, Tristan hit the medicine cabinet in the half-bath and downed two more Tylenol. He actually grabbed clean, dry socks out of the laundry room and put them on, although he always slept with bare feet. His feet were still freezing from being wet with ice water. He even donned a long-sleeved t-shirt before climbing back into bed with Avery.
Sleep wouldn’t come to him, though. His mind was too occupied with the situation at hand. Why was this man targeting them? Clearly, he wasn’t just targeting them, but he’d killed two of their girls and assaulted a third. Ideas buzzed through his brain as he tried to work out the puzzle of who he could be. Did they know him? Had they wronged this man? Possibly. Tristan was pretty skilled at making enemies.
The idea of him targeting them because of Avery or anyone in her family seemed preposterous. They were the kindest, most generous people he’d ever known.
The fact that he was killing women in the exact same way each time, strangulation, possibly sexual assault meant he had a pattern. Patterns were traceable. He was going to screw up sooner or later.
He even considered setting up a bait scenario the man wouldn’t be able to refuse, but that would possibly put one of their women in danger, too. This man was cunning. He wasn’t a night crawler. They didn’t tend to kill in the same way each time. He’d seen them pummeling people, using cruder weapons like a piece of wood or a pipe, choking, stabbing, even biting once. This man was a serial rapist and strangler. He didn’t seem to get off on the blood aspect. Slitting Destiny’s wrists was to cover his tracks and make her death look like a suicide. He thought he was smart. Up until now, he was.
Why hadn’t he moved on from this area, though? It made no sense. Why risk getting caught? Soon, he wouldn’t have anyone to stalk. The county had emptied out significantly. Tristan had noticed it happening with greater frequency lately. Abandoned homes weren’t going to give him potential victims.
It all led back to the fact that he knew them and knew that they weren’t leaving this area anytime soon, and that sent a chill down his back. Tristan couldn’t sleep, so he slipped from the bed again and went into the office. Leaning against the doorframe to the sliding glass doors that led to the balcony, Tristan stared hard out into the vast fields of darkness beyond. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the man was out there watching him at the same time.
