Author: Allison Brennan
Category: Suspense
Go to read content：https://onlinereadfreenovel.com/allison-brennan/page,13,536826-the_third_to_die.html
“I’d like you to give my team a profile this afternoon. I also need something for the press.”
“You can’t quote me.”
“I won’t—you know me better than that. But the press is all over this. Someone at SPD talked, most likely the chief himself. I need to calm the waters.”
“I understand, but I’m piecemealing this. Send me everything you’ve learned about Banks. Let me know after you talk to her friend if you learn anything important. I guarantee, the killer targeted her as some sort of retribution. Punishment. I haven’t quite figured out the motive, but it’s personal.”
“And the others?”
“Possibly. But Anne Banks will link directly to him in some way, while the others may be surrogates.”
“Did you get my email about Quinn’s theory on how the killer moved about?”
“Quinn?”
“Detective Kara Quinn. The LAPD cop on vacation who’s been helping us.”
“Right. I saw it, didn’t connect the name. It’s entirely plausible, though it seems extravagant for his purposes. Is there something else about that property that could be important to the killer? You might want to run a property check going back at least thirty years. I’m sure he picked it for a reason. Like the victims, it might seem random, but to him, it’s not.”
She didn’t say anything else. Matt said, “And?”
“And what?”
“I heard you thinking.”
“I’m wondering why Liberty Lake. The other locations—Portland, Missoula—the victims had a connection to the town. They either worked or lived there. Victoria Manners has no connection to Liberty Lake—she lived in Spokane and worked in Spokane, correct?”
“Liberty Lake is a suburb.”
“The killer had to transport her twenty miles. The other six victims were killed either at their home, at their work, or a location between the two. Manners is her own outlier, just like Anne Banks. He picked Liberty Lake for a reason. Unless she has a connection to the place, he picked it specifically for her murder. Why?”
Matt didn’t have an answer. But he felt closer to finding it now.
16
Liberty Lake
12:05 p.m.
“I’m hungry,” Andy said. “Gracie owns a sandwich shop on the other side of the lake—let’s get a bite.”
Kara hadn’t thought much about food since the scone this morning—and they were nearly done with their side of the lake.
“Thirty minutes and we’ll be through,” she said. “Then it’s my treat.”
“Gracie is my fiancée. She doesn’t charge me.”
Kara had guessed that, and sometimes Andy’s deceptively simple manner threw her, but she liked him.
Andy pulled over at the end of a cul-de-sac high off the main lake road. There were three houses here, all with steep drives and framed by trees. “I’ll call her and tell her we’ll be late—she knows I take my lunch at twelve-thirty, and she’ll worry, what with everything that’s been going on.”
“I’ll talk to the people on the right—these are all occupants, right?”
“Yeah—full-time residents. I don’t come up here much, but I think they’re all working folks in Spokane. Don’t know that I’ve met them.”
Andy had previously met nearly everyone they’d spoken to this morning, which was both charming and time-consuming. No one would call this cop Speedy, but he was thorough and there was no doubt in her mind that if anyone saw anything remotely suspicious that they’d call Andy immediately.
Completely different than being a cop in LA where the only people Kara recognized were those she’d arrested twice.
No one responded at the first house, and Kara went up to the middle house. The stairs were exercise in itself—she certainly wouldn’t have to run or go to the gym today. She and Andy had done plenty of walking.
Kara heard two dogs bark as soon as she knocked, then the squealing of young kids. From the porch, she couldn’t see the two neighbors on either side, but there was an amazing view of the lake below.
A happily frazzled woman answered the door. She didn’t look old enough to have kids. Two labs—one black, one yellow—tried to escape and she held them each back. Two kids who looked identical except for a six-inch height difference ran behind their mom, chasing a third kid who couldn’t be much older. Three kids under five? Kara would shoot herself.
“Boys! Leave your sister alone for five minutes, okay?”
The woman stepped out, pushed the dogs back through the doorway, and closed the door. “Six months,” she said.
“Excuse me?”
“Six months and the triplets start kindergarten.” She looked at her FitBit. “Five months, twenty-six days. What can I help you with?”
Kara was still hung up on triplets. She’d definitely shoot herself. Or never have sex again.
“I’m Detective Kara Quinn assisting the Liberty Lake police department on the—”
“Kara?”
Kara generally remembered people—99 percent of the time—but she didn’t recognize this woman. “Do I know you?”
“My God! I haven’t seen you in years. Your grandmother told me you’re a big cop down in Los Angeles.”
Kara ran through everyone she’d known in high school—Central Valley High School served the Spokane Valley, mostly the areas east of Spokane, including Liberty Lake. It was a large school and Kara hadn’t been particularly social.
“Ranie Anderson. Used to be Woods. Thank God I married someone with a normal last name. I still haven’t forgiven my parents.”
Ranie Woods. The name...
“Your hair used to be blond. And you didn’t wear glasses.”
“I used to bleach my hair to within an inch of its life and contacts because, you know, glasses were for nerds.” She rolled her eyes, then smiled and adjusted her stylish frames. “Glad I grew out of that. I met Charlie in college—UW, in Seattle. He’s from Tacoma. We settled here after graduation. I run into your grandmother at the store all the time—I didn’t know you were back!”
“I’m just on vacation.”
“Vacation? Your grandmother didn’t mention.”
Good, Kara thought, because she didn’t like anyone knowing her business, and Em didn’t know the meaning of the word private. Which was the primary reason Kara never talked to her about her work.
Kara motioned toward Andy’s truck at the base of her driveway. “I’m helping Detective Knolls with his case—we’re talking to everyone who lives around the lake about whether they saw something suspicious on March 2 or 3.”
“Poor woman! I read about it in the paper. The FBI is working on it.”
“Yeah, they’re all over the place,” Kara said. “So March 2—a Tuesday.” She didn’t need the small talk, she needed information.
“Right. I was home all day. I’m going stir-crazy—Maddie’s been sick for over a week—she’s better now, so we’re going hiking tomorrow—supposed to be a beautiful day.” She froze. “Unless we shouldn’t go out. Should we stay inside? Is the killer still at large? The newspaper said he killed nurses and cops. Charlie is a civil engineer.”
“Go out, have fun. Don’t let the papers freak you out. Where’s Charlie now?”
“He works for the county—they had some pipe issues near the border—I don’t know exactly what he’s doing out there. Probably drinking coffee and getting away from the little monsters. Just had an idea—maybe I’ll have my mom come over and watch the trips and I’ll make Charlie take me to a nice dinner tonight.” She nodded at herself.
Kara still only vaguely remembered Ranie Woods—they had been in the same grade, but Kara didn’t think they had any classes together. Kara had straight As, but stayed out of the advanced classes Ranie was in because she never planned to go to college. She wanted to keep a low profile because she didn’t tru
st that her mother or father wouldn’t come back and pick her up just as easily as her mom dumped her here. She was surprised Ranie remembered her—again, low profile. Blend in.
“Did you hear or see anyone on an ATV Tuesday or Wednesday?” Kara asked again. She glanced over her shoulder. Andy was approaching the third house on the cul-de-sac.
“I don’t—well, yeah, you know what? Early Tuesday morning the dogs started barking. Like before five—before Charlie has to get up for work, so it pissed him off. We thought it was deer or fox—but I heard what I thought was a truck. I couldn’t go back to sleep—stupid, I know. I made coffee and told the dogs to knock it off. It sounded like a truck behind the house—which wouldn’t be possible because there’s no road back there—it’s all forest. But with the echoes and stuff, it could have been on the road.”
“Before five in the morning you heard what sounded like a truck. Could it have been an ATV behind your house?”
“Yeah. That’s possible.”
“Are there any trails back there?”
“Lots—you know the area.”
Kara didn’t. She’d lived in Liberty Lake for only three years and couldn’t wait to get out. She wasn’t much for exploring the mountains. The path around the lake? Sure, that was fun, but hiking? Never.
“Thanks for your help, Ranie.”
“There’s a few of us from high school who’ve settled in the Spokane Valley—we get together every Thursday for coffee, and once a month for drinks. You should join us while you’re here—catch up with everyone.”
Kara almost said Why? I barely know you, I didn’t socialize with you, I didn’t socialize with anyone.
But she smiled warmly. “Thanks, Ranie—I’m not going to be here long, but I’ll see.”
The woman brightened. “Great! I’d better check on my rug rats—you’d be amazed at how much trouble three kids can get into in five minutes.”
Kara laughed, waved her goodbye, and thought no way in hell am I having three kids. She didn’t even want one. How could she go out and do her job, risk her life every day, if she had a kid who depended on her for everything? No, thank you. She didn’t want that responsibility.
Andy was already back at his Bronco. “No one home. Who lives there?” he asked.
“Someone who remembered me from high school. Ranie Anderson, nee Woods.”
“Woods—I know the family. She must have been your age, a few years younger than me.”
“She may have heard an ATV early Tuesday morning—that would be March 2. Around 5:00 a.m. Her dogs barked, woke her up. Are these trails wide enough for an ATV? Though, a trail might not be necessary—this part of the mountain isn’t too steep.”
Andy pulled a map out of his visor and unfolded it. Found the street they were on, then figured out the most likely trail the ATV would have traveled. “Well I’ll be damned.”
Kara was trying to read the map upside down. “What?”
Andy took a pencil from his pocket. “You found Manners here.” He made a small X. “And this is the Anderson house.” He made another X. “This trail—” he ran his pencil lightly along a path on the map “—goes directly down to the lake. It has to cross the road here, but at that time of morning or night, no one would have seen him.”
“Wouldn’t more people have heard the ATV?”
“Possibly. But except for this little road, he wouldn’t be close to any other residences.”
“Where does it end?”
“It goes all around the lake, but it’s steeper in some places. For hiking more than running or biking. But—” Andy studied the map, then circled an area. “Here’s a narrow trail that heads back down to the bike trail you were running along. And here...and here...he could have parked a car.”
“Would someone have been suspicious?”
“Not really. Remember, half these people don’t live here year-round, so they’re not going to know what’s familiar, and the people who do live here year-round, they’re used to strange cars coming and going because of the rentals, and half the people have ATVs. I had one since I was a kid.”
“Let’s check it out.”
“You think the ATV was there?”
“I do. How far a walk to the closest bus stop?”
Andy looked. “Four, almost five miles. It’s half the bike path, plus a hundred yards or so. First stop is 6:20 a.m. for the commuters—the buses stop there every forty minutes until sunset.”
“Gives him plenty of time to walk to the stop and blend in.”
“I hear doubt in your voice.”
“I don’t think he took a bus. Bus drivers have set routes, know the regulars. A stranger in a small area like this? Early in the morning? He’d stand out.”
“Wouldn’t a taxi also notice a stranger?”
“Not the same way—but taxis tend to keep better records.”
Five minutes later, Andy pulled over to a small parking area on the south side of the lake. “Not here,” he said as he drove slowly through it.
“It is. Somewhere nearby.” She felt it in her bones, and she always trusted her instincts.
He glanced at her. “We can come back with a search team.”
“Leave me here, have lunch with your girl, and pick me up in an hour.”
Andy shook his head and parked on the far side of the lot. “No solos. We have time.”
“If he parked here,” Kara said, “he could drive the ATV along the bike trail... Shit, Andy, her body was found less than a mile from here.”
There were no cars parked here, but it wasn’t exactly lake activity weather, and it was after noon on a Friday. By tomorrow, dedicated outdoors people would be on the lake fishing, hiking, having a picnic. During their canvass, they’d passed a few bikers, but the kids were all in school. Those who drove to the lake to hike parked at the main entrance, closer to the highway. If Kara wanted to park somewhere and not be seen, she’d do it here.
“What’s the closest vacant cabin?”
He looked at his list. “We’d have to drive—oh, wait, we can walk. The mountain trail would go right by it.”
They only had to hike fifty yards from the turnout before they reached the cabin from behind.
And there it was. An ATV, covered with a canvas tarp.
“Call the crime techs,” Kara said.
“We should verify it’s the missing ATV.”
There was no doubt in Kara’s mind that it was. Though time and weather had disappeared discernible tire treads, this was it. She felt it in her gut. Maybe she should have been a homicide detective.
Andy pulled out latex gloves and slipped them on. He walked around the ATV, pulled back the canvas from the front, and looked at the small license.
“You’re right, Kara, this is it. I’ll call it in.”
17
Spokane
12:45 p.m.
Matt ended the call. Andy and Kara had found the ATV—he really didn’t think they’d do it so fast, but he was pleased. Jim Esteban was hitching a ride with the prickly crime scene tech, so his own person was out there, and Michael Harris was still at the lake, unreachable. Matt hoped he was right and the weapon could be recovered, because it would be one more piece to their puzzle. But right now he was focused on Olivia Gunderson and what she might know about Anne Banks.
Anne’s friend still worked at Spokane General and was on duty, but as soon as Matt said he was with the FBI and investigating both the Anne Banks and Victoria Manners homicides, she got someone to cover for her and met Matt in a private office.
Olivia was the same age Anne would have been—forty-three. She was tall and willowy, with a short haircut and no-nonsense attitude.
“I was really upset that the newspapers mentioned Anne this morning—I’m just glad it was here and not in Portland, where Craig could read it. Her murder destroyed him. He’s nev
er been the same.”
“I spoke to the detective in charge of Anne’s case, and he gave me your name. He also confirmed that Anne had worked here prior to moving to Portland.”
“Yes. Is that important?”
“It may be. Did you work here at the hospital with her?”
“Yes—we went to nursing school together. Shared an apartment until she moved to Portland. She was my best friend.” Her voice cracked, then she rubbed her eyes. Matt let her collect herself, didn’t push her.
A moment later, Olivia took a deep breath and continued. “We were hired right after graduation. I did a rotation of several floors before settling on neonatal, and I went back for advanced training. Anne always wanted to work in the emergency room—she didn’t like to be bored...” Her voice trailed off as nostalgia hit her again. “I almost moved to Portland with her, but I got a promotion here right before Craig proposed, and my family is all in the Spokane Valley. And she and Craig needed time to be newlyweds. But we talked nearly every day. I was there when each of her kids was born. I still miss her. I was engaged when she was killed—we were planning my wedding together.” She looked down at her wedding band. It was simple, Matt noted, like the woman sitting in front of him.
Matt had let Olivia talk freely to make her comfortable sharing with him. But now he needed to focus her.
“Olivia, I know this is hard for you, but I need you to dig deep. You’ve worked with law enforcement before, right? In your capacity as a nurse?”
“Of course.”
“So you know that sometimes, we don’t have all the information we need about the victims. I’m still in the investigation stage. You heard about Victoria Manners and how she was killed.”
“I saw her picture in the paper. Read the article. It was awful.”
“Did you know her?”
“No. We have hundreds of nurses. I know everyone in my department, a few others, but I’d never met her. She was a temporary employee, right?”
“Yes, a trauma nurse with a staffing company. I’m going to be blunt with you, Olivia,” Matt said. “We don’t have a suspect. We’re using every resource at our disposal to identify and stop this killer. Victoria had been here for three weeks, and we have reason to believe the killer targeted her because she worked here, specifically, in the emergency room.”