Devoted to the Blizzard: A romantic winter thriller (Tellure Hollow Book 3) (18 page)

Janet shook her head. “No idea yet. It’s way too early to know that.”

“How is it she got so hurt and I didn’t? No one has even told me what caused all this,” Liz said, her eyes wide with worry.

Janet’s expression grew grim. “Whoever did this, they didn’t take any chances. They stretched multiple strings of heavy duty clear fishing line across the slope. When Nicole hit, all but one snapped, which is why you’re mostly uninjured. They found it wrapped around a couple trees.”

The room fell silent as we all processed that information. I put myself in her place, only a few feet behind Nicole as she mysteriously crumpled into a bloody heap. There’s no way they could’ve seen the clear line, especially at such high speeds and with the blinding white snow.

“Whoever did this is one sick fuck,” Liz finally muttered, breaking the tension.

Janet stayed for a little while, I think more for herself than Liz. Although she was a tough cookie, I could tell that Janet was visibly shaken by the whole ordeal. Liz, my wonderful strong, resilient Liz, had a way of taking bad situations and rolling with them better than anyone I’d ever known. When we were alone in the room again, she turned to me and rubbed the stubble on my chin with her thumb.

“One thing is for sure,” she said thoughtfully.

“What’s that?” I asked, capturing her hand with mine and giving her fingers individual kisses.

“Well, it’s good and bad.” Her blue eyes rose to mine, filled with a brave apprehension. “Nicole wasn’t the person sending the letters which means…”

“The person who is, is still out there, assuming this is all connected.”

“Oh, it’s connected, and apparently they don’t just want me to lose. They want me dead!” she chirped with mock enthusiasm.

A half dozen police cruisers greeted us as we pulled around the corner leading up to the house.

“Ah, shit. I completely forgot,” I muttered. “They wanted to talk to you when you were in the emergency room and I pushed them off.”

Liz was nearly horizontal in the passenger seat, her hand tight to her side. “Yeah, well. The mountain was shut down looking for this psycho. I’m sure everyone wants this solved as soon as possible.”

I pulled into the drive but left the truck idling. “I can ask them to come back tomorrow if you aren’t up for it?”

“No, it’s fine,” she sighed. “Let’s get it over with.”

I helped her out of the truck, trying to keep her torso as rigid as possible. Still, the slightest movement caused her to wince, even with the painkillers they’d sent her home with. Overall, given the size of the cut, twenty-four stitches didn’t seem too bad. It definitely looked worse than that to me when I first saw it.

Henry was waiting at the front door, concern plain on his expression. “Miss Croyden, I’m so sorry about what’s happened. Are you up for answering a few questions?”

Liz smiled weakly at him, putting on a brave face. “Anything for you, Henry.” He held the door open as we walked through. I tried to guide Liz into the living room, but she paused. “Actually, do you mind if I get changed real quick? These sweatpants are digging in…”

“Of course,” Henry said patiently.

“Sorry. I didn’t know what to grab when I stopped here on the way to the hospital. I figured you weren’t gonna be able to wear your suit so…” I tried to explain as I helped her down the hall. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d let her down somehow. I hadn’t been there to help her, only stood by and watched it happen. She was so strong and here I was, battling this inexplicable guilt.

“You did great, babe. You even picked stuff that matched, so how could I complain? What would I do without you?” she smiled at me.

I flicked the light on in the bedroom and gestured for her to stay still. “What do you want me to grab?”

“I think I brought my fuzzy robe from home. The white one,” she said as she steadied herself at the foot of the bed.

“Right, good idea. I’ll help you get changed, just a second,” I replied, rushing into the closet.

“It should still be in my…” Liz’s voice trailed off. With my head buried in the closet, I didn’t hear her finish her sentence.

“What’s that? Oh, I think I got it,” I called out as my hand touched something fuzzy. “Don’t you dare try to… Liz? What’s wrong?”

She’d moved to the pillow on her half of the bed, one hand balanced on the side table while the other held a letter. Her hand trembled as she wobbled on her feet.

I rushed to her side, careful to hold her up without touching the wound. I pulled the letter from her hand and read it. In thick, black marker, different from every other letter except that morning’s, a few words were scribbled as if in a rush.

You’ll never be his wife

No sooner had I finished reading it, than Liz muttered, “She
is
the stalker. That little bitch from the lodge.” She looked up, venom dripping from her words. “Just think about it. She knew I’d be racing today.”

I resisted her accusation. “It doesn’t make any sense, Liz. You got the first letters before we ever met.”

“Who else could’ve put this on my pillow, Bryan? You brought her into this house, which is exactly what she wanted.” Liz’s voice grew louder, but shaky. Her eyes darted around the room as if assembling all the pieces of the puzzle in her mind. “She knew we were coming to New Zealand, anyone could’ve known that, but she made sure to be here before. And then she gave you that sob story about cousin, but didn’t give you an concrete details.” Her eyes flicked up to mine with a sudden realization. “Jesus, Bryan. She played you. She probably read all about what happened with Rick and Kayla, and figured you had a soft spot for damsels in distress.”

I shook my head, still staring at the letter. It didn’t feel right, none of it. It didn’t make any sense. The Paige I knew was flirtatious, sure, but she wasn’t a violent person. Liz was lashing out from a place of fear, not logic. “There’s no way…”

“You’re telling me she hasn’t come onto you?” she snapped, her eyebrow joining the edge of her bangs.

A memory of Paige’s body against my own flashed through my mind, the way her eyes had practically begged me to give in. My hesitation was taken for an answer.

Liz’s expression fell. “Right.” She pushed past me, screaming down the hall. “Henry! I need you. I think the person you’re looking for is going to be pretty easy to find.”

“Hold on a second. You can’t just…” I had no way to finish that sentence. I realized I’d been wrong about people in the past. Paige very well could be the threat we faced, and if that were true…

Liz hobbled towards the guest room where I’d put Paige and tested the doorknob, finding it locked. “Get out here!” she shouted, banging her fist on the wooden door. “You think you could get away with this? You almost killed me, you fucking bitch, and for what?”

Henry came jogging down the hall. “Whoa, what’s going on?”

“Knock down this door,” Liz snapped. “She’s in there. Inside that room.”

He looked over Liz’s head to me questioningly. “Is this really what…”

“Don’t you check with him,” she growled. “I’m telling you, she’s in there. The person who has been threatening me is in that room.”

Henry tested the knob and then had Liz stand back. After a couple firm kicks, the latch popped free and the door swung open.

The room was a complete wreck. Sheets torn from the bed, two lamps shattered, extra linens pulled from the closet. The mirror in the en suite bathroom was spider-webbed with fractures, but Paige was nowhere to be seen.

“Listen, that girl from the bar we told you about claimed she was in some trouble, apparently hiding from some people,” Liz started to say. “Bryan gave her a place to stay last night, and then all this happens…” she gave me a guilty but accusatory look, like I’d forced her into ratting me out.

Henry stepped into the hall, and barked a couple orders for the others to sweep the perimeter. “Look for footprints under this window here.” He re-entered the room and looked at me seriously. “We’re gonna need to talk to you, son. Separately.”

____________

For the following hour, I sat in the kitchen as Henry and another middle-aged policeman raked me over the coals. I tried to steal glances into the living room where Liz sat, but she refused to meet my eye. She had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and cradled a cup of tea in her hands.

I explained all I knew about Paige, the circumstances around our meeting, everything. By the end of the questioning, the deepest exhaustion I’d ever felt sunk into my bones. Between the fight that morning, the accident in the afternoon, and all this, my mind had been through the wringer.

And what about Liz?
I thought as I stifled a yawn.
Everything she’s been through, that I put her through. If Paige really is the person behind all this…

After the police left us alone to confer, they led me into the living room. The fact that I was allowed to sit beside her on the sofa told me that at least they didn’t consider me a suspect.

“Your stories match up. Of course I can’t say whether or not this girl is the person who has been harassing you, but it’s as good a place to start as any. We’ve got a description of her circulating. We’ll be able to track her down. It’s a small island,” Henry said with a smile.

I almost protested again, but kept my mouth shut. While I didn’t truly believe she was the stalker, maybe if the police found her, she’d be safe from whatever trouble was following her. I pressed my lips shut and nodded.

“In the meantime, we’re going to compile a list of every person who has come in and out of this house. The agency the staff works through has conducted background checks, so it shouldn’t take us very long. Liz, if you remember anything else, maybe more details about the person you saw in the forest, you let me know. Sometimes things come back after traumatic events,” he added softly.

I rubbed Liz’s shoulder, her muscles stiffening under my hand. She didn’t pull away, but I suspected that was only because eight policemen were watching us.

“You got it, Henry. If you don’t mind, I’d really like to get some rest. It’s been kind of a long day,” she smiled wryly. It earned a couple appreciative chuckles, and they began collecting their things.

Once we’d escorted everyone out, only two police cruisers remained outside. By the time I’d shut off all the lights and made my way to the bedroom, Liz was by the sink changing the dressing on her wound. I lingered in the doorway of the bathroom, watching her shaking fingers press the adhesive down.

“The doctor said if I didn’t have such strong abdominal muscles, the wire could’ve gone through to my internal organs,” she said with a sick amusement. I crossed my arms to hide a shudder of horror at the thought. She looked up and grinned, probably enjoying screwing with me a little. “All those planks were good for something, apparently.”

I cleared my throat and fidgeted. “I’ll… uh, if you want me to sleep in the other room, I will.”

Liz wasn’t shocked by my offer but shook her head. “No, it’s all right.” She looked at me through the mirror, her expression difficult to read. “I’m not really mad at you. I’m… I don’t know. Disappointed? Confused?”

“I know,” I replied, picking at my nail. Nothing she could’ve said would’ve made me feel worse than I already did. There was one more thing I needed to pose before we went to bed. “Have you thought about the possibility that it could be a friend of Rick’s doing all of this?”

She froze, her eyes daggers. “Are you trying to say this is somehow my fault?”

“No! It’s just… maybe someone who knew Rick is coming after you now, that’s all. It seems like a natural idea. Maybe we should bring it up with Henry,” I shrugged.

“After all this time? All the way to New Zealand? Come on, now…” she replied dubiously. She turned on the water and held a finger under it, waiting for the water to warm. “I don’t know, Bry. I’m tired of talking about it. Shit, even thinking about it. All I know is I’m exhausted and I need sleep to heal properly.”

“I completely understand. I’ll let you get ready for bed then,” I replied.

I was surprised by the sudden tears that formed in my eyes. Looking away before she could catch a glimpse, I left her in the bathroom and went to change.

I’ve completely let her down. She’s already building up a wall, like she knows she has to protect herself. I’ve spent years trying to show her she can rely on me and… aw, hell.