The Severed Pines by Nick Thacker

Author:Nick Thacker [Thacker, Nick]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Turtleshell Press
Published: 2018-12-25T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Six

After seeing Avery driving toward Wild Basin, Ben turned around and headed back toward Moraine Park to regroup at his trailer. He needed to figure out what was going on. Or, more accurately, he needed to think through his suspicions to determine if he was on the right track.

Everything felt like it was accelerating, but he didn’t know where it was headed, or even how to control the vehicle.

In his trailer, he first stopped in the bathroom to splash some water on his face. As water slicked down his cheeks and dribbled into the sink, he eyed himself in the mirror.

“Okay, Ben, what do you know? William is dead and someone hid his body. That person knows who you are, most likely, because they saw you there and took him a few minutes later. Someone—probably the person who killed him—has sent men to scare you into dropping this whole thing. More than once. Also, Taylor Snell has been acting strange. Nervous all the time. He had some documents in his home office that make it look like he’s laundering money through the new construction on the south side of the park. Finally, Kathryn the ranger wrote love letters to both William and Taylor.”

He paused and passed a hand towel over his face. “And the strangest piece of all is that Avery said he was being sent out of town, but he’s here in the park, in a different car. Why did he come back early?”

Realizations swirled around Ben’s brain. The pieces of the puzzle coming closer together, but they wouldn’t fit into one exact shape.

He walked from the sink to his bed and checked out the window. Not much to see aside from the overnight campers huddled around the stoves, grilling dinners. People with headlamps walking to the bathrooms. Regular camp stuff, the same activities Ben had watched out this window every night since he’d been here.

Except, one strange thing did happen. Kat left her trailer and marched toward her car, a grim determination on her face. She was in a trance as she started up her car and spun around to leave the parking lot. Ben would never quite understand her chronic oddness.

Next, he strolled to the other end of the trailer and gazed out through the blinds at the valley to the west, and the darkened silhouettes of the mountains beyond. He couldn’t see the nocturnal animals, but he knew they were out there, exploring.

Enough contemplation. Time to take action.

He slipped his phone out of his pocket, along with the phone number Avery had given him. The phone number belonged to the detective down in Denver, who Ben had been reluctant to call before.

He typed in the number and held the phone up to his ear as it rang.

After the first ring, Ben’s heart started to pound, but he didn’t know why. After the second ring, he felt short of breath,

After a the third ring, a voice picked up. “This is… Detective Boudreaux, how can I help you?”

Something struck him.

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