The Acadia Killer

Chapter 8

The morning was dismal, with one last burst of thunderstorms rolling through while Michelle, Blake and I spoke to Blake's detective friend on the phone, filling him in on the weird encounter earlier. Detective Ramos thought there was something more to it than just a weirdo out for a four-a.m. stroll, too. That did nothing to settle my nerves and I could tell by the look on Michelle's face, she was just as concerned as I was. Blake, on the other hand, remained calm and collected like he wasn't afraid of anything in the world, which somewhat helped to ease my blood pressure when Ramos asked if the killer knew I was the photographer. He couldn't, because that information hadn't been published, but it got me thinking.

"Wait. I just realized something," I interrupted whatever Ramos had been saying. "I do have the name of my business on the side of my truck. I hope he didn't figure out that the same vehicle that was parked at Beehive Trail is parked at this house."

I'd had a friend who did collision work put signage on my front doors shortly after buying the vehicle to advertise my photography when I was in National Parks. Now I was beginning to regret that idea.

"I doubt it," Detective Ramos said rather quickly. "Unless he watched you walk back to your vehicle from the trail, I don't think he would put two and two together. And he obviously couldn't have watched you walk back, given the timing that you heard the scream back in the woods. He was busy committing his first murder while you were getting in your truck to leave."

I looked at Blake to see what he thought, and he simply nodded and said it made sense, but it still bothered me anyway.

"But if he saw me on the trail, which I'm guessing he did since he was running away from the camera shot, and then if he saw me going into this house, he might recognize me," I pointed out. "And if he had any doubt it was me, he'd see that it says photography on my truck and that would probably tell him all he needed to know."

"That's a possibility," Ramos said, his voice sounding like he was tired of the conversation, as we'd been on the phone for forty-five minutes. "Just stay alert and do your best to not get caught alone anywhere. Obviously, if you must be by yourself, have some type of weapon to protect yourself. Other than that, just keep me updated. Let me know if anything else weird goes on."

I was starting to feel sick to my stomach at that point and Blake took over finishing the conversation.

"I'll get those photos sent to you in a minute," he told Ramos. "Thanks for taking my call."

They told each other to have a good day and Blake immediately texted the photos to his friend.

"Well," Blake breathed out heavily, glancing at the clock on the oven as he slid his phone into his back pocket. "It's time for me to head to work. I'm going to run home and change. I'm on patrol throughout the park today, Mackenzie, so let me know if you need anything. I'll try to stick to this side of the park in case something comes up. Don't hesitate to call me or 911, okay?"

I managed a nod. I felt like that was the most I could make myself respond. The stress of the situation coupled with my blood pressure reaching new heights that would impress mountaineers was limiting my ability to think clearly, or converse for that matter. I'd been gripping the edge of the island countertop for most of the call with Ramos and my palms had gone numb.

"Thank you, Blake," I finally said when he reached for the doorknob to leave. "Thank you for not thinking I'm crazy for waking you up at the worst possible time. Especially since I'm a friend of a friend's wife and you really don't even know me. I feel bad for dragging you into this, but just know that I appreciate what you did for me this morning."

My words were sincere, but I felt like they were not enough. How do you really thank a stranger who just rushed to your rescue in the middle of the night in a thunderstorm to chase after a potential homicidal maniac in the dark? Blake didn't even know me, and it floored me that he was that incredible of a person that he would put himself in danger to help someone he doesn't know. Not many people would do that.