“It’ll be okay,” I sort of said to him and sort of said to myself as I hopped into a slow jog. Because what could go wrong? All we wanted to do was see who showed up. If it was one of the two people we suspected of killing Pug, we’d tell the police. We weren’t going to confront anyone, weren’t going to capture anyone. Pure identification, that’s all.

That was my internal monologue as I trotted down the forested path. Only the closer I got to the lake, my inner tone grew more and more anxious.

“It’ll be okay,” I murmured. But what if it wasn’t? What if no one showed up? What would we do about finding Ryan a new place to stay? Because he certainly couldn’t stay at the cabin any longer.

My thoughts grew even more dire as I started seeing bits of lake through the tree branches. What if Ryan wasn’t here? What if he’d gone on the run, dooming himself to a lifetime of hiding? How would we ever find him again?

“Please let him be here,” I whispered. “Please let him be safe. Please let this work. Please . . .”

I rounded a final curve in the trail and came to an abrupt halt, blinking at the scene taking place not twenty yards from me.

The trap had worked.

But too well. There were two cars in the parking lot, not one. And there, facing each other across the parking lot, were two men. One with long dark hair in a ponytail. The other with bright ginger hair.

Ian Breece.

And Skyler Ellison.

Chapter 21

My mind didn’t—couldn’t—absorb what was in front of me. Two people. There were two killers? How could that be? It didn’t make sense. There was no reason for—

“Hey,” said a quiet voice.

I jumped. It was Ryan, but he wasn’t talking to me. He was walking out from behind a row of picnic tables, set for the winter vertically with two legs on the ground and two up high leaning snug against its neighbor. All his attention was focused on Ian and Skyler. I made a move toward him, but instinct kept me back. Wait, something told me. Wait and see what happens.

Slowly, I dropped to a crouch. Birds twittered all around, treetops swayed slightly in the mild breeze, and Moss Lake was a blue so deep it was nearly black. Peace and calm pervaded the scene. Unfortunately, none of it was being absorbed by the librarian in the shadows.

I stayed still as a stone, barely breathing, watching and waiting. For what, I didn’t know, but surely I’d know it when I saw it.