“Nate’s friends?” An older woman peered at us over the top of her bifocals. She had a watering can in her hands, even though it seemed awfully dark to be tending flowers. But to each her own, I supposed. I’d seen stranger things.
“Yes, we are,” I said. “We were looking for him, but it doesn’t appear he’s home yet.”
“He hasn’t been home much lately. He’s working at Mythical Falls. Then, again, you probably know that already, don’t you? Since you’re friends and all.”
I nodded, unsure if she was trying to call my bluff or what. I decided to roll with it. “That’s right. Hopefully it will open before Halloween.”
“Are you two connected with the college also?” she asked.
I tilted my head, still unsure of where she was going with this. I really wanted to find out. “You mean Whitehurst College?”
She studied us a moment. “I’m guessing you’re too old to be students, but maybe professors?”
I was halfway insulted because in my head I was still twenty-one years old. But I forced a smile. A professor wasn’t that bad. At least she hadn’t suggested we were the parents of college students. “No, but we are from out of town.”
“I see. Nate’s had several people from the college over lately. I just assumed he was doing another class there or something.”
“Another class?” Riley asked. “He’s never told us he taught there. He’s so modest like that.”
“You know, Nate. He’s always up for new adventures. But about a year ago, he taught a financial class. I heard he was quite popular on campus.”
“I can imagine. He has a magnanimous personality.” I mentally rolled my eyes as I said the words.
“Yes, he does.”
I shifted. “Did some of his friends who came here happen to be big guys? One a blond and the other have dark hair?”
She nodded. “As a matter of fact, yes. I just saw them here a few days ago. I guess you know them.”
Satisfaction burst inside me. I finally had a connection. “Yes, I do. I was hoping I might run into them again also. Maybe I’ll have better luck next time.”
* * *
“Gabby! It’s so good to see you!” Marion pulled me into a hug. “And who is this with you?”
“This is Riley. He’s my . . .” Husband? Boyfriend? Fiancé? It was all so confusing.
“I’m the man she’s going to marry,” Riley said, giving me a wink.
Well, that was one way to say it.
“You’re one lucky man,” Marion said. “Gabby’s a special, special girl.”
“Believe me—I know it.” Riley gave me a little squeeze.
“Come in, come in. I’m so happy you could make it. Did I hear that Caleb’s parents called you?” She ushered us inside, took our coats, and led us into the living room.
I nodded, lacing my hands together in front of me and standing on a well-worn oriental rug. “They did. I told them I would work on the case in my spare time. I’d love to find answers for them before I go back to Virginia.”
She offered a grateful smile. “Wonderful news. I was hoping all of that would work out. It means so much to them.”
“Do you know them?” I asked, ignoring the tantalizing smell that curled around me. Pasta? Freshly baked bread? Those were my guesses, and I hoped they were right.
“No, but I talked to them for quite a while when they came into the office. They seemed like such a nice couple.” She paused from filling some goblets with ice. “Now when do you go back to Virginia?”
“I originally was heading back on Saturday or Sunday, but I have a feeling I’ll end up staying longer. My next job back in Virginia isn’t until Wednesday, so I do have some time.”
I hadn’t told Chad that yet, but I figured he’d need the help. However, I would be at the mercy of whoever could give me a ride back.
“I hate to see you doing construction when you could be using that wonderful brain of yours for other pursuits.”
I shrugged. “It’s like I said: I do this and that. Between Grayson Tech and all of the side jobs I’ve gotten doing P.I. work, I’ve stayed busy. I can’t complain.”
“Well, I’ll put in another good word for you with the Virginia Medical Examiner’s Office, if you’d like. You never know when things will turn around.”
“I’m never opposed to having good words put in.”
“This is my husband, Duke,” Marion continued. A large, tall man with the most massive hands I’d ever seen stepped in from outside. I swallowed hard when I spotted him.
No, there was absolutely no connection between this man and the Bigfoot Strangler. Why would there be? But I’d never seen hands that large. Never.
“Nice to meet you both,” Duke said. He had a low, gravelly voice. His hair, which was peppered with gray, was curly and too long. Thick hair also extended out of his collar and on top of his hands.
This man appeared to be the human form of Bigfoot. I had no doubt about that. He even seemed quiet and brooding.
But Nate was the one behind those Bigfoot sightings at Mythical Falls, and he was the one who’d tried to run us off the road. He’d somehow connected with Franz and Tobs to do this. I couldn’t forget that. I knew exactly how to get the evidence I needed to prove he was guilty. I just needed a little more time.
“We’re having something easy—baked spaghetti. It’s already on the table, along with salad and some garlic bread. I didn’t want anything fancy—just a simple dinner with time to catch up,” Marion said. “So why don’t we all go sit down?”
We did just that. The first hour, we chitchatted in general about life and let yummy pasta fill our tummies. But, just as I’d hoped, while having dessert the conversation finally took a turn toward the mystery at Mythical Falls.
“What do you think is happening at Mythical Falls?” Marion gingerly cut a piece of cheesecake and raised it on her fork. “Do you believe in Bigfoot? I saw you on the news, by the way. Very nice.”
I offered a half-hearted smile and pushed a hair behind my ear. “I was ambushed. But thank you for being kind. No, I don’t believe in Bigfoot. I do believe that someone dressed as Bigfoot in an attempt to scare us away.”
But why would Nate want to scare us away? Why bring us here only to frighten us? And was he also guilty of—
“Do you think this same person is responsible for the murder of Caleb? And for the murder of Henry before him?” Duke asked, almost as if he’d read my mind.
“That is something I don’t know. Unless Henry or Caleb discovered something they shouldn’t, and this person decided to silence them once and for all.”
“But death by strangulation?” Marion frowned. “You know what they say about that. In cases of strangulation, it’s usually someone the victim knows.”
“I thought about that, but both Henry and Caleb were strangled from behind. I think that could be telling. Sure, the murderer didn’t want to look his victims in the eyes. Maybe he even ambushed them. But I’m not convinced he knew the victims.”
“Why not use a knife or a gun? That’s what most killers do.”
I rubbed the white ceramic of my coffee mug, deep in thought. “Maybe he wanted to give the appearance that Bigfoot had done it,” I said. “And, if that was the case, it worked. For years, people have believed that Bigfoot was roaming the woods, looking for more victims. Maybe someone knew that and wanted to exploit it.”
Marion shifted before nodding thoughtfully. “That’s a very interesting theory. I certainly wouldn’t want to encounter this person in the dark, though. I can only imagine what goes on in their heads.”
I wiggled in my seat a moment, getting out my nervousness before asking my next nosy question. “I know I’m not supposed to ask this, but how is the investigation coming? Are the police tracking down any promising leads?”
Marion ate her last bite of cheesecake and shook her head. “Not to my knowledge. They were unable to obtain any fingerprints from the gloves or gasoline cans. You know how diff
icult it can be to draw prints from leather.”
I straightened at her statement. “I bet I could.”
She twisted her neck in curiosity. “What do you mean?”
My mind raced with possibilities. “There’s a new product called Polyvinylsiloxane. It’s amazing at getting latent prints from difficult surfaces.”
She twisted her head as she considered my words. “I wonder if the department knows about it.”
I shrugged. “It’s a relatively new product. It’s one of the presentations I do for Grayson Tech.”
She leaned closer. “Gabby, would you mind if I told some of the guys at the station about this Poly—?”
“Polyvinylsiloxane,” I finished. “No, feel free. I try to spread the word about it. Whatever I can do to help.”
She leaned back and smiled. “Great. I have a feeling it’s no coincidence you’re here now. No coincidence at all.”
* * *
“We’ve got to go talk to the Tobs and the Franz,” I told Riley after we left Marion’s.
“The Tobs and the Franz?”
“Frat boy nicknames. They’re the friends of Caleb’s. I spoke with them a couple of days ago, and they match the description that Nate’s neighbor gave us. I want answers from them before I confront Nate.”
“How about we just call the police?”
I shook my head. “If my accusations are wrong—and I’m confident they won’t be, especially after seeing Nate’s car—but just in case, I need to know for sure. This could ruin my friendship with Chad, otherwise.”
“Let’s go then.”
Thankfully, the college wasn’t far away. As we cruised down the road, Riley said, “They seem like a really solid couple.”
I nodded. “They do, don’t they? And to think they met on an online dating site.”
“It’s not how you meet. It’s about who you are and who your partner is, right?”
I nodded. “That’s what I’ve always thought. But, then, I look at Stephen and Patti at church. If they can’t make it, is there any hope for the rest of us?”
I hadn’t intended on bringing them up, but they’d been on my mind a lot lately.
Riley grimaced. “I know. I hate to see their marriage fall apart. I keep praying that things will turn around for them.”
“How does that happen, Riley? How does a couple go from being the leaders of our Bible study, model parents, and whispering the sweetest, most sincere sounding prayers ever to getting divorced?”
“It’s enough to shake anybody up. I get it. All I know is that your foundation in Christ has to be solid. Divorce and giving up can’t be an option. It can’t even be on the table.”
His words remained on my mind as we pulled into campus. We found parking, hiked across the campus, and were able to slip inside the dorm when someone else emerged. I walked up the stairs, acting like I knew what I was doing. A few minutes later, I was knocking on Tobs’ and Franz’s door.
Tobs answered a moment later. His eyes widened when he saw me.
“We’re not supposed to have visitors here, you know,” he said. “It’s past hours.”
“Thankfully one of your fellow students let me in,” I responded. “We need to talk.”
His gaze flickered back to Riley, and finally he nodded hesitantly. “About what?”
“About how Nate hired you to go to Mythical Falls disguised as Bigfoot,” I stated.
He stared at me a moment before laughing. “That’s ridiculous. Why would he do that?”
“He hired Caleb first, but something went terribly wrong. Were you there when it happened?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m guessing he paid you ten thousand dollars because he knew Henry had been paid that amount. It would stir up more interest in the place if current events matched past ones.”
Something flickered in his gaze. “First I’ve heard of it.”
“For that matter, maybe you were the one who killed Caleb. Did he threaten to spill the beans on the whole mission? Maybe you needed the money—so badly that you’d kill to keep him quiet.”
His eyes widened again, this time with a tinge of panic. “That’s crazy. I would have never killed Caleb. He was my bro.” He hit his hand on his chest in some kind of bro loyalty ritual.
“Then what happened? Because when I leave here, I’m going to the police with my theories. This is your one chance to explain yourself. You have to the count of ten or I’m leaving.” I had to talk tough to get through to him. Tobs wasn’t the type who’d easily confess. Most people weren’t.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Missy.”
I cocked my hand on my hip. “Missy?”
He nodded, all ghetto-like. “I know who you are. I saw you on the news. You’re like the female Sherlock Holmes. And you’re trying to mess with my mind.”
I almost rolled my eyes, but, then again, maybe I should be flattered by the title, even if someone who’d wanted to draw publicity to an aging theme park had fabricated it.
“Your time is ticking away,” I told him. I glanced at my watch just for dramatic effect.
He raised his hands. “Okay, okay. I didn’t kill Caleb. That’s the truth. I would never hurt someone. Especially not Caleb.”
“So what really happened?”
He looked down the hallway and then motioned for Riley and me to come inside. I would have said no, except that Riley was with me. But I made sure to keep the door open this time. People, when threatened, could react horribly, and I didn’t want to put myself in that position.
“So?” I crossed my arms, knowing I couldn’t back down and that compassion would only be seen as weakness.
“We were hired to wear a Bigfoot costume. We were supposed to leave some footprints, do some wood knocking, maybe scare a few people. That was it.”
“Were you the one peering in my window?”
He frowned, his shoulders slumping. “I was.”
“How did you make such a quick getaway?”
“We rehearsed how to walk like Bigfoot. I had to take leaps to get across that stream like I did. After that, I said, ‘No more.’ There are too many creepy things going on. I finished my contract, and that was it.”
“Contract?”
He nodded. “That’s right. I had to sign a contract. If I didn’t fulfill my portion of it, I would have to pay back the money. I can’t do that. I used it to sponsor a party in my room last week-before Caleb died.”
“So Caleb was originally hired to do this?”
He nodded again. “That’s right. It was Caleb, me, and Franz. All three of us. Caleb went out to take his turn. But he never came back.” His voice caught.
“Why didn’t you tell the police any of this?”
His eyes sparked to life. “Because I know how it looks! It looks like we’re guilty. I can’t afford for people to look at me as if I’m one of the bad guys. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“So no one was there with Caleb that day?” Riley asked.
He shook his head. “No one. He wanted to go by himself to check out the property. We weren’t supposed to start until the next day.”
The day the work crew arrived. What perfect timing.
“Who hired you?” I already knew the answer.
“Nate. He said he wanted to drum up publicity.”
Nate was way sneakier than I’d given him credit for. But was he sneaky enough to murder someone? “Did Nate kill Caleb?”
“Why would he? I don’t know. I don’t know anything about him. We met him at a workshop. We knew he owned Mythical Falls so we asked him some questions. He took us out there to see the property. That’s when he mentioned a prank he wanted to play. He said it would be like one of those reality shows. We didn’t think anything of it.”
“Is there anything else you’re not telling me?”
He shook his head. “No. Nothing. What are you going to do now?”
“I will have to share this wi
th the local police, but I don’t think you’ll have any repercussions—not if you continue to tell the truth.”
He nodded. “Of course. I want to make things right.”
“What about your friend, Franz?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I thought he’d be back by now.”
“Where did he go?”
“To Mythical Falls. He was going to tell Nate he was done. No more. But he’s not answering his phone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“We’ve got to get back to Mythical Falls and find Nate. Right now.”
“Should we call the police?” Riley asked as we sped down the road. We were still at least thirty minutes away from the old theme park. I really hoped that Nate was there—or, if not, that someone knew where he was. I was beyond the point of being polite—Nate had betrayed all of us.
“We have nothing but theories now,” I finally said. “I promise—I’ll call them. I don’t want to deal with this on my own. But I’m not sure how seriously they’re going to take us at this point.”
“Do you really think Nate murdered Caleb?”
I nibbled on my bottom lip for a moment. “I see very few other possibilities here. If Nate’s not guilty, he’s put himself in an awful position.”
“What about this Franz guy? Are you worried?”
My stomach tightened at the thought. “I hope Franz is okay. But everyone has secrets, Riley. Everyone.”
He opened his mouth then shut it again. Had he been about to ask if I had secrets from him but then stopped? Maybe he didn’t want to know the answer. Maybe he didn’t want to know how much I feared that all the good things in my life would slip away. That I was destined to mess things up. That I didn’t know if I deserved to ever be truly happy.
Finally, we pulled into Mythical Falls. As soon as Riley parked, I hopped out and burst into the cabin.
My eyes immediately fell on Nate. He sat on the couch, his arm stretched behind it. Clarice giggled beside him, and Nate looked totally relaxed, like he didn’t have a care in the world.
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