He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not

she’s here, we’ll find her,” Pierce assured him.
    Logan nodded and led the way out the door.
    Amanda had to be here—in one of these cabins on Black Lake—because, God help him, he didn’t know where else to look.
    A manda scrambled to her knees and lunged toward the chain.
    “You’re ruining everything,” Tom screeched. “Why do you always ruin everything? Why won’t you ever let me help you?”
    What was he saying? It made no sense. She grabbed the chain and whirled around.
    He stood in front of her, hands on his hips, his face a bright red. “Carrying you is going to slow me down. If you die, you have only yourself to blame.”
    He started toward her.
    Amanda swung the chain, throwing the weight of her body behind the swing. His eyes widened in surprise. He jerked to the side. Not fast enough. The chain struck his temple. He dropped like a rock.
    “Police!” a voice yelled outside.
    The door burst open and a man ran inside, half-crouched, both hands wrapped around the butt of a pistol. The sun was behind him so Amanda couldn’t tell at first who he was. When he got closer, he straightened, and relief swept through Amanda as she finally saw his face.
    “Amanda?” He looked down at the man on the floor, then back at her, his brow raised in surprise. “Thank God I found you. Are you okay?”
    The chain dropped from her fingers, plinking across the floor. Her body started shaking so hard her teeth chattered. “I’m f . . . fine. I’ve never been so g . . . glad to see anyone. How did you find me?”
    Riley smiled and holstered his gun.

 
     
    Chapter Twenty-One
     
    T ractor-trailers roared past the rest stop, stirring the hot, humid air, but bringing little relief from the smothering heat. Pierce flipped his phone shut and swore.
    Logan raised a brow, waiting.
    “Riley’s alibi for Carolyn O’Donnell’s murder is bullshit. He paid another man to go to the conference, a man who looked like him. With Riley missing, I had one of the agents in Alabama go back and pull surveillance tapes from the hotel. They used facial recognition software with Riley’s police badge picture and proved the man at the conference wasn’t him. I’m sorry, Logan. You were right all along. I should have pushed harder when you first suspected him.”
    Logan spread a map out onto the hood of his car and smoothed it down. “We don’t have time for recriminations. Show me where your men have searched.”
    Pierce leaned forward and pointed to a spot on the map. “We’ve searched the entire area near the boxcar where O’Donnell was killed. Some of my guys are on their way to Black Lake in case you and I missed any cabins.”
    “We didn’t.” Logan wished to God they had, but he knew there weren’t any more cabins at the lake.
    Pierce pointed to another circle on the map. “The complex Bennett lived in—did your team search every apartment? Every storage closet? The club house?”
    “Every inch.” Logan swallowed hard. “Even the storm drains.”
    Pierce tossed his pen on the hood of the car. “Still no sign of Riley. His house is empty. His car isn’t in his garage.”
    Logan slammed his fist on the hood of the car, leaving a dent. “Think, damn it. Let’s go back to basics. Start with the timeline.” He grabbed the pen and circled the exit off I–10 where Amanda and Karen were attacked. “The FBI agent heard the commotion outside the condo. He ran outside too late to help, but he immediately called for roadblocks. They were placed here,” he drew a line across the interstate, “and here.” He drew another line on the highway in the other direction. “Roadblocks also went up around Shadow Falls—here, here, and here.”
    “Don’t forget the county highway, north of town.”
    Logan marked that too. “Assuming he wouldn’t speed so he wouldn’t draw attention, we can calculate a relative area he could have covered before the smaller roadblocks were set up. From the condo, he had to take this road.” He pointed to the map again. “There’s no other option.”
    “We searched that area.”
    “He must have driven straight through. Based on when we got our smaller roadblocks set up, I figure he had two options when he got near town. He either drove right down Main Street or he took this route.”
    Pierce shook his head. “No way would he go down Main Street in front of the police station.” He watched Logan draw a line down the alternate route.
    Logan paused, considering the various