The Acadia Killer

Chapter 1

On the corner of Magnolia and 8th sat the vacant store I'd been eyeing since I'd arrived in the picturesque seaside town two days prior. A weekend breather in between my travels had led me to Eagle Cove, Maine – one of the prettiest coastal communities I'd discovered yet; and that was saying something since practically all I did was explore the world. Hallmark-worthy beach towns were a dime a dozen, but there was something I particularly liked about this one. I just couldn't quite put my finger on it.

An older woman with silvery-blonde hair caught my attention as she walked up to the storefront and unlocked the door. She had to be the owner who was searching for a tenant.

For a split second, I thought I'd make my way over and introduce myself – tell her I was interested in leasing the spot, but I knew better than to chase the fantasies my mind drummed up in the midst of my travels. I couldn't put down roots anywhere because I'd take another photography job and be gone before the seasons changed. It wasn't worth losing the money.

That was the way it had been for me since I'd turned twenty-two. For eight years, I'd been dashing across airports to historic foreign cities and spending too much on gas to road trip back and forth throughout North America. I was a freelance travel photographer, jumping at every opportunity that slid my direction in hopes of that one big break that would make my work renowned throughout the industry. And after nearly a decade of pouring my heart and bank account into the job, I was pretty positive I'd finally caught that huge break.

Back in March, Worldwide Magazine, a global leader in travel and leisure, had taken an interest in my landscape photography and approached me with an assignment to spend the next six months capturing the most beautiful views in each of America's National Parks for their fall special edition. If my finished product held up to the high standards of their editor-in-chief, Krista Hall, I would be hired as a new travel and leisure photographer for Worldwide Magazine, starting on their twentieth anniversary in November.

I couldn't turn down the opportunity of a lifetime and immediately threw myself into the assignment. The first park I'd visited was Gates of the Arctic in Alaska. I'd been there a few years before and fell in love with it. My plan was to hit Alaska and Hawaii first and then gradually journey across the country from the west coast to the east coast, which brought me to the final stop on my half-year-long road trip: Acadia National Park. I'd gotten so used to park hopping, it was hard to believe that my sixty-three-park adventure would soon come to a close.

Startling me out of my thoughts was my phone vibrating around the cupholder in my truck. It was Michelle, my oldest and closest friend from high school. She was expecting me at her beach house within the hour.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes," I answered, pulling out of the spot where I'd been parked on the street. "I'm just a few miles away in Eagle Cove."

"Sounds great!" Michelle's cheery voice flowed through the Bluetooth speakers. "I've got coffee ready and waiting for you!"

An ironic yawn left my lips as she spoke, and I grinned in anticipation of coffee and a beautiful beach view. "I'll see you soon."

I had never been to the beach house before, but Michelle had shown me photos of it over the years and I was always in awe of how gorgeous everything looked. It had been her grandmother's home and she'd willed it to Michelle when she passed away a few years prior. Michelle lived in nearby Bar Harbor with her husband and two dogs, and rarely had time to spend at the beach house. Most of the year, she rented it out as a vacation home to tourists, and she'd been kind enough to make plans for me to spend my week in Maine there.