I don't know if Betsy was becoming immune to alarming news or if her husband was paranoid. She reluctantly agreed following up on my sighting would be prudent and wouldn't do any harm.
I'd considered driving by the few camping facilities I remembered seeing in the county. Creeping around campgrounds at midnight didn't seem like a well thought out plan. I couldn't think of a logical way to advise Detective Jackson. I considered calling Frank Vasapolli but I would be revealing my Keene location.
"There's always an anonymous tip," Betsy said. "It's not like we haven't gone that route before!" We finally agreed that was premature so we decided to drive around campgrounds in the morning and look for a California license plate number.
Part of me couldn't believe our Delabama stalker could track us down but I'd underestimated the opposition in the past. There too was the matter of who turned off the power at Howie's house and why? This monster had managed to find Merrill Cooms, forcing us to acknowledge his abilities. Might he be nearly as close to us as Owen Bryce had been? Perhaps I should purchase a gun and learn how to use it. Our home was as isolated as Howie's place and contained no alarm or security system. This woman lying next to me whom I dearly loved deserved protection and I was ill equipped to provide it.
If I thought we'd spend the remainder of the night in restful slumber, I was dead wrong. It was nearly three A.M. when Howie called.
"I'm sorry, Ben. God, I'm sorry. She didn't mean for what she did to cause anyone harm."
I shouldn't have been surprised. Here he was, apologizing on Julie's behalf, in the middle of the night. I answered with all the right words though I was not just a little annoyed. I thought we'd finished with the vicarious act of contrition but no such luck.
"Ben, what am I going to do?"
"About what, Howie? It's over. Quinn is gone and we couldn't do anything more if we wanted to. He controlled his equipment; no one else knew how and you can't do your regression thing without it and him."
"I know, I know. But he didn't take it with him. It's all still in his room."
"Did he leave you a note?"
"Yes. He said he was sorry but he and Martha said they had to call it quits and he was going back to be with his wife and child. He'd tried to call me but I had my cell of because of the funeral. He said he'd make arrangement for the room and his equipment. That's all."