SHEPHERD’S BAY, HE KNEW, WAS THAT IT WAS vast and sprawling in size, composed of dense woods, hilly terrain, a coastal peninsula, and miles of rocky shoreline. Searching for three missing kids was time-consuming and difficult work. If it was true that Dakota James’s spirit was still trapped inside his body, then it was out there and calling for release.
Karl gripped his machete and hacked his way through the thick vegetation that crossed his path. The trail he followed led to the top of Mount Bloom, and the only reason he was taking it was that he knew the summit was a popular spot for kids to party, away from adults. At just under a thousand feet, the mountain lent itself to a quick hike.
How many times had he made it up this mountain? Too many to count. Hiking had been his personal therapy. There was nothing better than reaching the top and then gazing out over the town and the coast. The sun’s light fought hard to permeate the canopy of leaves above him, making the air feel crisper and cleaner the higher he climbed. He thought about what he might find and tried not to dwell on it. Or whom he might find. The increasing heat of summer would speed up the decaying process. And then he thought, They’re not paying me anywhere near enough to do this job.
He swung the machete, cutting shrubbery. Nature looked different when one was searching for bodies, as opposed to hiking for pleasure and enjoying the view. He tried his best not to think in such negative terms. Searching implied death, and that was why the woods had taken on such an ominous hue today.
And yet what did he know about searching for missing persons? He’d rarely done it in his time as a Shepherd’s Bay police officer. He knew as much as the next guy who read newspapers or watched those silly crime shows on television. Maybe less. Because of that, he scolded himself for being so negative. He had to continually tell himself to be more positive. To believe that the glass was half full rather than half empty.
Sixteen years now as a cop and he’d fallen into the job by accident. He had had a wife and daughter when he’d moved back to Shepherd’s Bay and needed to find work. The hard part had been convincing his wife to move cross-country to the East Coast. San Diego was too expensive, and they would have never been able to buy a home there. He had explained to her that in Shepherd’s Bay they could afford to buy something nice and raise a family, and that she could stay home and take care of their daughter. He’d finally convinced Sofia to uproot herself, knowing that she had no idea what she was in store for come winter.
He had tried his hand at fishing for a while but hadn’t been able to overcome the seasickness and the loneliness of being out at sea for days on end. Shepherd’s Bay didn’t offer many well-paying jobs for a man trying to support his family, so when an opening came up in the small police department, he jumped at it. His status as a Coast Guard veteran helped him, as well as the fact that there weren’t too many interested or qualified candidates in town. So he interviewed, got himself hired, went to the academy, and started working the night shift as the lowest cop on the totem pole.
The first citation he handed out in Shepherd’s Bay happened to be to Swisher Eaves. First night on the job. What were the odds? Swisher had been traveling eighty in a forty-miles-per-hour zone. Criminal speeding. Swisher used all his considerable charm to try to persuade him not to issue him a ticket. Then he tried flattering him, saying how surprised Isla would be when he told her whom he’d run into today. Did he know the two of them had been a couple back in high school? He remembered Swisher slipping that tidbit into the conversation before mentioning that he and Isla had a young daughter and planned on having more kids. He invited Karl to come over for dinner some night. Relenting to Swisher’s persistent charm, he ended up issuing him a warning.
The hill steepened. This was the part of the trail that he liked best. Sweat bubbled on his brow as he pushed himself forward. He felt the burn in his calves and thighs. He