From the Shadows (Buckhorn, Montana #2) - B.J. Daniels Page 0,94

You’re safer here. Even with us. At least for the rest of the night.”

“Fine. I’ll find a room to sleep in and lock the door.” Shirley glared at Jen. “Sleep tight, everyone.”

* * *

FINN LISTENED TO Casey’s steady breaths as she fell into an exhausted sleep. He’d held her as she’d cried, then fallen asleep. He’d never known such a strong woman. It made him smile as he looked down at her. The sun was coming up on another day. He hated to think what this one was going to bring.

At the sound of running footfalls outside the door, he carefully pulled away from Casey. She didn’t stir as he rose and went to the door to peer out. Two deputies had just run by. He could hear voices down in the lobby. Taking the passkey, he glanced at Casey and then locked the door behind him.

The voices were growing louder down in the main lounge. Something had happened. He thought of the notebook he’d found. In all the confusion, he hadn’t mentioned it to the marshal. It might not be anything, but then again, it might.

He hurried across the hall to his room. The notebook in the plastic bag was in the side of the duffel bag where he’d stuffed it after showing it to Casey. He pulled it out and rushed down the dim hallway.

At the top of the stairs, he looked down to see a half-dozen deputies scurrying around. The marshal walked back into Anna’s office. For a moment, Finn hesitated. He didn’t like leaving Casey alone, worried that she would wake up and be frightened. But he had to know what was going on—and give the marshal what he’d found. He hurried down the stairs and headed for the office behind the desk. The marshal had left the door open.

“What’s going on?” For a moment, he thought the marshal wasn’t going to answer him.

“Weren’t you asked to stay in your room?” the lawman snapped.

“What’s happened?” Finn stepped into the room, determined not to leave until he had an answer. “I own this hotel now. If you’ve found something...”

The marshal nodded with a mumbled curse. “My deputies just found what appear to be old graves in the basement.”

“Graves?” He was thinking the hotel had been built on an old cemetery when the marshal clarified.

“Someone has been burying bodies in the basement. Apparently for years.”

Finn felt that bump in his bloodstream. “The missing young women.”

“I beg your pardon?” the marshal said, looking at him with sudden mistrust.

“I spent months in this hotel, and during that time, I read all of the old journals that Casey’s grandmother kept. Every few years, a young woman either who had been staying in the hotel or working here disappeared and was never found. I was going to bring the information to you, along with anything I’d learned about Megan’s death.” He thrust the bag toward the marshal. “I found this hidden under the stairs to the tower. There’s a page in it you might want to read. I think you might be looking for a serial killer.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

LEROY HAD TWO fresh murders and counting. Patience Riley was missing. Maybe she’d left. Or maybe she hadn’t and they had yet to discover her body. He had more deputies coming from the next town to the west. The crime team had arrived and was processing the scene in the basement. He had deputies making sure no one left the hotel or ventured down to the wine cellar. He’d secured the crime scene as much as he could.

He’d told himself that he had control of the situation, and now Finnegan James had walked in and told him he might be looking for a serial killer?

He could see that the man wasn’t going to leave until he looked at the notebook. It almost amused him that it had been put in a plastic bag like evidence. People watched too many crime shows.

It took him a moment. Most of the pages were blank. When he did find it, he was struck by the handwriting. There was something about it that set his teeth on edge even before he began to read. Halfway through, he dropped into the office chair.

By the end, he looked up at Finn. He wanted to argue that anyone could have written this. But he had a basement with God only knew how many bodies in it. The skull he’d seen was smaller than a man’s, so he suspected it was that of a