The Vanishing Stair (Truly Devious #2)(55)

“Does anyone know where this river ends up?” he asked.

“No. Some of the locals have tried putting a coloring agent into it to see if the dye shows up in any of the local springs or lakes, but so far no one has been able to locate an exit point.”

Slater aimed the light at the mouth of the flooded tunnel where the water disappeared.

“The killer knew it was unlikely that the body would ever be recovered,” he said.

“Or else he just thought the river was as good a way as any to get rid of the evidence of the crime.”

Slater thought about that and then shook his head. “No, I think he knew it was a safe way to dump Morrissey’s body.”

“What makes you so sure of that?” Catalina asked. “I told you he wasn’t from around here. Neither was Morrissey.”

“Trust me, if Morrissey and the killer were able to find the entrance to this cave complex on a fog-bound night, they knew about the river. At least, the killer knew about it. What about his prints? Can you see where he exited the cavern?”

Catalina concentrated for a moment. “He left the same way he came in. There isn’t any other exit, at least none that I know of. But on the way out his prints are very hot and a little unstable. He’s in a murderous rage.”

“If we go back outside will you be able to see where he went after he left this place?”

“No. I can track prints on hard surfaces like stone, but out in the woods the raw earth absorbs paranormal radiation very quickly. After fifteen years it would be impossible to find the killer’s prints.”

“Any idea of where he might have headed when he left this place?”

Catalina hesitated. “There are only three options. The first is that he went into town, but that would have been extremely risky because he was a stranger.”

“And strangers get noticed in a hurry around these parts.”

“Yes,” Catalina said. “The second option is that he went into the woods. But at night in heavy fog he would have gotten disoriented in a hurry. You can’t even trust an old-fashioned compass here. The third possibility is that he took a boat out on the lake.”

“Is that a viable option?”

“At night? In the fog? It would have been extremely risky, even for someone who was familiar with the terrain. The thing about the lake is that the only way to navigate it is by keeping within eyesight of the shoreline. The fog makes that extremely difficult at night. Over the years Olivia and I have tried to convince ourselves that if we really did witness a murder, the killer must have died out there on Fogg Lake.”

“But you didn’t believe that,” Slater said.

“We didn’t know what to believe. Our memories were so jumbled. As time went by we became more and more certain that we had seen a murder and that we did find a place to hide that night. But all of the details were hazy. Until now.”

“Did any boats go missing around the time of the murder?”

“No, I don’t think so,” Catalina said. “There aren’t very many boats here, so if one had disappeared it would have been noticed.”

“Given that the killer probably left by way of the lake and the fact that no one reported a stolen boat, there is only one logical conclusion,” Slater said.

“The killer drowned in the lake while trying to get away?”

“No,” Slater said. “The conclusion is that the killer wasn’t alone that night.”

“Well, Morrissey was with him, but he was a stranger, too.”

Slater looked at her. “The reason the killer was able to come and go from this place without leaving a trace is because he had an accomplice here in Fogg Lake.”





CHAPTER 24


It took a moment for the shock of Slater’s explanation to wear off. Catalina pulled her scattered thoughts together with an effort.

“But that would mean someone in town was involved,” she said at last.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

Catalina widened her hands. “Yes, it is hard to believe. It means that a person my parents considered a friend was involved in the murder and the cover-up.”

“Not necessarily. You said your family moved here when you were a little girl. The individual who assisted the killer might have left town long before that.”

Catalina’s spirits rose. “Right. People move away from Fogg Lake all the time. Most leave right after high school. That’s what Olivia and I did. Our parents left at the same time we did.”

“Still, the implication is that someone who was once a member of the community is connected to the murder.”

“That is very … depressing, to be honest.”

“Got news for you, Catalina. Not everyone who has a connection to Fogg Lake is a good guy just because he hails from your hometown. That’s one of the reasons the Foundation employs the cleaners, and it’s the primary reason for the existence of Halcyon Manor.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. All right, moving along, I’ll warn you up front that if you start questioning the locals about a possible accomplice to a murder that no one believes actually occurred, you’re going to run into a brick wall.”

“Because I’m from the Foundation. That is why I will let you handle that end of the investigation.”