BooksBarbecue
Back Alone in the Woods Save as PDF
Chapters (63)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Chapter One
  4. Chapter Two
  5. Chapter Three
  6. Chapter Four
  7. Chapter Five
  8. Chapter Six
  9. Chapter Seven
  10. Chapter Eight
  11. Chapter Nine
  12. Chapter Ten
  13. Chapter Eleven
  14. Chapter Twelve
  15. Chapter Thirteen
  16. Chapter Fourteen
  17. Chapter Fifteen
  18. Chapter Sixteen
  19. Chapter Seventeen
  20. Chapter Eighteen
  21. Chapter Nineteen
  22. Chapter Twenty
  23. Chapter Twenty-One
  24. Chapter Twenty-Two
  25. Chapter Twenty-Three
  26. Chapter Twenty-Four
  27. Chapter Twenty-Five
  28. Chapter Twenty-Six
  29. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  30. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  31. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  32. Chapter Thirty
  33. Chapter Thirty-One
  34. Chapter Thirty-Two
  35. Chapter Thirty-Three
  36. Chapter Thirty-Four
  37. Chapter Thirty-Five
  38. Chapter Thirty-Six
  39. Chapter Thirty-Seven
  40. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  41. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  42. Chapter Forty
  43. Chapter Forty-One
  44. Chapter Forty-Two
  45. Chapter Forty-Three
  46. Chapter Forty-Four
  47. Chapter Forty-Five
  48. Chapter Forty-Six
  49. Chapter Forty-Seven
  50. Chapter Forty-Eight
  51. Chapter Forty-Nine
  52. Chapter Fifty
  53. Chapter Fifty-One
  54. Chapter Fifty-Two
  55. Chapter Fifty-Three
  56. Chapter Fifty-Four
  57. Chapter Fifty-Five
  58. Chapter Fifty-Six
  59. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  60. A letter from Charly
  61. Acknowledgements
  62. About the Author
  63. Also by Charly Cox

Alyssa cocked her head in his direction, curious as to why Sandra would ring Cord instead of her.

‘I called you in case Alyssa was driving, and then after the phone started ringing, I remembered she had the Bluetooth, but by then it seemed silly to hang up, and—’

‘Sandra, it’s okay,’ Cord interrupted. ‘Why don’t you just tell me what’s up?’

Because Sandra spoke loudly, Alyssa could easily hear the conversation, but she still appreciated that Cord placed her on speakerphone anyway.

‘Could be nothing, but a call came in a few minutes ago about an abandoned car.’ Alyssa thought it was a strange comment until Sandra added, ‘Didn’t Elizabeth Monroe drive a brown BMW?’

Alyssa’s stomach clenched, as if Sandra had physically punched her. ‘Yes, she did.’

‘That’s what I thought. Should Joe and I go check it out in case it turns out to be nothing?’

It was hard to miss the eagerness and hope in Sandra’s voice, but Alyssa was going to have to dash the young officer’s excitement this time. ‘Text Cord the address. We’ll check it out. In the meantime, I need you to do a little research on someone else. Have a pen?’

‘Yep, sure do.’ Her response sounded a little less like cartwheels in a meadow and more like a field hand relegated to pulling weeds.

‘Al Greene.’

Cord filled her in while Alyssa headed for the abandoned vehicle that she fervently prayed did not belong to Elizabeth Monroe.

Chapter Twenty

Saturday, October 5

The tract of land that had once housed a bustling outdoor mall was now an enormous parking lot, cracked and overflowing with weeds.

‘Got to love the apocalyptic vibe,’ Cord mused as Alyssa stopped her SUV next to two patrol units blocking off a brown BMW.

‘You’re not kidding.’ Alyssa swept the area with one careful pass as she shut off the ignition. ‘Not exactly the best place to leave a clunker, much less a Beemer.’ She nodded to both officers, addressing the one she recognized. ‘Phillip.’

The twenty-year veteran of the department tipped his head in greeting. ‘Alyssa. Cord. Captain Hammond radioed that you were headed this way. One of the clerks’ – he hitched his thumb over his shoulder to indicate the convenience store located across the street – ‘spotted the Beemer when she got off work late last night. Car was still here when she arrived for today’s shift, said something didn’t feel right about it, and she called it in because it was better to be safe than sorry.’