The Killing Moon by Dan Padavona (books to read for 13 year olds .TXT) 📕

Benson won’t come after me,” Raven told Darren, not believing her own words.

Sitting at her desk, she listened as Chelsey opened cupboards inside the kitchen. Wolf Lake Consulting resided in a two-bedroom, single-story house three miles from the lake. Nestled in the village center, the converted home was a short walk from eateries and cafes. But Chelsey and Raven preferred taking advantage of the kitchen and eating at work. Raven’s stomach couldn’t handle anything heavier than popcorn this morning, not with an escaped convict stalking her.

“I wish I could be there,” Darren said.

She heard him swishing through the grass and pictured him walking the ridge trail. Raven propped her feet on the desk.

“You can’t abandon the state park. We’ll get together after work, like we planned.”

“Raven, I don’t want you alone today.”

“Chelsey is working with me this morning, and LeVar starts his shift at noon. I’m safe.”

“You’re armed?”

“Always.”

Darren groaned.

“This situation doesn’t feel right.”

“Don’t worry about me. Listen, if you want to do me a solid, check with my mother. Naomi Mourning is picking her up after work. Until then, Mom’s alone at the house.”

“She’s taking the danger seriously?”

“Not really, but I can’t mother her twenty-four hours a day. Anyhow, the faster we catch Benson, the better.”

“I’ll call your mother now.”

Raven thanked Darren and ended the call as Chelsey carried the popcorn bowl into the office. Chelsey set two cans of sparkling water on the desk and popped a kernel into her mouth. Since their blowup over the summer, Raven and Chelsey had grown close again. At her lowest point, Chelsey had collapsed at the mall during an anxiety attack. She’d boxed herself in, pushing away her friends as Chelsey had done when major depression crippled her during her teenage years. Since she’d spoken with a therapist, the color had returned to Chelsey’s face, and she attacked each day with renewed vigor. Her rekindled relationship with Thomas played a role, though Raven suspected Chelsey’s improved mental health caused her to reunite with Thomas, rather than the other way around. A chicken and egg scenario.

Still, Raven watched Chelsey like a hawk as her friend called up their case notes on a terminal. It was important Chelsey focused on her health, rather than looking after others. Depression wasn’t a sign of weakness. Chemical imbalances explained many depression cases. Provided Chelsey sought counseling and followed her prescriptions, she’d stay a step ahead of depression.

“Let’s start at the beginning,” Chelsey said, clicking a photograph of Mark Benson.

A tremble moved through Raven’s body. She studied Benson’s picture—gray hair and mustached, a chiseled chin. Benson might have looked like someone’s friendly uncle were it not for the devilry swimming inside his black eyes. The first time Raven encountered Benson was outside his gym. While she photographed Ramos flirting with Ellie Fisher, Benson watched her over the security cameras. The muscular gym owner accosted Raven in the parking lot, claiming he’d call the police if she didn’t leave.

“Where would Benson go after escaping prison?” Chelsey asked, tapping his picture with her nails.

“He doesn’t have transportation. The county impounded his vehicle after the arrest. If I was Benson, I’d steal a car after I escaped prison. Something nondescript, nothing flashy.”

Chelsey called up a list of stolen vehicles reported after yesterday’s escape.

“Wow. Four-hundred-seventy-two vehicles stolen statewide in the last twenty-four hours. I love New York.”

“That doesn’t narrow our search.”

“Maybe if we confine the scan to the area around the prison.” The browser paused as internet traffic slowed to a crawl. “Here we go. Fourteen vehicles.”

“That’s better. Print the list so we have copies.”

Chelsey snatched the papers off the printer and handed Raven a copy.

“What else do we know about Mark Benson?”

“Besides that he’s a psycho? He was broke. That’s why he abducted Ellie Fisher.” Raven snapped her fingers. “Now that I think about it, Benson closed his bank account and withdrew the last of his money a day before the arrest.”

“How much did he withdraw?”

“A little over a thousand dollars. Not enough to live off, but he could buy a plane or bus ticket.”

Setting an ankle on her knee, Chelsey leaned back in her chair and munched popcorn.

“He must have hidden his money before the sheriff’s department caught him. Does he still own the gym in Kane Grove?”

Raven shook her head.

“Bankrupt.”

“Did another business purchase the building?”

Scratching her chin, Raven rolled the chair to her desk and loaded a Kane Grove real estate website on the computer. After perusing the commercial listings, she set the mouse aside and said, “The property is still for sale. The realty agency is marketing the building as a gymnasium and fitness center.”

“So they haven’t gutted the building, and the equipment is still inside. Interesting.”

“You think he stashed the money in the gym?”

“That would be risky, but Benson isn’t the sharpest tool in the drawer.”

“Perhaps he hid the money inside the farmhouse. I drove past that place last month. It’s uninhabited.”

“That gives us two places to search for Benson.”

Raven slid her chair to Chelsey’s desk.

“I’m concerned he’ll make trouble for Ellie Fisher. What if he kidnaps her again and ransoms her off?”

“That would be insane. Every law enforcement agency in the country would expect him to go after Fisher.”

“The most dangerous criminal is the one who doesn’t care, and Benson has nothing to lose. Even if he makes it across the border, he won’t survive without money.”

“True. So what do we do?”

“Stake out the gym and the farmhouse,” Raven said.

“We can’t watch two places at-once.”

“Wait until LeVar shows up at noon and take him with you to the farmhouse. I’ll swing past the gym, then check on Ellie Fisher on my way back to Wolf Lake.”

“No, you won’t. You aren’t going anywhere alone.”

“What’s the risk? I’ll watch the gymnasium from across the street.” When Chelsey sent her a disapproving glare, Raven blew the hair out of her eyes. “I’ll be around people. Benson won’t attack me in broad daylight with a few dozen witnesses nearby. Besides, I’m prepared for every eventuality.”

Raven patted the holstered gun.

“I don’t