Tara loosened her hand on the phone. She hadn’t even realized how hard her grip had become.

“How so?” she asked.

“He would kind of scout out hikers on the trail and try to convince them to stay, and when they refused he would get all pissed. A couple people complained. He even called me once and yelled at me, said it’s my duty to recommend his crumbling bed and breakfast.”

“How long ago was this?” Tara asked.

The girl thought for a moment. “Right before it went under, a little over a year ago.”

Tara wondered if the closure was enough to take him over the edge. She thanked her, and was soon off the phone.

Tara thought about the words on the tree—they never leave—as she grabbed hold of her laptop and searched Sunset Bed and Breakfast into her search bar. Could this man have had a mental break? Could his warped perception somehow have grown to blame these hikers for his failed business and now he wanted to make them pay?

An article heading popped up in her search results: SUNSET BED & BREAKFAST CLOSES DOWN.

She clicked on it and read.

Located in Lyme, NH and only a hike away from the Appalachian Trail, just off the Smarts Mountain Trail, the Sunrise Bed and Breakfast is claimed to be closing, citing business facilities rundown as a challenge to keep the place running. After operating for nearly 30 years, the Sunrise B&B used to be a prime stop for hikers hiking the Appalachian Trail.

“We are incredibly sad to close it down. This has been a part of our family for years,” Maura, the owner of the B&B that she runs with her son, said through tears.

Yet, while the B&B will be closing, both the owner and her son have plans to still live there in hopes of one day being able to reopen.

Tara stopped reading and looked at the date of the article. It was written just last year and below the article included an address. She still could be wrong, but the location, the name of the place, and all she learned on the phone made her certain that it was a lead she had to follow through with. She reached for her phone again, picking it up in her sweaty palm.

She had something to back up her feeling. Her heart pumped out of her chest as she went through her recent calls and let her finger hit Warren’s name. The phone rang for a few moments until she heard Warren’s groggy voice on the other end, reminding her what time it was.

“Warren, I think I have something,” she said, the words pouring out of her mouth like vomit. “There’s this bed and breakfast in Lyme. I think it’s connected to the murders. I—”

“Mills, slow down,” Warren interjected. “What are you saying?” His voice clearly showed his tiredness and agitation at her call.

“There’s this place, the Sunset Bed & Breakfast. It’s just north of where the third victim was found. Apparently the son of the owner had harassed hikers about a year ago. It makes perfect sense! The setting sun etched into the tree and that’s why the killer probably wrote ‘they never leave.’ He probably keeps the victims there. And—”