72 hours later
“Paris”, Cami shakes me awake. I resettle myself in the Severance Sheriff Department's waiting room chairs. Cami's forehead and chin are still tightly bandaged from where Madison had knocked her out with a car battery.
“I think they interviewed you twice as long.”
Cami lets out an exhaunsted breath and I hug her.
“They wanted some of my recordings," She explains.“Under normal circumstances I wouldn't give them to the cops but, fuck that bitch.”
After Madison had knocked Cami out at Nate's-- the next thing she remembered was being in the back of Scott's car. She’d tried to reason with Madison and assumed she was doing Scott’s bidding. It hadn’t taken her long to realize who was really behind all this. She'd blacked out again and hadn't come until the cabin.
“You know what’s crazy ?” Cami says, “I never thought to interview Madison. Not even once. She was right there the whole time.”
“This is why I’m glad I escaped my small town."
"She just wanted this place to notice her."
“They won’t forget her now.”
Cami settles in a chair across from me, “I am ready to tell this fucking story from a distance. I’m more than ready to go home. “
The county hospital cleared Cami and I after two days of observation. We were both lucky to make it out without concussions. Madison Dodson's charges had hit the mainstream and it was starting to show in town and on social media. I didn’t want another brutal crime attached to my name so I declined to press kidnapping charges. Cami did the same and we agreed to give statements instead.
“Me too.”
She folds her arms, “You’re going back to Ithaca ?”
I nod.
“I lost the Minnesota offer.” I explain. “Mark tried to cover for me but the DCEC wouldn’t go for it.”
“Did you tell them you were held captive by a serial killer ?”
“In the words of the Chair—if I’d come on the day I was supposed to, that probably wouldn’t have happened.”
“I’m sorry Paris.”
“It’s fine. I like Ithaca. Besides I think after this I need to keep a low profile. Maybe I’ll start teaching Econ 101 at the community college. Rent a small apartment. Learn to cook ? Maybe take up pickleball or bird watching. Maybe we can get dinner from time to time whenever you're home. Pick apart Constitutional ethics over undercooked pasta.”
“Yeah. I bet you would like that,” She says and it sounds like a good-bye.
She kisses the side of my check and picks up her duffle from underneath the chair. I follow her outside. An Olympia police cruiser pulls up to escort her to the airport. I get the door and take my time closing it once she’s settled.
“Until next time, Paris.” She offers instead of good-bye.
“Until next time.”
+++
The “For Sale’ sign is no longer in Sera’s yard.
The house is empty and a giant padlock is on the front door.The wind chimes are gone and the house feels like it’s been abandoned for decades. A ‘Sold. No Trespassing, Commercial Property’ sign is perched in the middle of the lawn.
I hadn’t seen Sera since we were rescued from the cabin. I’d learned from Detective Morley that Sera and Granger had gone to Madison’s stash site and found the survival gear. They'd camped out there waiting for Madison or Scott to show. When I stopped picking up my phone they’d gone to the Dodson’s house and found my abandoned car and Scott’s body. Unbeknownst to Madison, the alert on Scott's ankle monitor had been triggered by the lack of vital signs.Sera knew there was only one other way out of town so she’d gone to the lake and alerted Daniel when she found us.
I walk down to Larry’s. The Days Inn was temporarily closed while new management was being worked out. Deputy Daniel—well Sheriff Daniel had visited me in the hospital to let me know Bev was being charged with obstruction, though the charges were likely to be dropped.
Larry and Granger are on the porch. Granger’s car is filled with their belongings. It seemed they were living more out of it than the house.
“Mind grabbing the mail”, Larry asks.
I double back. The box is overflowing with bills and a non-descript envelope with no return address on it. Just an arrow drawn on the side. Larry puts the bills in a stack with the others. Granger lurks in the doorway with his headphones off.
“Heading out ?” Larry asks.
“Yeah”, I say, “Heard you have a big pay day coming from the police union.”
“That’s what..what’s her name ? Ms. Dupont says. She says they’d rather pay out than try to mitigate who was driving the police cruiser that night. She thinks it will be a couple million. Sure you don't want to get in on this ? Two lawyers is better than one,right.”
I shake my head.
“Might be a conflict of interest considering my involvement with the wider case.”
He shakes his head, “That girl never seemed right to me. Marcia used to say she was nice but you could tell she never meant it.”
He holds the blank envelope close and looks a bit down the lane.
“So…Sera’s gone ?” I ask.
Larry nods, “Blew out of town the minute the police were done with her. I think she blames herself a little.”
“She had nothing to do with this. Madison is a literal psychopath.”
Larry readjust in his chair, “I can’t tell Sera how to feel. I’ll miss her though.”
“From what I’ve seen, Sera always comes back to the people who she cares about. I’m sure you’ll see her again.”
“I don’t blame her for leaving”, Larry continues, “This town has bad bones. This house certainly does. Been thinking of renting a place near Aberdeen. Something smaller. It might be better for just the two of us. Fresh start. “
I reach into my pocket for my business card, “Here. If you or your sons ever need anything. Call me.”
He palms the card. He and Granger seem to have a silent conversation.
Larry clears his throat, “Now that I think about it. Sera did mention something about camping out by the lake one last time. But you didn’t hear that from me.”
+++
I take my time driving up to Lake Elma. I drive slowly past the Days Inn. From the road I can see Jasper sitting at the front desk, possibly contemplating if he could manage the place.
The High Noon is barely visible under all the vandalism and graffiti. There are a few haphazard memorials to Scott and Nate. For whom, history would probably remember as being more innocent than they actually were. I stop by the grocery store and pay respects to Kim Harbinger’s memorial. She’d probably seen Madison for who she was and wasn’t afraid to say ‘no’.
When I arrive at the lake I see the police are still working the scene at Scott Dodson’s cabin. There is a renewed memorial to Mickie and Paige by their old cabin.
I drive down to the campgrounds but stop halfway. Sera’s RV is parked a near a shallow inlet few feet away from the shore. I get out and make my way down the embankment. Sera is sitting on a large flat rock that juts out into the lake. She’s watching the police move in and out of Scott Dodson’s cabin. From this distance the cabin is barely a speck on the horizon.
“Leaving without saying good-bye ?”
“I was going to call”, she says without turning.
“They have their work cut out for them over there”, I get a little closer. Sera turns to face me when I step onto the rock. She has a few bruises from her tussle with Madison. She looks at me and then over at my car.
“Where’s Cami ?”
“On her way back to Ithaca. I’m sure she will reach out to you to participate in her podcast.”
“My only contribution is ‘no comment’.”
“You can tell her yourself.”
“I look forward to it.”, she says.
Madison couldn’t refute the confession she made on the recording. Instead she kept trying to explain her logic. She was unfit to stand trial and sent to a state hospital until she could be deemed competent. Her almost angelic looking mugshot was already making the rounds. She wasn’t going to be ignored anymore. Especially after she confessed to an 8th murder.
“Did you hear that Madison took credit for killing the real Severance Stalker ?” I ask.
“I did”, Sera says, “I think she did it for attention.”
I sit on the rock next to Sera.
“When we were in the cabin I saw the real Severance Stalker’s body...it was in pieces.”
“The trunk was small.”
“You said you fought and he died from internal bleeding. It looked like he’d been stabbed multip–.”
Sera puts down the pebble she’s holding, “That bitch sent her serial killer bestie into my house because she sucks at making friends. I wasn’t going to be a victim again.”
I take a deep breath.
“When you were going to kill Scott”, I’m not sure how to word this, “You said you would make it look like he disappeared. Like he fled the country. Kind of like Helios.”
Sera stands and dust herself off. She steps off the rock and heads to her RV.
“You don’t have to leave Severance.” I get up and follow her.
“The town was here for me when I needed it. For that I’m grateful. Even if most of it was a lie.”
“Where are you headed now ?”
She shrugs, “Probably South. Someplace warm, rural and mercifully quiet. Maybe Sedona. Or there is this nice off-the grid campsite outside Flagstaff. You ?”
“New York. Well....I don't know. Maybe I should go to Minneapolis and grovel for my offer back. ”
“Do you want to go to Minneapolis and grovel for that job?” She asks.
“Not really”.
“Do you want to go back to New York ?”
“I mean I would… if it weren’t for my impending foreclosures, ugly townhome, unemployment, debt and the fact that I’ll have to watch my rival get sworn in as mayor. ”
Sera studies my rental car for a moment, “I have a hitch on my RV.”
“What ?”
“I can hitch your rental to my RV. I’ll tow you to Sedona. You should check it out. There is this massive sandstone formation called The Veil. The rocks are so porous they can clear your aura and mind. It’s crazy but it works. It might help you make a decision.”
“I have a flight–”
“You can catch it from Sedona. It’s a quick trip. Two days on the road max.”
“I…are you sure ?”
“I’m not sure of anything anymore.”
I study my phone. I have 32 missed calls and six e-mails from Mark. Journalists were starting to infiltrate my inbox. National news alerts were already breaking the story of a serial killer being discovered in Washington.
“I guess I can spare two days.” I shrug off my jacket. "So how do we hitch this thing?”
“You stand here, look pretty and do nothing.”
To be on the safe side I look up a video while she works on the cars. She's finished hitching the car by the time my video loads. I climb into the passenger seat of the RV. The entire cab shakes and rattles when she starts the engine. I instantly regret agreeing to this but she’s already started driving.
I don’t look at Severance as it passes us by. I’m not entirely sure if I left his place better than I found it or worse. Sera pulls onto the freeway and takes her time crossing the bridge overlooking the bay. By the time we get to Route 96 the loud engine becomes soft background noise. A couple miles in I learn to anticipate the cab’s jolts and shakes. Soon I can just focus on the road and what’s a few feet ahead of me.
“You were right. This is nice”, I finally admit, “I feel better already.”
She laughs, “We’ve barely started.”