Free Hunter by Adrianne Lemke Page B

affairs didn’t appeal, so I ignored them and
continued with my calls. How could I hope to discover the identity of the stranger
if I was unable to be in the town to find him? The best way to search would be
to stay at the cabin. More and more I was determined to figure out who he was,
and discover what it was about him that drove me to near madness trying to find
him.
                Sure,
I have an obsessive personality. But this was the first time I fixated so
strongly on a person, and I hadn’t even laid eyes on him yet. There must be
something drawing me to him, and I was unwavering in my desire to figure out
what.
                The
day finally crawled to its end and I headed home to figure out my next step.
Somehow I needed to go back to that little town without anyone missing me. My
wife, dull as she is, would definitely start calling around, and drawing
attention if I went to the cabin indefinitely. And there were some of my
coworkers who would probably report me missing if I didn’t have a valid excuse
to not be there. I sighed. Maybe it was too soon to consider completely
dropping off the radar. As fun as it might be to disappear and be myself at all
times, it could be too risky.
                It
was definitely something to consider for future reference, but for now… “Hello,
dear,” I said as I entered the house, holding the bouquet of flowers I picked
up on the drive home. “How about we go out to dinner tonight?”
               

SIXTEEN
    Jason

 
 
                Nickels was as good as his word.
Within the week he got approval from his boss for me to help with the case.
They also hit the dead end I predicted with the DNA found on Shawn’s knife.
There was no sample available for a match. They began the slow process of
running it though every database the precinct had access to, but almost a week
passed with nothing positive to show for it. So far no one else was reported
missing. Although, with his time frame so far, that didn’t mean he wouldn’t
grab someone else soon.
                We
were at a standstill, so most of my time was spent at home or wandering the
woods. I didn’t expect to find anything, but walking the trails helped to
familiarize myself with the normal traffic in the woods. That way, if an
unfamiliar set of prints turned up and someone went missing, I might stand a
chance of following them to their hiding place. There were several times I was
able to put faces to the prints, and that was helpful as well.
                The
week was difficult. I met with Shawn’s mom—who looked like an empty shell after
the death of her son—and finally realized how much Shawn meant to her. She
wasn’t putting on a show, pretending to care only while other people were
watching. She truly loved her son, and wanted him happy and safe. My heart
broke for her and Shawn. It wasn’t fair. A caring family shouldn’t be ripped
apart by this senseless act of violence. There was no purpose to his death,
nothing to be gained by it.
                She
didn’t blame me. Sam was right about that. She thanked me for my time and
wouldn’t let me refuse payment, even when she paid more than was owed. When I
tried handing it back to her, she gave me a hard look. Nothing was said, but
the look told me not to fight her on it. So I nodded silently, and put the
money into my wallet.
                I
tried to leave. The meeting felt awkward, and I wanted to get away from her
grief. Before I could get away she grabbed my arm, and pulled me in for a hug.
“Thank you for caring so much,” she whispered into my ear, tears dampening my
shoulder. I froze when she hugged me. The look on my face must have been one of
shock, because when she pulled away she gave me a small sad smile. It seemed
that her sadness wasn't only for her son. I stared after her as she left, and
wasn’t sure what to make of the