Page 47 of Once Hidden
The trees thinned as they approached the summit, revealing glimpses of the valley below.Westminster looked small from up here, its lights just beginning to twinkle in the gathering dusk.
The fire lookout tower came into view as they rounded the final curve.It was perhaps 100 feet altogether, Made up of rusted metal and winding stairs with a small metal hut at the top.Warning signs declaring “DANGER - NO TRESPASSING” hung from its base, their red lettering faded to a dull pink.
Riley parked in a small clearing about fifty yards from the tower and cut the engine.
“Looks like it could collapse any minute,” Ann Marie said, eyeing the structure warily as they got out of the car.
Riley retrieved her flashlight from the glove compartment.“Stay close.And watch your step.”
The ground around the tower was uneven, scattered with fallen branches and debris.Riley swept her flashlight in a wide arc, taking in every detail.The beam caught something that made her pause—a disturbance in the soil about fifteen feet from the tower’s base.The earth looked fresher there, recently turned.
“Ann Marie,” she called softly.“Over here.”
The younger agent joined her, her own flashlight adding to the illumination.Together, they approached the disturbed area.
There was a rectangular hole in the ground
It was unmistakable—a shallow grave, roughly six feet long and three feet wide, recently dug and lying empty.No attempt had been made to disguise the site or make it blend with the surrounding ground.
Riley crouched beside it.“He dug this for Corey McLaughlin,” she said, “but McLaughlin got away.”
Ann Marie knelt on the opposite side, her face solemn in the harsh beam of the flashlight.“We need to treat this place as a crime scene.”
“We’ll get Autrey to do that,” Riley replied.“He can get a proper team up here at first light.”
As she stood, Riley felt it—faint but familiar—a sensation that had served her so well over the years.She walked slowly around the grave, letting the impressions come.“He and Jay used to climb that tower,” she said, her gaze drawn upward to the precarious structure.“It was their place.Their sanctuary.”
“And he planned to bring a victim here,” Ann Marie said.“Why?To share it with him?”
Riley shook her head.“Not to share it.To consecrate it.Each body he buries is an offering.”She paused, the pieces falling into place.
The wind picked up, sending a shiver through the tower’s frame.A metallic groan echoed across the hilltop, as if the structure itself was responding to Riley’s words.The sound raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
“Where do you suppose he is now?”Ann Marie muttered, looking up at the tower, a black silhouette against the indigo sky.Complete darkness had fallen while they worked, the only illumination coming from their flashlights.“I guess we can’t be sure he’s not …”
“Up there tonight?”Riley finished for her.“I don’t think so, but if that was his favorite place, I do need to go there.”
They were both silent for a moment, then Ann Marie said, “Let’s go.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The first step of the old fire tower groaned beneath Riley’s weight, a protest of rusted metal.She paused, one foot suspended above the next tread, her hand gripping the weathered railing.
The abandoned tower loomed above her and Ann Marie, its skeletal frame a jagged silhouette against the darkening sky.Metal stairs wound upward inside the tower’s four spindly legs, and many more of those steps separated them from whatever view—and whatever insights—awaited them in the lookout shed at the top.
“This doesn’t seem particularly stable,” Ann Marie said, her voice hushed as though the tower might collapse if she spoke too loudly.
Riley tested the second step, applying gradual pressure.“The metal frame is solid enough.”She glanced back at her young partner.“Stay close to the railing and test each step before you put your full weight on it.”
Riley continued her ascent, feeling the subtle sway of the structure with each step.
The tower had been abandoned for years—decades, perhaps—but the main support beams showed no signs of critical failure.Still, she moved with caution, holding her flashlight on the stairs, her eyes scanning for weak points.
“Careful here,” Riley warned, pointing to a section where a connection had broken.“Step over this part.”
“OK,” Ann Marie replied.
As they climbed higher, the slight breeze strengthened, whistling through the tower’s metal framework.Riley felt the structure sway slightly—just enough to remind her of their precarious position.
