Never Tell Them, N.L. Hinkens [unputdownable books txt] 📗

replied. “Why don’t you drive back to the main road and find a café or something where you can hole up and stay warm?” He pulled out his phone and frowned at it. ”No service. Let’s just plan on meeting back here in four hours. It will take me about an hour to hike up to the cabin and an hour to hike back so that still gives me two hours to talk some sense into Tom.”

Sonia gestured to her portfolio lying on the back seat. ”I brought my work with me. I don’t mind hanging out here.” She quirked a grin. “Trust me, I rarely get this kind of solitude to work in.”

Ray reached into the back and tugged his pack out by the strap. His eyes raked over her face. “It’s pretty isolated here. Don’t talk to strangers.”

Sonia swallowed hard as she watched him climb out of the car and disappear into the rain.

But you’re a stranger.

20

Out of sight of Sonia’s car, Ray pulled out his handheld GPS and turned it on. He hadn’t wanted her looking over his shoulder to see where he was going—he couldn’t take the chance that she might decide to follow him. Just because she’d agreed to drive him out here didn’t mean she trusted him. He suspected Evelyn was filling her head with suspicions about him at every opportunity. Not that he could fault Evelyn for wanting to protect her daughter. After all, Henry had been saying some very disturbing things that he needed to get to the bottom of. First, he had to deal with Tom.

As soon as the bars on the device turned green, confirming he’d picked up a satellite signal, he punched in the coordinates for the cabin. Seconds later, the GPS located his position, and he saved it as a waypoint for his return trip down the mountain. He had no intention of getting lost up here a second time. He grimaced when he pictured the impending encounter with his brother. Hopefully this visit would go better than the last one.

Bracing himself against the rain, he set out along the programmed route. Progress was frustratingly slow, the earth churning beneath his boots as the elevation grew more challenging. As he hiked, he went over in his mind what he was going to say to Tom. More than anything, he wanted a relationship with his brother. But was that even realistic if what he feared most was true? He had told Sonia he was afraid Tom might be a drug addict or an alcoholic, but that wouldn’t stop Ray from trying to help him. On the other hand, if he had had something to do with Katie Lambert’s disappearance, all bets were off. Ray’s initial thought on seeing her driver’s license in his backpack was that he had been involved. But the other possibility was equally disturbing—that the brother he’d believed was dead all these years was alive, and a monster. If Ray had found the license at Tom’s cabin and questioned him about it, that would have been reason enough for them to have fought.

Then again, he could be jumping to the worst conclusion unnecessarily. Tom might have stumbled across the license when he was out hunting. It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Katie Lambert’s abductor might have been searching for a remote location to dump her body. But, if that was the case, why hadn’t Tom turned the license over to the police? Was it possible his brother didn’t know about the missing girl—living the secluded life that he did? Maybe he thought a hiker had dropped it. Or maybe he had his own reasons for wanting to avoid law enforcement. Ray frowned to himself as he pondered the possibilities. Wherever the truth lay, he had to face it. He had to know if he or his brother had done the unthinkable.

Halfway to the cabin, he searched out a fallen tree to rest on. He pulled out his Hydro Flask and took a long draught of water. He was still bruised from the accident, and already feeling the effort of the climb. Thankfully, he’d allowed plenty of time, knowing he might struggle in his weakened state. He only hoped Tom would be reasonable once he got there—he certainly wasn’t in any condition to fight him again. His thirst temporarily quenched, he stashed his canteen in his pack and got to his feet, determined to finish what he’d started.

The second half of the climb proved more challenging, but his efforts were rewarded when the rustic cabin he remembered finally came into sight. He approached slowly, not wanting to startle his brother and risk facing down the barrel of a shotgun.

”Tom, are you in there?” he called out in a loud voice. “It’s me, Ray.”

He walked up to the front door and banged his fist on it.

“Tom, it’s your brother, Ray. We need to talk.”

He waited for a minute or two, then tented his fingers over his eyes and squinted through the dirty window to the right of the door. There was no sign of his brother inside, and the fire was unlit. Surely, he wouldn’t be out in this dismal weather. Ray tried the door, surprised to discover it was unlocked—but then crime was hardly a consideration this far off the beaten path. Other than the occasional stranded hiker, it was unlikely Tom ran into too many strangers.

Ray threw back his hood and stepped inside, peering warily around the dark space. He doubted Tom was wandering around in the woods. It was too wet to go hunting, but it was possible he might have gone into town. If he’d discovered that his monthly payment hadn’t gone through, he might even be trying to call their mother. Ray frowned to himself, trying to recall if he’d cancelled the phone service at the house, yet. He remembered making a list of tasks to take care of, but some of the details leading up to the accident were still