George got in, started the van, and slowly pulled out. I didn’t envy him having to maneuver that bulky vehicle on these wet, winding roads. Come to think of it, I wasn’t all that wild about doing it in a car. My thoughts wound back around to Fryman Canyon and the ransom money. I found Bailey talking to one of the unis and motioned her over.
“Did anyone check Brian’s bank accounts? Or find out if he had a safe-deposit box?” I asked.
“No safe-deposit box, and his bank account had twenty-seven bucks and some change. No ransom money anywhere. Until now, I just figured he had the money on him.”
“So maybe our third party was in on the kidnapping plan and killed them both so he could grab the money-”
Bailey nodded. “And get rid of the witnesses.” She gestured to the rest of the team, who were packing up to leave. “Let me wrap up here and we can take off.”
It was nearly ten o’clock now, and the darkness that had settled over the mountain was pierced only by the sliver of light from a crescent moon. The air temperature had dropped at least thirty degrees, and the hulking black hostility of the terrain was starting to get to me. I thought about Brian drawing his last breath in this harsh, lonely wilderness. Had he still been alive when the killer shoveled the dirt over him? The thought left me short of breath and achingly sad. My cell phone rang, breaking into my morbid reverie. Startled by the sound, I reflexively took the call.
A voice cried out, “I j-just heard about Hayley!” Choking sobs intervened before the caller could continue. “It’s all my fault! I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!”
It took me a moment to identify the voice through the tears. “Mackenzie?”
“She told me she’d be okay! And I believed her!”
“Take a deep breath, Mackenzie.”
A sharp, ragged intake of air, then, “Sh-she told me…she said everything would be okay-”
“You mean Hayley?”
“Y-yes.” Sniffling and a few hiccups. “She said she’d be gone for a while and I wouldn’t be able to reach her. I might hear something that sounded bad, but I shouldn’t worry, and I couldn’t tell anyone. She said don’t tell, just don’t tell. She said she and Brian had a plan and everything was going to be great. But she didn’t tell me-” The rest of the sentence was cut off by more racking sobs.
“-what the plan was?”
“No. She just said not to tell anyone. So I didn’t. She said not to…” Mackenzie trailed off.
“Mackenzie, you are not to blame. Do you hear me? You didn’t know what she was planning.” But Mackenzie was now crying and hiccupping uncontrollably. “Mackenzie? Is your dad there?”
