“Your independence, your time alone, when you find someone who loves those things as much as you do and wants them for you, you’ll find that those things no longer matter unless you also have that particular person beside you. A bit ironic, I suppose.”
Lucy didn’t push the matter. Instead she asked, “How’s the boy doing?”
Maggie had told her on the phone about the intruder and the attempt on Dawson’s life.
“He’s scared. But his dad’s with him and Skylar has a deputy outside his door now. Donny seems certain the stranger’s footprint is going to match the one we found in the forest. It has the same distinctive waffle pattern. Same size.”
“Even if it matches, it might not lead us anywhere. There must be hundreds of pairs of work boots in this area. Did Dawson tell you anything?”
Maggie shook her head. “Not really. They used the campsite to experiment with drugs. He did admit they had a camera.”
“And we didn’t find it. Could they have caught something on film?”
“I have no idea. What else is out there besides a bunch of trees and pasture?”
“The university has a new field house on one side and there’s the nursery on the other side.”
“Nursery?”
“The Forest Service grows their own trees. The forest doesn’t replenish itself. Trees don’t grow well in sand.” She smiled, then realized that wasn’t enough of an explanation. “It was an experiment at the turn of the last century—1902, if I remember correctly. Every tree was hand planted. About twenty thousand acres. Originally it was believed that settlers would come to the area if they were provided an easy supply of timber to build with. It’s been sort of an open-air laboratory ever since. When trees die, as many of those original pine are doing now, they have to be replenished.”
“Doesn’t sound very sinister.”
Lucy laughed. “No, I’m afraid not.”
“What’s in the field house?”
“I’m not sure. The university built it several years ago. I think it was supposed to be a research laboratory for developing plant hybrids. I’m not a fan of genetic engineering our food. But from what I heard they decided to use someplace else.”
“So it’s empty?”
“No. I believe the Department of Agriculture uses it for something. Not sure what. You can’t see it from the road. Once in a while I’ve seen a vehicle coming out.”
“You’ve never been curious?”
“It’s a secured entry and fenced off.”
“Electric fencing?”
Lucy took off her eyeglasses. “What exactly are you thinking?”
“Not sure. I don’t remember seeing the facility when we were there. Can you see it from the kids’ campsite?”
Lucy gave it some thought before answering. “I don’t think so.”
Maggie sighed, disappointed.
“However,” Lucy added, her long fingers massaging her right temple, “I think you might be able to see the private road that goes from the main route to the facility.”
Maggie’s cell phone rang in her jacket pocket. She jumped up to retrieve it realizing that she hoped it was Platt. He had caught her off guard earlier with his question about children. Recently she had almost convinced herself she wanted to take their relationship to the next level, but not if it meant embarking on an emotional mission to replace his beloved dead child.
She yanked the phone from her pocket. It wasn’t Platt. She tried to keep her disappointment from Lucy. Too late. The woman didn’t miss a thing.
“Investigator Fergussen, you must have some new information.”
“Not anything good but I thought you’d want to know. Car accident. About an hour ago.”
She could hear sirens and voices yelling. He must be on the site.
“Victims are Courtney Ressler and Nikki Everett. Looks like they were coming around a curve. Ran right into a six-point buck.”
“A buck?”
“Deer. Probably didn’t see it until it was too late. You know teenagers. Might have been going too fast. Texting.”
“Are they okay?”
“Negative. Both were dead on impact. It’s pretty messy. Just thought you’d like to know.”
“Thanks.”
Lucy hadn’t taken her eyes off Maggie but waited patiently.
“We just lost two more teenagers from last night.”
CHAPTER 43
NEBRASKA
Lucy had left the light on for Maggie. The scent of freshly brewed tea and cinnamon filled the kitchen.
When she’d called Lucy earlier, Maggie had suggested she stay in North Platte, find a hotel room. Her suitcase was, after all, in the trunk of the rented Toyota. And she didn’t want to wear out her welcome. Lucy had been kind enough to take her in last night when they were all too exhausted to think clearly, but she certainly didn’t expect the woman to extend her invitation.