If Only She'd Loved Him

Chapter 57

Saturday 2:50 pm

"So, Wozianowski was lying to us."

Matt held the picture up to the sunlight, studying it from various angles for a few minutes.  He peered at it closely.  Making a mental note of Erik's gun make, he turned to Jean.  Half the fun of this whole project was keeping her in suspense.

"Huh?" she said, less than eloquently.

"I said Sean lied to us," he repeated.  "He knew where this guy's cabin was all along."

Jean shook her head.  "How can you be so positive that this picture took place at Erik's cabin and isn't just from some random hunting trip? And who still prints out photos anyways?"

"Some people like to physically hold onto their memories. Especially if they're all they've got." Jean felt a pang of guilt. Sean was kind of a creep but he was a lonely one. She nuzzled closer to Matt.

"Look at the photograph." Matt pushed the picture under Jean's nose.  She yanked it up to eye level.  "Look closely," he told her.  She stared hard at it, trying to see what Matt had seen so easily, but all she saw was Erik, Sean and a very dead deer.

"I'm sorry," she shrugged, putting it down.  "I can't tell."

"It's obvious you've never been hunting," he replied, just a touch of superiority in his voice.

Even a touch was too much.  She lifted an eyebrow at him.  "Did you really think I had?"

"No.  Here," he pointed to Erik's gun in the picture. "Look at that gun, it's a Winchester 30."  His finger moved over to Sean's rifle. "And see, that's the same gun, another Winchester, but look here," he pointed out.  His finger moved up and down Sean's gun in the photo. "See how shiny that stock is?  No marks, no scratches.  Now compare it to Erik's rifle, same make, but his gun's been used before."

Jean shook away the subtext of his words and tried to concentrate only on their current meaning.  If she started thinking about the last time Erik used his gun, she'd go mad.  "So you're saying," she said as calmly as she could manage, "this was the first time Sean went hunting. That he bought a new gun just for the occasion."

"Probably at the Mart," Matt replied, pocketing the photo.  "This only proves that he was lying, nothing else. We still don't know the truth about Megan."

"Why would he lie to us?" Jean asked.

"Why would he tell the truth?"  Matt countered.  "Think about it. This guy was his friend. He'd want to protect him.  He didn't care about Megan.  He didn't even like her.  What possible motive could he have for telling us where Erik might go?  There aren't any," he replied, answering his own question.  "Sean lied, and now he's gone.  I think you can guess where."

"He's gone to warn Erik we're looking for him," Jean whispered.  Clutching at his shirt, she made her decision in an instant.  "Matt, we need to get moving.  We need to find this place.  Maybe we'll get some answers there."

"Just what I was thinking," he replied, detaching her fingers from his shirt.  "My car's in the shop.  We'll have to take yours."

"Fine," she agreed. "This time I'll drive."

"Do you know where Cameron Lake is?" Matt asked.

"No."

"Then I'll drive." He started to walk towards the front door, but Jean put her hand on his shoulder and pointed to the window.

"Better we leave the same way we came," she said quietly.

Nodding, he first glanced out the glass to make sure the coast was clear. One by one, they lowered themselves down and ran straight for her car.