One Last Step by Sarah Sutton (free e books to read TXT) 📗

a step closer. She peered at the image and Tara watched familiarity wash over her and then drain all the color from her face. Her eyes moved from the image to Tara, her face suddenly stark white.

“Is she okay?” the woman asked.

The rest of the group stepped closer, peering at the image, until their faces transformed as well.

Tara felt her heart flutter against her chest. There were answers here, she could feel it. “Do you know her?” she asked.

The woman’s eyes drifted toward where the victim camped days earlier.

“Yeah,” she started. “We met her a few days ago. She came over and had a couple beers with us.” She paused briefly. “Well, is she okay?” she asked again.

Tara sighed. “I’m sorry to inform you, but her body was found a few miles from here.”

One of the women gasped. The others glanced at each other with a shared disbelief, confirming in Tara’s mind that they weren’t suspects.

“Did she mention anything to you? Where she was going? Who she met, maybe?”

The tall, slender woman shook her head. “She didn’t mention if she met anyone, did she?” she asked as she looked at her friends.

They all shook their heads.

“She mentioned Hanover,” another woman with jet-black hair added. “She was heading there.”

“Did she say where she might stop?” Tara asked, already partially knowing the answer, but fishing for anything more.

The woman stared off at the empty lot, in deep thought, as if trying to picture the conversation.

“She mentioned she needed a water jug,” she started, and Tara nodded, already expecting that answer. “She said she was also looking forward to getting something to eat.”

“Did she mention any places to eat? Or did you guys suggest any?” Tara asked, feeling on the brink of getting somewhere, but the woman just shook her head in response.

A brief pause lingered between them.

“Did she mention heading back up north at all?” Tara asked. “Her body was found a bit north of here.”

They all shared a quick glance again and then the dark-haired woman who spoke moments earlier spoke again.

“That’s strange,” she began. “I did mention a waterfall a couple miles north up the trail. She didn’t sound interested, but maybe she decided to check it out after all?”

It was a new bit of information and Tara thanked them all before she and Warren turned and headed to the car. They both knew they had exhausted their efforts, and Tara mulled over the conversation in her head.

If the victim went to the waterfall, it would explain why her body was found where it was, but it didn’t make sense why she would head there after Hanover.

They knew she stopped in Hanover, that much was certain, but it seemed unlikely to Tara that the victim would stop there first, since it was south of the camping site, only to leave and travel north and go past it. It seemed more plausible that she would stop at the waterfall first before Hanover; otherwise, it would be a waste of time.

“You think it’s worth checking out the waterfall?” Tara asked Warren as they approached the car.

He pulled out the keys from his pocket.

“It’s possible she was heading there, but I think it’s unlikely,” he said over the hood of the car as he reached for the door handle. Tara knew he thought the same way she did, that it didn’t make logical sense.

“But I don’t think we’re done with Hanover yet,” he added, and Tara agreed.

Chapter Thirteen

Warren turned onto the main street in Hanover, New Hampshire, and Tara sat in the passenger’s seat, watching people pass by on the sidewalk. On the way over, they had decided that they would go into some stores to see if any of the victims stopped anywhere that they didn’t yet know of.

As they stopped at a red light, Tara turned her head to see a flow of people entering and exiting a bagel store.

“Maybe we should ask in there?” Tara said as she pointed out the window. “It looks like a place to grab a quick bite…might attract some hikers.”

Warren glanced in its direction, nodded his head, and quickly put on his blinker before pulling off to the side of the road and parallel parking in a nearby spot.

As they walked to the shop, Tara could already smell the fresh-baked bagels as the aroma trailed down the street, and she watched as passersby caught the scent, several of them stopping in their tracks before making the decision to go inside.

When they entered, the place was bustling—orders being called out left and right, the constant ring of the cash register opening and closing—and Tara was suddenly glad they stopped there. It was a popular spot, which she knew increased the odds that the victim may have stopped there.

“Let’s start with her,” Warren said to Tara.

She followed his gaze to see a female staff member standing at the end of the long counter, away from the rest of the store. She held a phone to her ear as she quickly wrote on a pad of paper in front of her. Tara nodded and a second later, they stood in front of her.

They waited as she continued to hold the phone to her ear, her eyes suddenly looking up at their presence. When finished, she placed the phone down swiftly and flipped a paper over on the pad.

“What can I get you?” she asked as she held the pen in her hand, ready to scribble down their order.

Tara looked around, making sure they were out of earshot of anyone in the shop, and then suddenly flashed her badge.

“We actually wanted to ask you a couple questions,” she said.

“Oh!” the woman responded as she placed her pen down on the counter. “This isn’t about those missing hikers, is it?” she asked. “It’s been all over the news.”

“That actually is why we’re here,” Tara replied as she placed the pictures of the victims down on the counter. “If you’ve seen them, it could help us piece their timeline