back in,” he said, his brow furrowed with concern.
“No,” Josie said. “Just listen.” She explained about the Wash Me message written in the dirt on the side of the truck and how she’d seen what looked like shorthand below it. She’d been well past the truck by the time the significance of the symbol and the nondescript older model pickup truck dawned on her.
“Why was he in Callowhill? He must be stalking you,” Noah said.
“Me or Shannon or Christian,” she said. “It’s hard to say. Is Patrick still at school in Denton?”
“He’s staying at our house with Lisette but yeah, he’s there and he’s safe.”
“I don’t know why the Bone Artist was here in Callowhill,” Josie said. “But he knew who I was. I turned around and started driving back toward him. As soon as he saw me…”
“If this guy has a television, or the internet, he’d know that Trinity Payne has a twin sister,” Noah said. “So yeah, he probably knew right away it was you.”
“He came after me. No hesitation. Ran me off the road, and then… My car,” Josie said. “The seat belt—was it cut?”
“Yeah,” Noah said. “What did you use to saw yourself out?”
“Not me,” she said. “He cut me out.”
“Josie, I’m a little worried now. Your head—”
“I know, I know. I have a concussion, but I’m telling you this is what happened. He came down to the car. He cut me out. He was carrying me and then your voice—the hands-free phone app was still on in the car. When he heard it, he put me on the ground and started to walk away. I asked him where Trinity was and if she was still alive and he wouldn’t tell me anything.”
“He was talking to you?”
“Yes,” Josie said, a shiver working its way through her entire body. “But then he heard you. He must have thought first responders would get there too quickly. He didn’t want to take the chance, so he left.”
Noah was silent for several seconds. Then he said, “You can’t be alone after this. Do you understand? Not until we get this guy.”
“I’m fine,” Josie said even as a steady pounding started in her head.
Noah smiled and smoothed a lock of hair away from her face. “I know, you’re always fine. Why do you think he wanted you? Did he say anything?”
“I don’t know,” Josie admitted. “He didn’t say anything.”
“This doesn’t fit with this guy’s pattern though,” Noah said. “To take two people so close together—three if you count Nicci Webb.”
“I know.” She needed more time to think it over. In that moment, her thoughts were still muddled. She looked around the room. “They admitted me? When can I leave?”
“Tomorrow. They want to keep an eye on you. Frankly, I think they should.”
She took a look around the room. A television had been affixed to the wall opposite her bed. Two reporters sat at a news desk. On a screen behind them was a photo of Trinity. Beneath it were the words: Network Anchor Abducted. The volume was set low, but Josie could still hear the reporters discussing the case.
“Am I in Callowhill?”
“About twenty miles away. This was the closest hospital. Tomorrow you’ll be released, and you’ll come back to Denton with me, Gretchen, Shannon, and Christian.”
She knew she couldn’t argue. Not only was she in no position to fight them, but she was in pain and exhausted. The television screen cut to Hayden Keating standing outside of the Denton Police station, talking into a microphone with an intense look of concern on his face. He kept referring to Trinity as “my partner” even though she hadn’t shared the anchor desk with him in two months. Josie shook her head, sending a spike of pain up her neck into the base of her skull. She turned back to Noah.
“Did you guys talk to Hayden Keating?”
“Yeah,” Noah answered. “He came to the station. He didn’t know anything useful. He asked more questions than we did.”
“Mettner’s still working the case?”
“Yes, with the assistance of the FBI. Gretchen is out coordinating with Callowhill PD and the State Police to see if we can find this guy or his truck.” He took out his phone and fired off a text. “I’m letting her know about the front-end damage. You said he had a burn on his face?”
“I think so. It all happened so fast. He had a hat pulled low, but there was something going down the left side of his face. Dark red or something.