Eros

Chapter 14- Lifeline

She inserted her keys into her jeep, and started the long drive to the lake, letting the small droplets of rain on the roof of her car become white noise as she drove out of Leweys.

She should tell Hotchner about the new lead. They could help her find Kevin, take down the Sheriff as a team. Someone needed to know where she was headed at least- no, Mike knew, that was enough. Lynn had evaded JJ in the station when she left, even though she could have easily stepped aside and informed her.

Why didn't she? Lynn racked her brain as she drove, going back and forth between contacting the BAU or not... it was one of those stupid decisions in movies that led to someone dying...

But she couldn't let it lead to someone's death, especially not Kevin's or one of the Agents. The Sheriff wanted to gut her like a deer and she guessed if he saw her when they raided whatever shelter he was holed up in, the person standing next to her would be on the receiving end of a 9mm bullet.

She'd tell them once she was closer to the lake. Maybe her hesitation also stemmed from the embarrassment she had felt under Hotch's gaze when she told them she couldn't go out in the search.

Lynn gripped the wheel, her determination to prove that wrong rising within her. She wasn't going to be a helplessly lost deputy in the dark, finding Kevin like she had found John. She'd tell them where she was once she reached the halfway point- then they'd arrive to find her foot on top of Anthony Hollars back, him in handcuffs and Kevin safe and sound. This line of thinking was too simple- bringing him in wouldn't be that easy- but she needed to be at the forefront of it, for Jennifer and Daniel. For Susan and John, for Kevin. Too many of her close friends and family were dead at the hands of the man she once looked up to.

The rain started to pour and the occasional thunder and lightning seemed to convince her that this path was the right one. Even if the sheriff turned out not to be at the lake, she wouldn't be putting anyone in danger at the station. No matter what, she would return to Paul.

A road sign for the miles until the lake exit almost passed her by and she stopped on the side of the road, cursing. She had lost track of time and twenty minutes away from the lake, she hadn't called. She looked down at her phone- no bars. If she had called just ten minutes earlier she may have had the service to call her lead in, but the storm must have made it worse.

"Shit," she sighed.

She could try and drive back to one of the small rest stops, but that was too far away to backtrack- the faster she found Kevin, the better.

Lynn restarted her car and turned back onto the road. The optimistic attitude of bringing in the Sheriff alone had shifted into a pressing silence as she drove closer to the lake as the evening grew darker and the stakes of her lonely mission started to become heavier in her mind. She would still find Hollar, or he would find her, but either way, she couldn't turn back now.

She stopped at the small visitor's center just on the border of the lake campsites. It was closed. The summer season had ended and now all the winter business was focused in Lewey's and at the ski resorts and lodges in the state. She looked at a map and located where the small cabins were spread throughout the area. It had to be in one of these. She grabbed a map from the waterproof glass box and shoved it into her pocket and unholstered her gun. It was time for the hunt.

She walked through the rain, her boots sucking up the mud as she continued on foot. Her jeep would alert the Sheriff to her presence if he were holed up in one of the campsites.

The first small white cabin popped into view. The wooden boards on the steps were sagging slightly since not many chose to camp in them compared to a normal tent site. These were used by those who didn't want tents, who wanted a roof over their heads during their time in the wilderness. The people who usually rented these out were more likely to just drive the extra hour and stay in the lodge.

She apologized to the imaginary rangers working there before she kicked the door open and rushed in, clearing the two small rooms.

One down, five more to go.

They were all spread out from each other, each one further away from the main campsite. These were definitely for folks who wanted to be isolated during their trips.

Lynn cleared four more, each one empty and devoid of use for at least a month. No supplies were stored and nothing suggested that someone had been squatting there. There was no cabin full of blood or carnage that one would expect a highly dangerous butchering psychopath would have. She thanked the heavens for that because maybe Kevin was still alive. It's not like she wanted to see something like that again...

Well, there was always the last one.

She was growing cold, and the wet rain seeped into her clothes and chilled her arms and legs to the bone. This had to be it. Maybe Anthony already knew she was clearing out each cabin. By the time she walked to the last one, she could barely see the fourth in the thickness of the woods, which meant the Sheriff would have seen her as well.

"Anthony!" She yelled, her voice barely louder than the rain.

No response.

"It's over, we all know it was you who killed Susan and Daniel. Please, you have to know what you're doing is crazy! You're the Sheriff, for God's sakes..."

It wasn't exactly how she wanted to lure him out, but she needed him to respond, or for Kevin to make some kind of noise proving he was alive.

Still nothing.

She tightened her grip on the pistol and kicked the door in one more time, her leg muscles becoming strained after the other cabin doors.

It was empty.

How could this be? She yelled and kicked a chair away from the entryway. This was supposed to be the place. There were no other secluded buildings in the area around the lake to hide Kevin. The lake was where the first murders took place- he met Lynn for the first time there- it had to have some meaning.

Maybe she misunderstood the lake and the ring story. There was no reason she could assume he was there with Harriet when she tried throwing it away, that it was the place her surrogate mother broke off the engagement.

It was too far to take Kevin, not with the whole town's department searching the streets for him. He may have not been able to leave.

Lynn sat on the porch letting the rain pour down on her, worn out. She briefly checked her phone, trying to keep it from getting wet. She shot up. One bar! One tiny, wavering bar of service!

She dialed up Hotchner. If the BAU had returned from their searches, they would be wondering where she was after finding out she wasn't there at the station...

It rang twice and Hotchner picked up, though his voice crackled and split from the horrible connection.

Lynn opened her mouth to speak, hoping Hotchner would be able to hear her on his end, but a heavy weight hit the back of her skull, knocking her to the ground and her phone into the mud, and what could have been her lifeline back to Leweys' and the BAU disconnected.