A First Love to Die For

Chapter Forty-Five- Possibility

(Lincolns POV)

The door chimed as we walked in and Stephie jumped up from behind the welcome desk. I looked down to see her phone screen still on, scrolling through Instagram posts.

"Slow Day?" Sam clapped a hand on my shoulder as he addressed Stephie.

I knew he was telling me that he was going to ask the questions. I also knew that he was still worried about me not being in the right frame of mind to be policing right now.

It was the right call.

She gave an embarrassed shrug. "I should have closed down for a while after Chantelle. No one is ready to come in and be reminded of the fact that she's gone."

She swallowed hard. "I'm not either if I'm being honest."

"That's actually why we're here. We're following a few leads and had a couple of questions for you." Sam pulled a sympathetic face as he talked.

"Ask away. I'm done hiding anything. It was stupid for me to not be upfront about the victims coming here. If I had been honest, maybe Chantelle would still be here." Tears pooled in her eyes.

"When was the last time you saw Candy?"

The panic was clear in her voice as she asked, "You think Candy has been taken?"

No. That's not what he said.

She immediately started bawling. We were minutes in and well on our way to complete hysterics here.

Sam was floundering, obviously uncomfortable with the excess emotion. "No... we don't think she's been taken."

Again, he paused for a moment as if he was trying to find the words.

I interrupted. There was no time to sugar-coat things. "Have you thought about the fact that it is quite the coincidence that all our victims visited here at some point?"

"What are you saying? I felt no sympathy as her tear-filled eyes widened.

"I mean who else is connected to all those victims? Partied with you guys after hours, who else is connected through you?"

Her confused eyes met mine. She still wasn't grasping it fast enough for me. My patience was long past frayed. "Come on Stephie. You can't tell me that you never thought it was weird that they went out with the two of you and were never heard from again? I'll bet if you really thought about it you can remember some problem, Candy had with each of them."

Her eyes were transitioning from confused to dazed right in front of me. I knew I was right. Had she been jealous that her friend was spending time with someone else? Looking back, she was going to see the signs just like we were all starting to.

"You can't tell me you've never suspected how troubled Candy is. How she sometimes takes her nastiness too far?" I was growling now, and I knew it was too much because again I felt Sam's hand on my shoulder.

He took over. "Stephie you told me that you never talked to the police about any of the girls. But multiple officers reported investigating the missing person cases, that they discovered "The Beauty Boutique" was the last place our victims had used their bank card. They filed reports claiming that they called and talked to you."

"I already said. I never talked to anyone." She shook her head.

His voice softened. "I know but I want you to think about it. Is there anyone else they could have talked to? Someone that could have pretended to be you."

Her whole body tensed as she realized what he was asking, and her response was quiet. "Candy often hangs out here. She helps me at the front desk and in return, I don't charge her for pedicures. She keeps me company. But she wouldn't... she couldn't..."

Her voice got louder, and tears filled her eyes again. "You don't think she's the victim. You're trying to find her because you think she's the killer."

Sam nodded. "We do."

She shook her head. "No. No she couldn't..."

Her voice was strong but there was a tension in her body that hadn't been there before. She was really thinking about it.

I stayed silent, observing her. Everything came off as genuine. She didn't want to believe that her friend was capable of this. Fair. I knew that going in aggressively wasn't going to be the answer.

She needed my kid gloves. I just needed to dive deep down to access them through the fear and the overwhelming panic.

I softened my voice. "Maybe you're right. Maybe it's all a big misunderstanding but until we talk to Candy. Until we find her, we won't know for sure. Do you know where she could be? She isn't at her house or at her rental. Do you know anywhere else she stays?"

Not a misunderstanding. She took a woman... my woman in broad daylight.

There was no doubt in my mind that she had become a resident of crazy town years ago, but Stephie wasn't ready to believe that about her friend.

Helping to clear her name though, I thought she might want to help that. She worried at her bottom lip, and I held my breath.

Oh my god. She does. She has an idea where she might be.

Sam's melodic voice broke the silence. "We just want to talk to her. See if she can explain things."

Stephie sighed. "She only stays at her house in town when she's had too much to drink and can't drive home. She normally stays at her great-grandpa's cabin on Cameron Lake. It's been in her family for years."

The hope that raced through my body almost knocked me off my feet.

She pulled up Candy's contact on her phone and pressed the info button. Then she pulled a sticky note and wrote down the address she had listed there.

I would imagine it was in another family member's name. That would explain why it wasn't on any of her financial records.

Holy Shit. Did we just find her?

Breathe in. Breathe out.

"Thank you Stephie. We really appreciate your help." I was already moving as I expressed my gratitude.

I was out the door before she could say anything else. I could hear Sam. "We'll be in touch", and then he was joining me outside.

He reached out and took the keys for my truck right out of my hands. "I'll drive Chief. You call Charlie."

I took a deep breath and then clicked the number. For the first time since we discovered that Josie went missing, I felt the possibility blossom in my chest. I just prayed that we would get there in time.