“Liam,” Nate said, hastening to my side. In his grip was a sheet of paper wrapped in a clear bag. He held it out for me to see. “This was left at the scene. Does it mean anything to you?”

I skimmed the text, my insides lurching when I recognized Kennedy’s handwriting, but it wasn’t as tidy as usual. I had to squint and tilt my head to make sense of it.

Liam,

I’m leaving Destiny Falls. After a lot of thinking, I’ve decided I’m better off elsewhere, and I’ve taken steps to ensure you can’t find me, the same way I used to with paparazzi. I hope you can respect my decision like I respect your preference for Americanos to lattes, even though I disagree.

All the best,

Kennedy

I stared at the words, struggling to comprehend them. The whole thing was wrong. For starters, it felt garbled, as though she’d been under a lot of stress when she wrote it. But that only brushed the surface.

My mind whirred, trying to make sense of it. What did she mean that she’d taken steps to ensure I wouldn’t find her, the same way she did with the paparazzi?

A memory struck me. The two of us packed into a fire engine cab with a bunch of other sweaty firefighters. Me asking her about the guy at the accident scene who’d photographed her. Kennedy telling me she should have switched off her Bluetooth and location tracker. Something clicked into place. She’d been forced to write this, but she’d tried to leave us a trail of breadcrumbs.

I grabbed Nate’s arm. “I think she left her Bluetooth and the location tracker function on her phone switched on. Is there a way we can search for her using that?”

He frowned. “Maybe. I’ll look into it. Anything else you get from this?”

I read it again. “That last sentence is strange. She knows I prefer cappuccinos to both lattes and Americanos. It’s a weird way to say it. Unless….”

“Unless it’s another message,” Nate finished.

I looked up. “I think whoever took her is American.”

He nodded. “It’s a possibility. I’ll see if we’ve got eyes on any of our favorite Americans.” He cleared his throat. “One thing I don’t understand. Why force her to write a note? He must have known Blair would be found and the security footage discovered, so it would be obvious she hadn’t left of her own accord.”

“Perhaps he planned to come back for Blair. Without the kitchen knife, Blair would have had more difficulty getting free. Perhaps the guy forgot about the knife and expected to have more time to return and tidy up after himself.”

“Maybe.”