Johanna had to stop short as to not run into her friend. “What’s going on?” she asked, wanting to get this over with. Retracing your steps through the woods, where you’d been running from a killer, was not her idea of a fun afternoon.
“This,” Marnie said, as she lifted something from the dirt.
It was a key: a single key with no chain or fob. The shaft was dusty, and Johanna saw no identifying marks on it.
“So?” Johanna asked. “Are we picking up all the trash we see today?”
Marnie laughed. “No, but this could be a clue. Remember, it sounded like the house had been locked from the inside—what if this is a key to the house?”
“So you think that the two murders were related?” Johanna asked. She related them together in her mind; she had witnessed one and been asked to identify the body at the other. However, she had not thought of timelines, keys, or any other piece of possible evidence.
Johanna sighed. “I guess they are. The woman from the house left her car in the parking lot of the park. Someone else was murdered in the car. So I mean, that feels like a tie between the two deaths. But I don’t have any idea if they knew each other or not. Those are answers I don’t have.”
“I’m sure the police will know,” Marnie said, pocketing the key. She seemed to have no concept of fingerprints because she handled the key and didn’t mind shoving it into a cotton-lined pocket.
“I doubt that they’ll tell me anything,” Johanna said. She shivered a little as she thought of another interrogation by the police. She’d told them everything that she knew, and any further questionings would merely be repeats of earlier sessions.
Johanna expected to start walking again, but Marnie hadn’t moved. She looked in the direction of Marnie’s gaze and saw what had kept her motionless.
A man was walking towards them. At first, Johanna felt panic well up in her chest. She feared that this was the man she had seen strangling that poor woman in the car, but as he moved closer, she could see that it was not him.
This man had buzz-cut dark hair, deep brown eyes, and appeared much younger than the man in the car. Johanna was shocked to remember so much about the killer now, when she wasn’t being pushed to recall every detail. Perhaps the stress and lack of sleep had hindered her memory.
The man walked quick and sure, showing his confidence and lanky but muscled body. “What are you two doing out here?” he asked. “Did you get lost?”
Johanna pondered the question. They hadn’t left the pathway, and they had been walking in a reasonably straight direction. She wondered what this man saw that he would assume they were unable to find their way back.
Marnie smiled at him. “No, we’re just looking around. We’re fine.”
He smiled back. Now Johanna knew why Marnie had remained still. She was flirting with this man.
“Great. I’m just out for a fast walk before work.” He continued to step in place so that he would not lose his momentum.
“What type of work do you do?” Johanna asked, trying to get this over with. They’d gone from sleuths to schoolgirls in a minute, and she wanted to revert back. The sleuthing was far more interesting.
“Social work for the city,” he said.
Marnie explained that she had come out to pick up Johanna’s car at the lot, and they decided to walk through the forest in hopes of finding anything. Johanna gave her friend a jab in the back to let her know not to mention the key they’d found. This was not the man she’d seen last night. Still, there were far too many unanswered questions for Johanna to feel safe sharing any information about the deaths with strangers.
“You’re that woman they interviewed this morning,” [NLS1]the guy said, pointing at Johanna. “Are you back here looking around?”
“We just came to pick up my car. The police drove me home this morning,” she said. Johanna hoped that the way she’d answered the man would give Marnie a hint to follow suit.
“Oh, gotcha. I’m sure you’re not really able to talk much about the crimes or anything. I’m sure that the police told you to be quiet about what you’ve seen.”
Johanna felt slightly uncomfortable now. She had not expected to be recognized by her appearance on the news, and she definitely didn’t want to be seen as someone hiding the truth from the public. That would make her a target, and she was far too wary of letting that happen.
“Not really,” Johanna said. “It was only a second, and I didn’t really see all that much. Just the wrong place at the wrong time sort of thing.”
Marnie looked disappointed. Apparently, she had exaggerated her place in the drama enough to pique the man’s interest.
The man nodded. “That’s how so many thrillers start—in the movies, that is. Do you go to see the movies?”
He and Marnie began to discuss shows and times, exchanging numbers partway through the conversation. Johanna was bored. This was not what she’d expected from the quick trip to the park for her car.
She walked a short way down the path, still able to see the pair talking and laughing. Marnie had put her hand on the man’s forearm, which was a standard move for her when she was interested. She turned away from them, looking over the landscape in hopes of recognizing something.
She did.
Johanna thought she recognized the sign from this morning—the wood sign giving directions. She took a few more steps closer to it, and she was sure. She recognized all the markers and the arrows that the sign displayed.
Johanna looked off into the distance, thinking she might see the route
