Burn Out

by Traci Hohenstein

  He started to get mad again. He stood up and clenched his fists.

  “Don’t…do…this…Sam. Please. If there is no one else, then why are we breaking up? Don’t you love me?”

  She shook her head no. All the things she planned to say were gone. “No, Paul. I’m sorry, it’s over.”

  Paul took the bottle of champagne and threw it, the bottle giving a satisfying pop and sizzle, as it hit a tree. He took the skinny champagne glasses and did the same thing. “I can’t believe this!” He yelled at her. “You…will…regret…this…you fucking bitch!” Paul was shaking as he got in his truck and left. She sat on the picnic table and cried for a long time. She wasn’t sad, she was relieved. She didn’t realize until that moment she was feeling stressed the whole time she was with Paul. Now, she felt nothing but sweet relief. She was free.

  Finally, after what seemed to be hours, another vehicle pulled up. It was one of her brothers friend, Blake, and his girlfriend. They gave her a ride home. She didn’t see Paul again for a couple months.

  They ran into each other at the fire station for tryouts. He acted like nothing ever happened between them. It was awkward at first, but then she got used to it. They both ended up getting hired for Santa Rosa Beach fire department and thankfully worked on different shifts. She managed to be civil to him when they saw each other. Eventually, the awkwardness went away and she didn’t give Paul a second thought.

  Then she met Ken at a call. She didn’t realize it was the same guy she met at Disney World her senior year. Kenny Collins. He had gone to another rival school and they knew of each other, but never hung out. Ken looked a little different now. His skinny frame had filled out nicely and he was taller.

  Ken was working with the police department as a new officer and they ran into each other at a domestic dispute call. The husband had set fire to his house with his wife tied up inside. After the victim was rescued and her husband in custody, they all stood outside the house talking shop. Ken asked her out for coffee. She told him no, but he could take her to dinner instead. She was a little reluctant to know Ken and Paul were already friends. It didn’t seem to bother Ken she and Paul had once dated, so she decided to put the past behind her and move on. Ken and Sam were married within six months of dating. They had two beautiful girls and everything seemed good. Until she learned Ken and Paul’s secret.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Santa Rosa Beach, Tuesday late evening

  Stacy handed Rachel her cell. “This thing has been going off like gangbusters since you’ve been in the shower. Vibrating all over the counter.”

  “Thanks.” Rachel took the phone and glanced through the call log. “Jeff Stanton called. Probably to let me know the tool impressions have come back.” She sat down and put her head on the table.

  “Everything ok?”

  “It’s been a long day.”

  Stacy sat down at the table with her. “I hear you. The hot lead I got about Pedro Gonzalez turned out to be a dead end. At least the dinner with Mack wasn’t a waste of time.”

  “Mack is a very handsome guy.”

  Stacy agreed. “Yes, he is. But it is so obvious that is in love with Sam.”

  “Really? Why do you think?

  “You really have to ask?” Stacy laughed. “When he talks about Sam, his eyes light up. They were in love.”

  “What happened at dinner?”

  “We went to Jack Speight’s house. He is a detective at the police department. Even though he is not active on Sam’s case, Mack thought he would be able to give me some insight on the arson cases.”

  “How did it go?”

  “Good. Although, I don’t think any of the information he gave me will help us with finding Sam. What happened with Ken?”

  Rachel told of her visit at the jail and the decision to search around the lake. Since no money was found, she thought it was okay to tell her what happened. “We found a necklace that belonged to Sam.”

  “How do you know for sure it was Sam who left the necklace?”

  “I don’t know for sure, but it seems to fit the puzzle. Tammie told me the story about the necklace when we met before the press conference. As far as she knew, Sam didn’t wear it anymore. If it had been in the tree for a long time, it would have shown some wear from the weather. The necklace was clean when we found it. I think Sam left it there on the chance Ken or Mack would find it and understand the significance of the necklace.”

  “You think Paul kidnapped Sam?”

  “That is a strong possibility. We need to find Paul and talk to him.”

  “At dinner, Mack mentioned Paul had a cabin somewhere north of here. He is supposed to be there now. Fishing or something.”

  “Do you know where the cabin is?”

  “Not sure. I can call Mack and ask for directions.”

  Rachel looked through her call log again. “Jeff Stanton called me three times. I better call him back before everyone comes back. Mike went to pick up some pizza and we were going to come up with a plan to find Paul.”

  “Are you going to tell Jeff about the necklace?” Stacy asked.

  “Not yet.”Rachel walked into her bedroom to call Jeff. “Hey, Jeff, it’s Rachel. Sorry I missed your calls.”

  “Hi, Rachel. I’m sorry to be calling you so late, but I wanted to let you know this before it comes out in the media.” Jeff hesitated.

  Rachel sensed something bad was coming down. She instinctively sat down on the bed. No late night phone calls were usually good ones.

  “Mack Dixon was killed in a car accident tonight. I wanted to tell you before it hit the media outlets.”

  “Oh my gosh! What happened?” Rachel asked.

  Stacy could tell something was wrong by the tone of Rachel’s voice. She came into the room and sat down next to her on the bed.

  “I don’t know all the details yet. It happened on Highway 20. From what the state trooper told me, it looked like he lost control of his truck and it flipped over in a ditch. He died on impact.”

  “When did this happen?”

  “About ten o’clock.”

  “That is just awful. Please keep me updated.” Rachel clicked off. She felt numb. She didn’t know how she was going to tell Stacy. She had just had dinner with him.

  Stacy put her arm around her. “Bad news?”

  Rachel nodded her head and whispered, “Yes. Mack Dixon is dead.”

  “What? I just saw him a couple hours ago!”

  Rachel repeated what little information Jeff had given her. “He said he would call me later when he found out more.”

  “He said he was a little tired when we were leaving. Maybe he fell asleep at the wheel?” Stacy covered her face with her hands. “Oh, god. I can’t believe this is happening.”

  Rachel rubbed her back. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “Mack was fine while we were at dinner.” Stacy reflected. She just couldn’t wrap her head around the fact Mack was now dead. “Maybe someone messed with his truck?”

  “Yeah, you have to admit it is suspicious with everything else that is going on with Sam’s disappearance.”

  Rachel heard some noise in the other room. “Sounds like Mike is here with the pizza. Want to get something to eat?”

  Stacy shook her head. “Not hungry. Give me a few minutes, okay?”

  “Sure. Take your time.” Rachel went to go tell Mike the bad news.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Santa Rosa Beach, Wednesday morning

  Jack Speights was the last person to see Mack alive. Stacy thought it was a good idea to head over there first thing in the morning to talk to him about Mack. She couldn’t shake the feeling his death had something to do with Samantha’s disappearance.

  Jack lived in a nice subdivision close to the beach. It was a modest neighborhood dotted with colorful Florida cottages. She followed Stacy’s directions as she drove past the swimming pool, a children’s playground, and tennis courts. They parked in front of a pale blue house at the end of a c
ul-de-sac. As soon as she rang the bell, dogs starting barking. A petite blonde with hazel eyes and a nice smile answered the door. She was wearing an apron decorated with a daisy design.

  “Hi, Stacy. Nice to see you again.” Stacy introduced Rachel to Jenny. “Nice to meet you. Please come in,” Jenny said.

  “Thanks for having us over.”

  The home was decorated with seaside flair with white, denim covered couches and light blue and green colors. She could see Jack and his kids outside in the back yard playing, tossing a football.

  “Can I get you some lemonade?” Jenny offered.

  They accepted the sweet, tangy drink and Jenny led them outside.

  “Hey there,” Jack said as they walked out onto the deck.

  Jenny gave her husband a drink and took the boys inside. Stacy introduced Jack to Rachel and they all settled on the Adirondack chairs which overlooked the lake.

  “I’m sorry to hear about Mack. Stacy said you were close,” Rachel said.

  “Thank you. I think we are all still in shock.”

  “I appreciate you letting us come over. I’m sure Stacy told you my background and what we are doing to find Samantha. I can’t help but wonder if Mack’s car accident wasn’t planned.”

  “I have to say the thought crossed my mind a couple of times as well. Until we get the coroner’s report back, I don’t want to jump to conclusions.” Jack paused. “Why do you think Mack’s death wasn’t an accident?”

  Rachel wasn’t ready to disclose what they found at Millers Lake. “There is something about Paul I don’t like. I think he has something to do with all this.”

  “Funny you mention that. Mack repeated the same sentiment last night.” Jack looked at Stacy for verification.

  “Yes, he said he had gone to Paul’s house a couple of days ago to talk to him about Sam. He said something was bugging him the whole time he was there, but he couldn’t put his finger on it,” Stacy said. “It finally dawned on him last night.”

  “What was it?”

  “When Mack was leaving Paul’s house, he saw a tool Paul had just bought,” Jack responded.

  “A Halligan bar?” Rachel asked.

  Jack looked surprised. “Yes, how did you know?”

  “I have been working with Jeff Stanton and he called me early this morning. He said the tool marks left at the scene matched the marks of the other arson cases. He speculated it was some type of crow bar. Possibly a Halligan bar.”

  “Mack thought the same thing. He asked Paul what happened with his old tool bar when he noticed a new one in his house. Paul said his old one was stolen. Mack asked me to check to see if Paul reported it stolen – like he said he had – but it wasn’t true,” Jack said.

  “Why would Paul lie about his tool being stolen?”

  “He is trying to hide something.”

  “I should go visit Paul again,” Rachel said.

  “Chief Gladstone needs to know about this. I’ll call him and see what’s going on with the case.”

  “I don’t think we can wait for that.”

  “Well, you can probably find him at his fishing cabin. I would check there first.”

  “Do you know where it is?”

  “Sure. I’ve been up to his cabin a couple of times with some of the guys during hunting season. I can give you directions. It is about an hour from here.”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Juniper Lake, Wednesday noon

  “Are we sure the fishing cabin is this way? This road is leading to nowhere,” Rachel said.

  “Yes, this is the right way.” Stacy consulted the directions Jack gave them. “This is so out in the boonies the GPS doesn’t even register the place.”

  Just as she said that, the road opened up to a large field with a small cabin beside a lake. The cabin was made of logs and had a wide front porch with two rocking chairs on one side and a wooden bench on the other. A planter box adorned the window panes that looked like they once held beautiful flowers.

  “Looks like no one is here,” Mike said. “I don’t see Paul’s truck.”

  “That’s a good thing. We can snoop around a bit.” Rachel stepped out of the truck. She walked up to the front door and tried the knob. “It’s unlocked.”

  “I would knock first. You know. Don’t want to get shot or anything,” Stacy said. “Red wouldn’t like it if we came back without you.” Red had stayed behind to look after Maggie and catch up on some paperwork while they came up to the cabin.

  She softly knocked on the door. “No answer.” She opened the door cautiously. “Hello,” she called out.

  “Let me go first.” Mike walked in with Rachel and Stacy following.

  “He must have been here recently. It still smells like breakfast,” Rachel said. “Bacon and eggs, I’m guessing.” She looked around the room. The place was clean and tidy. A small, worn couch sat in the middle of the room with a Lazy Boy recliner in front of fireplace. On the coffee table were various, worn, hunting and fishing magazines. Off to the right, was a tiny kitchen with a two-top table and chairs. On the left side of the room was a hallway which led to two closed doors.

  “That must be the bedroom and a bath.” Stacy headed down the hallway.

  Stacy opened one of the doors. It was the bedroom. The queen bed had been hastily made with a quilt bunched up and two throw pillows placed by the headboard. There was a half empty glass of water on the nightstand, along with a bottle of Tylenol. She opened the other door and walked into the bathroom. The sink was still wet and a damp towel hung from the towel bar.

  “Someone was just here,” Stacy called out. “But no sign of Samantha.” She pointed to the wet towels and used bar of soap.

  “Well, we didn’t pass Paul’s truck on the way out unless he went the other way,” Mike said, coming up behind her.

  “Let’s take a look around outside.” Rachel led the way out from the back door off the kitchen. She viewed a path which led down to the lake. Mike opened up the trash cans by the back door.

  “Why are there latches on the top of the lids?” Rachel wondered out loud.

  “Raccoons probably. They are smart little buggers and like to get in the trash,” Mike said, digging around in the trash bag.

  “What are you doing?” Rachel asked, wrinkling her nose at the smell.

  “You can learn a lot by looking in someone’s trash,” Stacy said.

  “You sound like you’ve done that before. Yuck.”

  “He must have emptied it recently. Just some beer cans and food,” Mike said.

  They looked around the yard. “Nice little retreat Paul has here. Let’s walk down to the lake,” Rachel suggested.

  There was a worn and heavily used path which lead them around to the water’s edge. The lake was a beautiful emerald green color with a sandy bottom.

  “Florida has the most beautiful lakes I’ve ever seen,” Stacy said.

  Mike crouched down to the ground. “Lots of footprints. Maybe recent, hard to tell.” The sandy path was covered with them.

  “Looks like two sets,” Rachel said.

  “Man and woman?” Mike said. “See the size difference? And look at the direction of the prints. The larger one goes both ways. ”

  “And the smaller set of prints only heads towards the direction of the lake,” Rachel said.

  “Paul had some company. Let’s see where they lead to.”

  They started following the prints down to the lake and then they stopped by the edge of the lake.

  “Here they pick back up,” Stacy yelled.

  “Let’s see where this leads. Maybe one of you should stay back at the cabin for look out.”

  Stacy said, “I’ll go back and wait.” She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “Shit, no cell service.”

  Rachel and Mike looked at their cell phones. “Same here,” Rachel said as Mike nodded his head, too. “There is a whistle in my backpack. I left it in the truck.”

  Mike tossed her the truck keys and laughed. “And if
a whistle isn’t enough, I have a loaded Glock in the glove compartment. You know how to shoot?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Good. Whistle if you need us. Use the gun in an emergency.”

  “Right. Got it.” Stacy turned back around and headed towards the cabin.

  Rachel and Mike carefully made their way through the thick brush following the trail and the footprints.

  “What do you think about the two sets of prints? Paul has an accomplice? Or is it Sam’s?” Rachel said.

  “I would like to think the latter.”

  Rachel nodded in agreement.

  The trees were thick and provided shade from the overbearing sun. It gave the effect of approaching darkness and there was a distinct chill in the air.

  “We should have brought a flashlight with us. The more we head down this path, the darker it gets,” Mike said, brushing a branch out of his way. “How’s your ankle holding up?”

  “Good, so far. I wonder how long…” Rachel started to say as she slipped on something and landed flat on her butt.

  “Ouch. What the hell was that?” She reached around and rubbed the side of her hip.

  “Woah. You okay?” Mike held out his hand to help her up.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.” Rachel looked down at the path. There was a shiny object protruding from the sandy path. Mike reached down and picked it up.

  “A wine corkscrew. That’s weird,” he said.

  “It could have come from the cabin. Let’s keep going.”

  After a few hundred feet the footsteps stopped.

  “Looks like they go off path here,” Mike said.

  There was a small like tunnel of undergrowth that went through the heavy pine trees. Mike had to hunch down to go through. Rachel followed him. He came to a standstill. “Is that what I think it is?”

  A small structure was almost invisible from the trail because it was covered in thick brush and shielded by all the pine trees. A wooden door with a heavy latch on the front stood in front of them.