The Acadia Killer

Chapter 9

"Yes. I have."

I cleared my throat again, feeling my heartrate pick up. "That was my photo that I gave to the police. I accidentally stumbled into all of this when the first murder happened. I was on the same trail as the woman who was murdered, and I didn't even realize I'd gotten a picture of the suspect. I was just shooting the trees. Later on, when I found out the murder location and I put two and two together, I realized how close I'd been to being the victim and I contacted the authorities. Now there's weird shit going on around the house I'm staying in – somebody, maybe the killer, walking around outside in the rain in the middle of the night. I had to call park police at four a.m. Krista, you know this opportunity with Worldwideis so important to me, but I really think it's best I don't take this particular assignment, and I'm sure you understand my reasoning."

She was silent for the longest time that I began to wonder if she'd hung up or accidentally muted her end of the call. What if she was rethinking working with me because of what I'd told her? Maybe she saw me as too much of a risk now. Had I just fucked up my chances? Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut and taken the assignment.

"Mackenzie, I'm... Wow... I'm so sorry you're going through that," Krista said in a caring voice, which thoroughly caught me off guard. "I understand your concerns and I would definitely not want to put you in harm's way. However, now that I know you're the photographer who captured the killer's image, I think we have an even better opportunity than my original idea. What would you say to being interviewed about your experience and letting Worldwidepublish the photo in the anniversary edition? Think about it. Your story and your photography would be center stage in a mainstream magazine, in print and digital. Think of the traffic that would generate for you as well as the magazine."

How the hell was I supposed to respond to that? I couldn't turn down Krista Hall twice in a row. That would surely deflate my chances of Worldwide hiring me on. She did make a great point from a business perspective, but what about my perspective? Putting my name and my photo in a major magazine for the whole world to see would put me right in the killer's crosshairs. That was the whole reason I'd made sure the police weren't going to publish any information about me when they used my photo on the news. I didn't want this homicidal maniac knowing who I was. It was that simple. Surely, Krista would understand that. Then again, while she may understand my safety concerns, she may also be more concerned with the status of her special edition than a photographer's wellbeing. She may not take too kindly to me saying no back-to-back, and I didn't want to ruin my chances with Worldwide. What the hell was I supposed to do?

"Would you mind if I took some time to think about it?" I asked, praying she'd agree and then thinking up a decent excuse to delay. "I probably should speak with the police and park authorities first just to make sure publishing an article about this wouldn't cause them any issues in their case. You know, since he hasn't been caught yet."

"Mmhmm," Krista agreed, sounding like she was mumbling while taking a drink of coffee. "That's understandable. Go ahead and chat with them and let me know what you think. I'll give you a call back in a day or two and we'll discuss it. Who knows; maybe they will have caught the guy by then."

"I sure hope so," I sighed. "Thank you for calling, though. I'll get back to you with an answer soon."

We told each other to have a good day and hung up. As soon as I set the phone down, I felt a rush of anxiety and exhaustion blaze through my muscles. The stress of everything happening at once – the photography assignment, the serial killer, whatever the hell was going on between Blake and me – was getting to be too much. I'd always treated my work trips like vacations, because in a way they were, but I was starting to think I needed an actual vacation. I also needed a stiff drink, but that was an issue for later.

Typically, I would've called the main number for the park office to get permission to do an article or photography regarding an ongoing case, but I knew with all the crazy press this story was already getting, the park authorities were overrun with reporters and photographers bugging them for licenses and answers to all sorts of questions, and I didn't want to get lost in the crowd of voices. Besides, they probably didn't want to deal with any of the media anyway, and who could blame them? But I had a choice to make. Was I going to potentially give up my opportunity with Worldwide Magazine because I was intimidated by a dude in the woods? Or was I going to tough it out and act like I wasn't afraid so that I could impress Krista Hall and get my name in a global article?

I didn't know who else to talk to, so I called Blake. Of course, given this morning's unsettling episode, he immediately thought I was calling because I was in trouble.

"Mackenzie, are you okay? What's wrong?" His voice was full of concern, and I felt bad for worrying him. Although, it did feel nice to be worried about.

"No. No. Everything's okay," I tried to assure him, anxiously twisting my hair around my finger until it hurt. "I just wanted to know if you would mind coming by the beach house this evening after work."

I was going to stop there, but then I realized he may have taken that as suggestive, and that wasn't what I meant at all.

I quickly clarified: "I just have some questions about park policy on media stuff. It's a work thing. I just want to run something by you is all. I'm sorry I interrupted your day. I just didn't know who at the park office to talk to so I figured I may as well ask you. I hope that's okay."

Ramble much, Mackenzie? I probably sounded so dumb to him just then.

Blake breathed a soft laugh that seemed to caress my ears through the phone speaker. "Yeah, that's not a problem, Mackenzie. I get off at four. I'll swing by around five if that's okay. I've been out on the trails checking on some hikers this morning and with the rain earlier, it's kind of nasty out so I'll run by my house and change clothes before I head over. I know Michelle likes to keep it pristine over there."

I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Yeah, she does. It's pretty spotless."

"Alright. I'll see you this evening," Blake said.

As soon as the call ended, the realization set in that I'd just scheduled alone time with a man who made me horny every time he walked in the room, and the overthinking began to run wild.