Smoky Mountain Investigation Read Online Free PDF Page B

She’d be happy with a little quiet and peace of mind.
    She skimmed the article, edited a couple sentences and added a few more facts, grateful to see it was coming together. A little more tweaking and she’d be finished.
    The trill of her cell phone sent her pulse into a sprint. She pulled the handset from under a stack of papers. Restricted showed on the screen. She pressed it to her ear. “Kylie Harper.”
    “Kylie. My dear Kylie, how are you?”
    Her heart stopped. She shifted the phone to the other ear. “Who are you? What do you want?”
    “Don’t sound so fussy, dear. Didn’t you enjoy my gift?”
    Kylie swallowed a gasp. “A dead man? No. That’s a terrible gift.”
    Heated laughter rippled through the line.
    She pinched her eyes shut and whispered through clenched teeth, “Please, stop this madness.”
    “Stop?” Another fiery chuckle. “Why, precious, I’ve just begun.”
    Kylie bolted upright in her chair. Her eyes popped open. “What do you mean?”
    “Did you enjoy the elevator ride, Kylie?”
    Her heart slipped. “You...you were responsible for that?”
    “I told you. I’m never far away.”
    Questions? Questions? Max’s words echoed in her head. What questions should she ask? She rubbed at her forehead as if to jump-start her brain. “So where are you now?”
    “Too personal, dear. But I have a question for you. Fireworks. Do you remember?”
    Fireworks? “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
    “Oh, but you do.”
    “No—”
    “The cows and the moon.”
    “What?”
    “I saw you stealing kisses, Kylie.”
    Fighting for a full breath, Kylie barely got out, “Jake Plyler’s farm.”
    “Another gift awaits you there.”
    Click.
    * * *
    After a phone call to the police and another call to update Nick, Kylie tossed her cell phone onto the passenger seat and tightened her grip on the steering wheel of her midsize sedan. On a usual spring day there would be another couple hours of daylight left, but nothing about this day was usual. Dark gray clouds hovered low in the sky, heralding an approaching storm, as dismal and menacing as the anxiety clutching her chest.
    She took a breath to ease it, reminding herself that she was just following a story. Doing her job.
    This wasn’t personal.
    She clung to the reassuring thought.
    At Adams Gap, Kylie left the parkway and turned down a heavily rutted two-lane dirt road. The Plyler farm had been vacant for the past six years and she hadn’t traveled this path in twice that long. Not since the spring festival, her sophomore year of high school.
    An impromptu after-party.
    It was a clear, breezy night, she recalled, scented by the crackling fire, a bonfire licking the darkness and strains of music resonating from portable speakers. Blankets and homemade quilts peppered the grass field beside the barn and couples snuggled together to watch an amateur fireworks display put on by fellow classmates.
    For most of that year, she had admired Nick from afar. A crush nursed along by his contagious laughter and impish grin. She could still remember the tingle of excitement she’d felt when he’d asked her to be his date. And on that clear May night beneath a star-studded sky, they’d shared their first kiss—a moment that hadn’t gone unnoticed by many of their razzing friends, and a moment she’d never forget.
    Up ahead, an old battered stop sign marked the end of the route. Kylie’s car bumped over the uneven road. She made the final turn around a sharp bend. A tingle of relief swept through her when she saw several squad cars already there. Police officers and local deputies swarmed the area, tramping through overgrown weeds and grass. Body-recovering dogs accompanied them.
    Goose bumps blazed a trail up her arms.
    She swallowed hard, trying to shove back the lump of fear that nearly choked her and failing miserably.
    Lord, help me.
    * * *
    The moment Nick answered his cell phone and heard panic in Kylie’s voice, he jumped out of his