“What did police ask you? Given you admit sending them on that road?”

“They kept accusing me of being involved, either alone or with Kevin. They had all kinds of wild scenarios. That we were part of some doomsday cult or Satanic network. Or that Kevin wanted me to help him scare Sam into not moving to Canada. I had to provide a detailed alibi. They went through my phone and my computer. They grilled me pretty hard to prove I had nothing to do with her disappearance.”

“I can imagine they would. That’s usually how these things go.”

“I had reporters coming around, people looking at me like I was involved. I already was gutted with guilt because I did send them that way. But, man, I swear, I had nothing to do with it.”

Wyatt nodded while examining the items, making notes, taking pictures.

On one level, he was ashamed at the violation of Moore’s privacy. Here were framed photos of her mother and father on their wedding day. Here were other family pictures. Here was a small box, labeled Dad’s Things, containing a wallet, a watch, and a gold band. Here was another box, Mom’s Things, holding jewelry, and a small framed picture of a baby in her arms.

Here was a life, Wyatt thought.

A life stopped cold by a monstrous mystery.

His attention was drawn to the spines of three books that looked out of place. He picked them up, and read the titles—Unexplained Happenings of New England, Myths and Monsters of the Kingdom, and the last, Vermont Vanishings.

“Those are mine,” Barzi said. “I gave them to Kevin for the trip. I don’t want them anymore.”

“May I borrow them?”

“Take them. They’re rare books, hard to find. Not everything about that area is online, so maybe they’ll help you with your story.”

Wyatt fanned through Vermont Vanishings.

“Maybe.”

CHAPTER 16

Somewhere in the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont

Lasius Byyle was in his kitchen, where he set out a bowl of milk for his cat, Tituba.

“How’s that, sweetie?”

Byyle made coffee and looked out the window to the forest.

He loved his private life here.

He was living off the grid, using solar panels, a small wind turbine, a battery bank, an inverter, and a generator. He had a propane heater, and used an old, wood-fed cookstove for heat. He used an RV satellite system to obtain free access to the Internet. Byyle’s knowledge of how to set up his life-support systems stemmed from his time as an engineer, before he was unjustly terminated over complex issues.

But that was long ago.

Living and working here in the Northeast Kingdom, where people kept their distance, and to themselves, suited Byyle. He thrived on the peace, the tranquility, the solitude. He was thankful fate had introduced him to Devlin Foxe, and happy to have found this property.