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

thought of it all not working. The killer striking again was a fear she had been holding in throughout the whole investigation. What if we can’t find the murderer? she thought to herself. What if we can’t solve this case, my first case? She abruptly shook her head, trying to shake off the thought. I can’t think like that, I can’t afford to.

She focused on the sound of the trees rustling in the wind. It calmed her and her thoughts were steered away from her self-doubt. The woods reminded her of the one time she went camping in her life—when she was a little girl, with her mother. It was such a distant memory, but somehow the dark forest and the smell of pine needles gave it new life. It was one of the few happy memories she had from her childhood.

Suddenly, Tara swung around, flashlight in hand. She heard something, she could swear it. Lieutenant Daniels turned as well.

“You heard that, right?” he asked.

It was the sound of a four-wheeler accelerating. Tara quickly reached for the walkie-talkie on her belt, as she stared down the trail.

“Warren…we hear something,” she said into it.

He quickly responded. “What is it?”

There were no headlights up ahead—the sound was too distant. But she and the lieutenant stood still, listening carefully, until they heard it again—the sound of the four-wheeler picking up speed and then slowing down. What is he doing? she thought to herself.

She held down the button. “It’s a four-wheeler,” she responded to Warren.

She listened again, and continued to hear the same sound, until headlights started to appear, moving closer. They then abruptly veered off the trail, deeper into the woods.

Then suddenly, they heard a scream.

Lieutenant Daniels looked over at her, wide-eyed.

Tara quickly held the radio to her lips. “We heard a scream. We’re going after it.”

“I’m on my way,” she heard Warren reply as she hooked the radio to her hip, turned it to silent, and reached for her gun.

Tara and Daniels bolted down the trail.

They sprinted closer, as they heard the scream again…

And then again…

It was a woman’s voice, and it sent a shiver down Tara’s spine. This is it, she thought.

But all of a sudden, the woman’s voice burst into laughter.

Tara and Daniels slowed down and shared a quick glance. They both knew it was not the sound of a victim. They steered off the trail, pushing through brush, as more voices and laughter could now be heard. They saw light from a campfire in the distance.

They broke through to a clearing and all eyes turned to them, the eyes of teenagers.

Tara reached down for the walkie-talkie.

“False alarm,” she said into it.

She placed it back on her belt and turned to the kids.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be out here right now? Have you not heard what’s been going on in these woods?” she asked.

They all stared at her like deer in headlights, as one of the boys tried his best to casually conceal the boxes of beer sitting next to him with a blanket.

“Do your parents know you’re out here?” she asked. She looked up at the four-wheelers, parked around the campfire.

They all stared at her for a moment longer before one of the boys opened his mouth.

“Yeah, our parents know we’re here.”

It was clearly a lie. His voice shook as he spoke and he took a look around at the group as if seeking approval. The girl sitting next to him nodded her head to confirm his words, but then she looked down toward her feet, letting her hair fall over her face, which had suddenly began to blush.

Tara sighed and told them all to call their parents. They each lifted their heads up, wide-eyed, clearly terrified by her demands.

“You guys cannot be in here, do you understand?” She looked at each one of them, right in their eyes, until one by one their gaze cowered back to the ground.

***

Moments later Tara was standing by her car. She had already said her goodbyes to Lieutenant Daniels. It had been a long night, and after she thanked him, she told him he could head home.

The group of teenagers stood nearby and they turned their heads sharply as they saw a set of headlights approaching. The car pulled up behind Tara’s and Warren quickly stepped out.

“You didn’t have to come,” Tara said as he walked toward her.

He waved his hand in the air as if pushing away her comment.

“It’s late now anyway. I say we call it a night after this.”

Tara nodded.

He then turned toward the teenagers, sending a wave of terrified expressions over them. “So what’s the deal with them?” he asked, before Tara explained that they had already called their parents and they were on their way to come get them.

Just then, a car pulled up and the passenger’s door swung open as a frantic mother stepped out. One of the boys in the group walked quickly toward her, as his mother made a scene. She scolded him on the time.

“You scared me half to death!” she yelled as he slinked into the back seat and quickly closed the door.

One by one each parent came, reprimanded their child, and took them away. Eventually all that remained were her and Warren. They agreed to meet first thing in the morning, and Tara was soon walking to her car. But just as she reached for the door handle, a sudden breeze flowed through the air, brushing against the dried sweat on her arms, and for the first time in the heat, she had goose bumps.

Chapter Twenty

He lay on his stomach, concealed by the trees surrounding him, and held his crossbow carefully in his hands directed toward the campsite in front of him. He’d been lying there for hours and his body trembled with anticipation.

He watched them—the two girls—as they sat outside their tent, around the campfire. Their laughter filled the forest with sound and he smiled to himself. He could