“If that doesn’t matter, what does?”
“I’ve only been in Hilltop for a couple of years. It’s too early to know if what I’m doing will achieve the results I hope it will.” She wanted to tell Brianne about all the studies they had going, what they might learn from them, and beg for more time. But her sister was no longer in the kind of situation where she could be supportive.
“Look, I don’t mean to be a bitch,” Brianne said, lowering her voice. “It’s just … family should mean something. I’m not the only one who has a responsibility to Mom and Dad.” Her voice grew plaintive. “They need you. I need you. Will you come home, at least for the next year, and help out while I try to get through this pregnancy and the first few months of my child’s life?”
A crushing weight settled on Evelyn’s shoulders. She wasn’t ready to leave what she’d created, wasn’t willing to leave the man she loved, either. She’d never forget how devastated she’d been when she thought he might be dead as they approached the smoldering cabin. “What about Amarok?”
“He can come, too.”
“He won’t leave Hilltop. He’s an important member of this community. They rely on him. What would he do in Boston?”
“He’s young, smart. He could figure something out. You never planned on staying here indefinitely, did you? If you’re going to come back, why not do it now? It’s not as though everything you’ve done here will be for nothing. Hanover House is up and running. It could continue to run without you.”
Evelyn thought of the notes she’d found under the windshield wiper of her SUV. She’d put Hilltop on the map, made it a focal point for the wrong kind of people. But if she left, Jasper would have no reason to come to Hilltop, or stay if he was already here, and Amarok and all the others she’d come to know in this place would be safe. Surely Boston, with its large police force and forensic specialists, would be better equipped to handle the kind of murder investigation Amarok was trying to manage on his own. The best alternative would be to draw Jasper away.
Even if Amarok caught Jasper, as the years continued various inmates would be released. What if they became fixated on her, on another member of the mental health team or on one of the COs and came back as Bishop had?
She could never rule that out entirely.
Regardless, how could she leave Hanover House? Leave Amarok?
She had no idea what to do, had never felt so torn. “I’ll think about it,” she said.
They attempted to talk about other things, but that part of the conversation had cast a pall over the entire evening. Claiming she was tired, Evelyn went to bed not long after, and once Amarok came home and crawled in with her she pretended she was asleep because she didn’t want him to ask how things had gone with Brianne.
*
“I have to figure out some way to get hold of him,” Samantha said.
“Of a serial killer?” Hannah had been leaning on the other side of the glass case that displayed the handguns and ammunition Samantha had for sale. The rifles hung on the wall. But at this, she straightened.
Samantha had given the situation a lot of thought, hadn’t been able to think of much else. In her mind, as long as everything went as planned, she’d be Jasper’s new best friend, not one of his potential victims. “It’s not as dangerous as it seems.”
“He’s just killed two people!”
The fluorescent lights hummed overhead as she shifted on her stool. “But the person he really wants is Evelyn. As long as I give him Evelyn, no one else will be hurt.”
“Providing he gets caught immediately after. What if he doesn’t?”
“He will! Amarok will see to it.”
“You don’t know that!”
“Whether he does or he doesn’t won’t matter. Jasper is only here because of Evelyn. He’ll go somewhere else—somewhere warmer—as soon as he has what he wants. We’re too small a community to be of any real interest to a serial killer. They need numbers, anonymity, a lot of activity in order to go unnoticed.”
Hannah didn’t look convinced. “Jasper hasn’t done too badly so far.…”
“Because he took us all by surprise. Now that we’re watching out for unusual activity, he won’t be able to get away with much. He’ll become conspicuous.”
Hannah bit her lip. “You don’t care that you’ll be leading Evelyn to her death?”
Not at all. That was the thing. Samantha wanted Evelyn out of the picture so badly, she didn’t care how it happened. And if Evelyn was dead, Samantha could rest assured she wouldn’t be coming back. “Better her than someone else we know! She had no business bringing so many dangerous men to Hilltop in the first place! She’s like a drowning person who capsizes the nearest boat while trying to get in, causing who knows how many others to drown.”
“I agree, but—”
Samantha refused to entertain any objections. She saw this as the perfect way to get what she wanted and couldn’t wait to figure out how to put her plan in motion. “Bottom line, if Jasper wants to kill Evelyn, he’ll do it eventually. I’m just going to speed up the process so that no one else gets hurt in the meantime, especially Amarok.”
Hannah gaped at her for several seconds. “You think Amarok will take you back if Evelyn’s gone?”
“I do! Why wouldn’t he? With time, he’ll realize how ill-suited they were and forget about her.”
“Don’t do it,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “You won’t be able to live with yourself if you do.”
If she had Amarok, she could. It was living without him that was hard.
Hannah bent to look into her face. “Sam, are you listening to me?”
Samantha jerked her eyebrows together. “Oh, stop! You’re no fan of Evelyn’s.”
“Only because I don’t like living in the shadow of what she’s created! Sandy Ledstetter was my friend. I miss her, and it’s because of Hanover House that she’s gone. But Evelyn’s never done anything to me personally. Besides, what if Amarok realizes that it was you who caused her death?”
“He won’t. Because I won’t have caused her death. Jasper will be responsible for that.”
“But … how will you find Jasper?”
“I won’t. He’ll find me.”
“You’re terrifying me, Sam!”
“Will you quit? You know I can handle myself. I’ll be fine!”
Hannah blinked several times as if she was struggling to take it all in. “So how will he find you?”
It was a long shot, but it was the only plan Samantha could think of that might work. “Phil told his wife, who happened to mention it to me, that one of the murdered women was a dancer at a strip joint in Anchorage. It won’t be hard to go there and ask around, find out where she worked.”
“I wouldn’t think so. But then what?”
“Then I hang around to see what turns up.”
“Sam, no. I’ll go to Amarok if I have to. This isn’t safe. You’re not thinking straight.”
Irritated, Samantha started to put away the ammunition. “Oh my God, Hannah! Don’t tell me you thought I was serious.”
Hannah’s face filled with relief. “You’re not?”
“Of course not. I’m just messing with you,” Samantha laughed, but she was already planning what she’d wear when she visited Anchorage’s seedier side.
21