Page 39 of Once Hidden
“And you mentioned you come here from time to time?”Riley prompted.
“Since I was a kid.”His gaze drifted around the overgrown cemetery.“My grandfather used to bring me fishing at the creek that’s just a little way off, beyond those trees.I’d explore while he fished.Found this place when I was maybe ten.It became my...I don’t know, my thinking spot.”
Bob’s voice grew quieter.“When my dad passed away and left me the hardware store, I’d come out here to sort through things.When my wife told me she was pregnant with our first, I came here to let it sink in.”He gave a self-conscious shrug.“Sounds strange, I guess, finding peace in a ruined church and an old graveyard.”
“Not strange at all,” Ann Marie said softly.“Many people find cemeteries peaceful, and the church is still beautiful in its own way.”
“Mr.Montgomery,” Riley continued, “how many other people feel the same way about this place?Anyone else who might share your attachment to it?”
Bob thought for a moment, then shook his head.“Can’t think of anyone, to be honest.It’s pretty isolated out here.Most folks in town avoid it—all those silly ghost stories kids tell.”He paused.“Wait," he said, clearly finding a memory.“There were these twins who lived here briefly when I was in high school.Tony and Jay Bartlett.We used to come out here together.They’d bring a miniature chess set, and we’d play each other.They always beat me.”
Riley felt the familiar prickle at the base of her neck—the sensation she’d learned never to ignore.“Tell me about them.”
“They moved to Bundydale with their dad when we were, oh, maybe sixteen?Didn’t stay long, maybe two years.Their dad worked for the Department of Transportation.Nice guys, but kind of intense.Really smart—especially with numbers and puzzles.”Bob smiled faintly at the memory.“I’d hike out here with them.They loved this place as much as I did.”
“Do you still keep in touch?”Ann Marie asked.
Bob shook his head.“Lost track after they moved away.About five years back, I heard Jay died in a climbing accident.Never found out where it happened or anything.No idea where Tony might be now.”
“Thank you, Mr.Montgomery,” Riley told him.“You’ve been very helpful.”
She guided Ann Marie a few steps away, out of Bob’s earshot.“I need you to use your phone to access the FBI database.Find everything you can on Tony and Jay Bartlett, especially anything about Jay’s death and Tony’s current whereabouts.”
“You think Tony could be our guy?”Ann Marie asked, already pulling out her phone.
“It’s worth looking into.Five years since his brother’s death, and our killer is someone who feels a strong connection to places from his past.”Riley glanced back toward her vehicle.“I’m going to check in with Timothy.See if he’s made progress.”
When Riley returned to her car and picked up the tablet, Timothy Lancaster’s face appeared immediately, his eyes bright with excitement.
“Agent Paige,” he said, “I’ve got it.The algorithm is beautiful in its simplicity once you see the pattern.Each letter pair corresponds to a number, and the numbers build the coordinates.”
He held up a sheet of paper covered with calculations.“I’ve decoded CG, AF-AI-BI-AH-5, GI, EA-AB-AA-AE.It translates to 37.6985° N, 79.5152° W.That’s where you’ll find Amanda Lindeen—somewhere along the Talomaska River.”
Riley felt a strange mixture of gratitude and revulsion for this man who had murdered three people.“You’re certain about this?”
“Absolutely,” Timothy replied, tapping the paper.“The pattern is consistent.Whoever created this code has a mathematician’s mind—methodical, precise.He’s building his puzzles the same way each time.”
Riley heard Bob Montgomery’s words in her mind again,really smart—especially with numbers and puzzles.
“Thank you for your help,” she told Timothy, keeping her voice calm.
“I’ll keep this connection open in case you need anything else,” he said.“Consider it part of my...community service.”
Riley ended the call without responding to his attempt at humor.Now they had a target location.She knew where Amanda Lindeen might be buried.Could finding that place give them a clue to a killer whose motivations remained hidden in the shadows of grief and obsession?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Shadows stretched across the asphalt road, the evening sun low enough to paint the western sky in streaks of orange and gold.Corey McLaughlin had been driving this route for three years now, knew every curve and pothole between Westminster and the county line.
“Last stop, finally done,” Corey muttered to himself, adjusting the air conditioning vent.The delivery truck cabin had grown stuffy, trapping heat that slipped in at every stop he made during the day.He rolled his shoulders, feeling the ache of twelve hours on the road.
His mind wandered to his plans for the evening—a cold beer, the baseball game he’d recorded, maybe ordering that pizza with the works from Gino’s.Simple pleasures that seemed sweeter after a long day of rural deliveries.The TransGlobe logo on his sleeve caught his eye in the side mirror—royal blue against khaki, the uniform he’d worn five days a week for nearly three years now.
That was when he noticed it—a thin column of smoke rising above the woods to his right.Not large, but definite.Corey slowed the truck, eyes narrowing as he tracked the gray plume against the darkening sky.
“That’s not right,” he said, tapping the brakes.The road was empty in both directions, nothing but dense Virginia forest on either side.The column was too small to be smoke from a house fire but big enough to be concerning.The weather had been dry lately, and the conditions were perfect for trouble.If that fire was unattended it would surely spread.
Corey eased the truck onto the gravel shoulder, hesitating with his hand on the gearshift.Squinting through the trees, he estimated the smoke’s source at about a quarter mile in.No thunderstorms had rolled through recently—he’d have remembered anything like that.Maybe just campers with a controlled fire?But these woods fell within state park boundaries—no residences dotted these acres; no designated campgrounds existed for miles.Whoever had lit that fire wasn’t supposed to be there.
