Waterfall Effect

by K. K. Allen

  “Yes, Jax. I’ll take care of Lacey as soon as I get my car. Just sit tight, okay? Keep trying Danny. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Aurora.”

  Those words coming out of Jaxon’s mouth make all the craziness of the past two days a little less overwhelming. I practically float through the next half-hour, wrapping up class, closing the till, and cleaning up before finally giving Meg a call. The lights are off so as not to attract passersby, and I’m sitting on Jaxon’s desk, facing the window with my feet on his chair.

  Meg answers on the third ring. “Hey.” The familiarity in her cheerful tone tells me she thinks I’m Claire.

  “Hey, Meg. It’s Aurora. I’m sorry to bother you, but I was hoping you could give me a ride home. Jaxon’s at the hospital with Claire, and I’m kind of stuck at the shop until Danny gets to the hospital.”

  “The hospital? Is everything okay?”

  “We don’t know yet, but I’m sure it will be fine.” I bite the inside of my lip, hoping that’s true.

  “Okay, I’m hopping in the car now. Give me two minutes.”

  A tap on the front door halts my response. A beam of light hits me next, and I have to cover my eyes and squint between my fingers to make out who’s trying to get my attention. It’s Tanner and his damn flashlight. Like father, like son, I guess.

  What does he want now?

  “Aurora? You there? I’m on my way.” Meg’s voice comes out in a rush.

  “Uh, yeah,” I say, without taking my eyes off the glass. I wave at Tanner to let him know I’m coming. “Thanks, Meg.” I hang up and let out an annoyed breath.

  Pulling the door open with a yank, I gesture for him to come inside, but he shakes his head. “Glad I caught you, Miss June.”

  “It’s Aurora,” I tell him, my tone leaking with annoyance. Why does he insist on being so formal after all the years we’ve known each other? I sigh. “What is it, Tanner? I need to get to the hospital.”

  His face twists. “Why?”

  Now it’s my turn to be confused. “Jaxon said he was calling you to tell you. Claire has been trying to get ahold of Danny. She’s in the hospital, and I’m headed there now.”

  “Ah, yeah. That. Danny got the message. That’s unfortunate news, but you aren’t going anywhere.”

  “Yes, I am.” What the hell is his problem?

  Tanner’s eyes narrow and he lets out a quick breath. “Not after what we just found. You’re going to want to come with me, Aurora. This is serious.”

  My stomach drops. “Tanner, you need to stop being so vague and tell me what is going on here. I haven’t done anything wrong.”

  He shuts his eyes and shakes his head. “We don’t know that yet, do we?”

  “Tanner,” I plead. He needs to look at me, to see me and stop thinking the worst. That’s all he’s done since the moment I stepped into town.

  “Aurora,” he barks. “I just ran the plates on that SUV I found in the woods, and I have reason to believe the owner of the vehicle is with the girl who disappeared last night.

  The room begins to spin. SUV? No, it can’t be.

  “Did you find her?” I swallow, avoiding his accusation entirely.

  Tanner shakes his head, adding to the rising anxiety in my chest. “She’s still missing. But the man she was with—” He pauses, eyeing me a little longer, as if readying to assess my reaction. Finally, he sighs.

  “Aurora, do you know a Scott Turner?”

  I’ve only felt gripping fear like this one other time in my life: seven years ago, when I found out Aurora was missing and I joined the hunt to find her. Most of the town had already proclaimed her dead by the time we started looking. None of the other bodies had been found; why would she be so lucky?

  And then she was found, so close to death, and all I could do was wait by her side while she lay unconscious. Her aunt Cyndi arrived, and I was immediately thrown out of her hospital room. I never got to see her wake up. I never even got to see her at all until I showed up at Cyndi’s, refusing to leave until I got a chance to speak to her. I was so angry. Angry at her father for what he’d done. Angry at her aunt for relaying the message that Aurora didn’t want to see me. And angry at Aurora for kicking me out of her life, especially after everything she went through. I’d never wanted to be there for someone so much. Knowing she was okay and that I may never get to see her again was true heartache, and I promised to never allow myself to feel anything like that again.

  But you can’t plan for things like this. Claire has lost too much blood. Her baby’s life is at risk, and the doctors have been prepping for emergency surgery for what seems like forever. What’s worse, I’ve relayed a message to the station, but I’m not sure if Danny received it. He’ll be gutted when he realizes what’s going on.

  So here I am on the other side of the door, the same one Cyndi kicked me out of years ago, waiting to see if my best friends are about to lose their baby.

  And where the hell is Aurora? I’ve been trying to call Meg and the café for the last half hour, but there’s been no response. She should have been here by now. There’s got to be something I can do besides pacing these halls, waiting. Everywhere I turn, there are whispers. Rumors flying about the missing hiker and how history is repeating itself because Aurora June came back to town. As much as I hate that Aurora’s name is part of the chatter, the coincidence is chilling.

  A young woman.

  On a hiking trip with her boyfriend.

  Went missing during a storm.

  All startling common denominators of mysterious incidents. But the eeriest similarity was found in the tree carvings scattered around the woods near where each girl was last seen by her significant other. Even Aurora has a carving, which is the strangest thing of all, because she was the only one of the girls found alive.

  So of course everyone will jump to conclusions about Aurora being to blame for the latest event, like Tanner already has. In his mind, as a descendant of her father, she’s sure to have the same instincts to kill.

  They’re all fucking crazy if that’s what they truly think. Blaming Aurora is the easiest response to the news about the girl, but it’s not logical. Anything could have happened to her.

  Maybe she got lost. Maybe she slipped off a cliff or into the lake. Maybe a wild animal got to her. I shiver. Who the hell knows? But anything is more likely than Aurora June laying a finger on anyone.

  I saw Aurora last night, the way she wandered onto my property completely zoned out and drenched from the storm. She was haunted by her nightmare. A nightmare that I’m sure had everything to do with what happened seven years ago.

  I’m pacing the halls in front of a large waiting room window when a tall man in uniform darts around the corner, practically skidding to a halt when he sees me.

  “Danny,” I breathe out in relief. “We’ve been trying to get ahold of you all night. They kicked me out, man. I’m not family.”

  “Where is she?” His cheeks are flushed from running, and his bangs stick to his forehead as he tries to catch his breath.

  “Just through there. Room 117. Go. I need to find Aurora, but we’ll be back. Call me as soon as you can.”

  Danny curses and takes off running. “I will. Thanks, man.”

  And just like that, he’s flinging open the emergency room doors and disappearing down the hall.

  I breathe a little bit easier knowing Claire will have Danny by her side, but without knowing where Aurora is, my chest still pounds with worry. I slide into Claire’s car and take the long, winding stretch of mountain road back to the café. Then I hop out and peek through the windows, trying the Creek Café phone again as I approach. It rings and rings, and through the windows, I see nothing but darkness.

  I check all the doors. Locked.

  She definitely left. So then, where is she?

  “Jaxon?” My heart beats fast as I spin toward the voice. I know it doesn’t belo
ng to Aurora, but hope still fills my lungs.

  “Meg, thank God.” I look around. “I tried calling you. Did you talk to Aurora?”

  She nods. “Yeah, that’s why I’m here. I was going to give her a ride, but she was just leaving when I got here. I didn’t realize you called.”

  “What do you mean she just left when you got here? She didn’t have her car.”

  Meg looks toward the main road and shrugs. “I saw her get into Tanner’s car. Maybe she got tired of waiting for me. I was only a few minutes later than I told her I’d be. I hope everything’s okay.”

  My veins are too filled with adrenaline to take time to process what she’s just told me. Instead, I call Tanner’s cell, cursing under my breath when he still doesn’t respond. Where the fuck are they? I take off running down the strip of shops until I get to the sheriff’s station and throw open the door, only to find—no one. Not a soul. Just static from the scanner.

  Leaving the station again, I find Meg standing there with her arms crossed and a worried expression. “Jax, what’s going on?”

  I shake my head, feeling just as confused as she looks. “Which way were they headed?”

  “South, I think.”

  I nod. “Maybe he took her home to get her car. She was probably in a rush to get to the hospital and didn’t want to wait. I’m going to drive up to her house to see if I can catch her. Do you mind waiting here for a bit? Just call me if anyone shows up. She doesn’t have a phone, and I don’t want to miss her if she comes back.”

  “Of course.”

  And I’m off again, jumping into Claire’s car and flying through the mountain roads to Aurora’s cottage. When I pull in to the driveway, my heart stops. The lights to her place are off, and her car is still in the same place she left it last night.

  Tanner didn’t bring her here.

  She never came home.

  I head for my house next. She mentioned she was going to check on Lacey. I sigh as soon as I pull up my drive. Once again, nothing. No sign of anything outside of the ordinary. As I shut off the engine, I hear a scratching sound coming from the inside of my house.

  Sighing, I jog to the front door and unlock it, letting Lacey out. “I’m sorry, Lace. You’ve been locked up all night. Go potty, girl. But hurry. I need to find Aurora.”

  Lacey pushes past me. After being cooped up most of the night, she’s feeling antsy. If it weren’t for her incessant need to venture deep into the woods on her own, I’d let her do her thing without supervision, but I don’t have time for any of her shenanigans right now.

  Aurora probably had Tanner take her to the hospital and we just missed each other. I’ll head back there as soon as Lacey takes care of business. I wait impatiently for her to find her favorite spot on the outskirts of the woods to relieve herself. As I guessed, she takes her time, probably sensing that she doesn’t have much of it.

  I’m checking my phone obsessively and redialing the café, Tanner, and the station without luck. Meg hasn’t called either, so I know she hasn’t spotted anyone.

  All I can do is hope that when I show up to the hospital again, Aurora is there. Because I don’t like this feeling. Not one bit.

  The car door jerks open, and I’m greeted by Tanner’s wild eyes and flushed expression. “Let’s go,” he hisses, his tone gripping my chest in a vicelike hold.

  I look around, refusing to move until I get some answers. It’s dark outside, but we’ve somehow managed to drive through a narrow path in the woods, unpaved and clearly unfrequented. The headlights from the car illuminate the space in front of us, and I try to make sense of my surroundings. After a moment, it hits me where we are.

  Why did he bring me here—to the abandoned cottage in the middle of the woods where I first saw Jaxon paint? Jaxon said he’s purposely left it for the wild animals to roam. It’s the one property in all the fifty acres that hasn’t been maintained. Surrounding it, all I see are trees and brush, but I know Hollow Falls is just over that hill.

  “This is Jaxon’s property,” I say suspiciously. “Why are we here?”

  “You’ll find out in a minute, Miss June.”

  “It’s Aurora,” I say through gritted teeth.

  It’s not that I have a problem with my last name. I’ve always loved it, in fact. But the way Tanner is saying it is in direct correlation to how he feels about my father, and that I hate.

  My eyes follow his flashlight as he moves it around the woods in search of something, I’m not sure what until it illuminates a white SUV positioned between two trees like it was put there on purpose. It’s Scott’s SUV, parked neatly with no sign of damage.

  Ice fills my veins. Why would Scott venture into the woods? Why is he still here? Does Tanner think Scott has something to do with the missing girl? That’s just—strange and wrong. Scott couldn’t possibly have anything to do with that. If anything, he’s still here because he’s holding out hope for me. For us.

  But his car is in the woods, Aurora.

  “Tanner.” I try to control the shake in my voice. “This has got to be a mistake.”

  His jaw hardens, and his eyes narrow. “Get out of the car, Aurora. You need to see something else.”

  Emotion clogs my throat, but I fight past it to ask what I need to know. “Is he okay?”

  “We haven’t found him. Get out of the car. Don’t make me tell you again.”

  My pulse quickens, and my head grows light. My veins fill with dread, and I clutch the handle of the door. “Why? Should I even be out here right now? Aren’t you all looking for that girl? Just take me back.”

  “Get out of the damn car!” Tanner reaches for my wrist, but I pull it away and slide to the other side of the seat.

  “Don’t you dare put your hands on me, asshole,” I spit. “I’m not under arrest. You brought me out here, but I came willingly. And if I want to get out of this car, I will walk out on my own.”

  Tanner throws up his hands and steps back. “Fine. While you throw a princess fit in the back of the squad car, a young girl might be dyin’. Hell, I don’t even know why I care. She’s probably dead already.”

  He stalks off, and blood boils in my chest. I scramble out of the car after him, slamming the door behind me. Anger swirls around me like a tornado ready to annihilate anything standing in my path.

  “Tanner, what the hell is going on?”

  The glow of the headlights shines on him. His back is to me as he takes a deep breath and releases it loudly. He spins to face me, then places his hands on his hips. “Look. I’m just trying to get to the bottom of whatever the hell is going on out here, and I’m doing it my way. Not my father’s or the town’s. My way.”

  “Why?”

  He shakes his head. “I can’t tell you. But I need you to work with me. Trust me. I have a really bad feeling about all of this.” He points to the SUV. “I ran the plates. You used to live with this guy? This Scott Turner?”

  I nod without hesitation. “Yes. We lived together as friends.” Tanner turns his nose down at me like he doesn’t believe me. “We dated a little in the end, but it was nothing. We’re just friends.”

  “Then why did he come to Balsam Grove, Aurora? Why do I have witnesses telling me he offered a young girl a ride at the bar last night after she stormed off from her boyfriend? And why the hell is his car here in the middle of the woods near our old stomping grounds?”

  I swallow, scanning Tanner’s eyes for any clue about what his theory is. “He was checking up on me. I didn’t exactly tell him I was leaving Durham. It was shitty of me to do. He cares about me a lot, but I couldn’t bear to say goodbye. So I left, and he found out where I was and showed up. I thought he left yesterday.”

  “Is that the last time you saw him? Yesterday? When?”

  I exhale heavily, trying to remember. So much happened yesterday. “Um. He showed up at the café around seven p.m. It was before Canvas and Wine. He saw Jaxon, freaked out, and left. Like I said, I thou
ght he left town.”

  “Did he leave angry?”

  I open my mouth to respond. That’s an easy answer. Yes. Scott was madder than hell, but I’m afraid of what Tanner’s fishing for. “He was upset, yes, but wouldn’t you be given the situation? He didn’t yell or anything. He just left.”

  “But he didn’t. He was supposed to check out of his room this morning. The hotel’s been trying to call him, but nothing. He just—poof—disappeared. We’ve been investigating all out-of-towners and locals all day, but this isn’t looking too good for your friend, Aurora.”

  “What do you think he did?”

  “If anything happens to that girl, he’s a suspect.”

  I whip my head to face him, my eyes stinging with new tears. “Scott would never hurt anyone. Ever.”

  “You said the same thing about your daddy, didn’t you?”

  I gasp, his words slamming me hard in the chest and pushing the emotion higher up my throat. “Go to hell.”

  Tanner lets out a frustrated growl. “What did I tell you about coming back here? It was a mistake. A big fucking mistake, Aurora.”

  I narrow my eyes at him. “How am I the enemy here?”

  “Seven years,” he says through his teeth, spit spraying from his mouth in frustration. “This town has been safe for seven years. Not a single missing hiker. Not a murder, not even a death outside of natural causes. You see how this looks, don’t you?” He shakes his head. “I warned you this would happen.”

  My jaw drops, anger swirling inside me like a cauldron finally ready to bubble over. I’ve had enough. “And why would you have warned me to stay away when the murderer was caught and put away years ago? It makes no sense. The town wanted my father convicted despite the lack of hard evidence, and they got it. Y’all got what you wanted. Now he’s dead.”

  “And now you’re back—for what? For revenge?”

  A half-growl, half-scream rips from my throat in frustration. “Jesus, Tanner. First you accuse Scott of hurting someone, and now you think this is all some sort of revenge plot? Did it ever occur to you that the girl’s boyfriend had something to do with it? Or one of the other dozens of hikers that came out this week? No? Why not? Why are you dead set on targeting me and the people I care about? I can’t make sense of it.”