The Night Killer

road. Maud and Earl said he was into reckless driving as a kid. That probably meant drag racing and playing chicken. He probably wanted to scare her, keep her off balance, and he probably thought it was fun.
    Understanding Roy Jr.’s accident took her a little longer, but like a flash of revealing light, it became clear. Travis had taken the cigar box because it was the only thing in the house that looked like it had gold in it from the “lost mine.” He probably searched the house and became frustrated when he didn’t find the diaries. He had asked Diane about them at Slick’s that night and she hadn’t picked up on it.
    Diane had photographed the crime scene when she found it. She knew the box was missing. When Travis took Roy Jr. through the house to see what might have been stolen, Roy Jr. said nothing. He would have noticed the cigar box gone, so Travis had put it back—probably minus the pyrite spheres. Travis was in a spot. Diane knew the box was missing at the crime scene, but it was back when Roy Jr. toured the house. It would be obvious that someone had returned it, and there would be only a handful of people who could have—Travis being the main one. Travis had to get rid of him. So now Roy Jr. lay in the hospital with brain damage and a lengthy recovery in front of him because of a missing and returned cigar box.
    Diane was almost to the place for the meeting. It was a small clearing near a wide spot in the stream. She remembered it from when they were searching the banks near the cave.
    Diane had been walking through the woods for almost an hour. She had occasionally stopped and listened for any sound of someone stalking her. She hadn’t heard anything suspicious. Her heart was pounding harder. She wanted it to be over. She stopped and called out.
    “Travis, let’s talk. Travis.”
    “How’d you know it was me?” His voice filtered through the trees. He was a distance away, but not far.
    “I’m a detective,” she said.
    “Must be a good one. I didn’t think I left any evidence,” he said.
    “That’s the thing about evidence. You often don’t know you’ve left it, or picked it up,” said Diane.
    Diane was standing in the clearing, trying to get a handle on where his voice was coming from.
    “I’m here,” he said, closer than she expected. She jumped.
    “Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.
    “Really?” said Diane, trying to sound amused.
    Diane turned around. He was standing about twenty feet from her. He wore a straw cowboy hat, a Western shirt, jeans, and running shoes. If he had a gun, she didn’t see it. Clearly, Izzy and David weren’t going to find him in town.
    “You bring the diary?” he said.
    “Partway,” she said. “I need to know Andie is alive. You understand, it’s just business.”
    “Sure, I understand, as long as the diary is nearby. Your lives are depending on it.”
    “Who’s got a gun on me?” said Diane. “Is it Jason or Bob?”
    Travis laughed, turned his head away for a moment, then back again. “I told Jason you’re smart. He didn’t believe me. He’s in a good place to get a straight kill shot before you can move three feet. It’s just business.”
    “I hope it’s business, Travis. I’m hoping you want the location of the lost gold mine more than you want to kill Andie or me.”
    “You’re kind of being stupid. You know that, don’t you?” he said. “You know me. Seen me. How stupid is that?”
    “How important is the gold to you?” said Diane.
    He laughed again. “It’s pretty important. I’ve been waiting all my life for it.”
    “It’s so close. Don’t blow it,” said Diane.
    “Why should I let you live after I get the diary?” he asked.
    “You know the answer to that,” said Diane. “There’s a difference in what I can prove in court and what I simply have as a theory.”
    He frowned. “You patronizing me?”
    “It’s in my best interest to keep you happy,” said Diane. “I want to live. I want Andie to live. Let’s do the deal. Andie for the diary. You can stay in Rendell County and I can stay in Rosewood.”
    “It’s not that easy,” he said.
    “It is if you make it that easy,” said Diane.
    “You don’t understand,” he said.
    Diane thought she was detecting some self- pity starting. She didn’t want that. That led to feelings of entitlement.
    “I understand you killed the young couple looking for your mine. Your father found out. Probably from the blood on you. Was that the first