Tempting Evil by Allison Brennan Page A

send no other letters to Jo.”
    “What did it say?”
    “It implied that they had a relationship, that he knew she wrote for him because that was the only way they could share intimacy.”
    Tyler hit the side of the garage. The mere thought that some psychotic bastard would butcher Jo’s innocent and beautiful stories angered him.
    “Erickson never mailed them—and Doherty was distraught when Jo didn’t write back. The prison authority just informed us that they uncovered dozens of letters Doherty had written to a ‘Joanna.’ They were hidden in plain sight—he’d highlighted words and letters in her books that, when read together, were messages for her.”
    “It’s sick.” It was more than sick—now Aaron Doherty was trying to make his fantasy real. Jo was in danger and Tyler hated that he wasn’t with her to protect her.
    “It’s in line with what I surmised earlier,” Vigo said. “He has delusions—but not the wild-eyed delusions you expect from drug addicts on the street or the mentally ill.”
    Nash approached them. “You’re all ready to go.”
    Deputy Grossman called from Tyler’s truck, “Sheriff! Stan Wood from the Moosehead is on the radio. Says it’s urgent.”
    Tyler strode over, picked up the radio. “Stan, it’s Tyler. What’s wrong?” His heart raced. The two people he loved most—his son and Jo Sutton—were in danger.
    “I found Aaron Doherty’s mug shot,” Stan said.
    “I faxed it last night along with Doug Chapman’s and Thomas O’Brien’s.”
    “We only saw O’Brien’s and Chapman’s. I found Doherty’s in John Miller’s room, folded in one of Jo’s books. Doherty and Miller are one and the same.”
    Stan’s words sunk in immediately. Tyler almost didn’t want to say it. “John Miller was one of the men who went out with Jo to bring back Wyatt’s troop.”
    “Yes.”
    “Does Jo know?”
    “I called and told her.”
    Shit.
It would have been safer to have let Doherty think he was in the clear. To return to the lodge with Wyatt and the boys where Stan would have the upper hand.
    “I’ll contact them. Get everyone into the lodge and keep them there, including your guests staying in cabins.”
    He hung up and dialed into Wyatt’s frequency. Nothing. He tried again. And again. And again.
    Someone finally picked up the radio. “Hello?”
    “This is Sheriff McBride. Who’s this?”
    “Kevin Sampson, sir. Are you coming to save us?”
    Kevin sounded scared. “Son, put Wyatt on.”
    “He’s hurt.”
    “Ms. Sutton?”
    “She’s not here. Mr. Miller took her.” Kevin spoke fast. “He had a gun and they left on a snowmobile.”
    “Mr. Miller?” Tyler repeated. His blood ran cold.
    “He shot Mr. McBride and took her. You’re going to get them, right? Jason says you’re the best cop.”
    Doherty had shot Wyatt and taken Jo. Tyler’s world was collapsing around him. He felt helpless this far from everyone he cared about.
    “Is Wyatt okay?” He feared the worst.
    “I think so. I don’t know. Mr. Mann is doing something.”
    Tyler rubbed his temple. “Put Jason on.”
    “I can’t.”
    Tyler’s frustration and fear grew. “Just put him on, son.”
    “He’s gone, too.”
    “What do you mean gone?”
    “He left right after Ms. Sutton and Mr. Miller. Following them, I think.”
    His son—his twelve-year-old son—was tracking a killer in the middle of an impending blizzard. He’d throttle him. What
had
Jason been thinking?
Dear Lord, I just want my son back. My son and my girl.
    The killer has Jo.
    “Put Mr. Mann on. Now.”
    “Yes, sir.”
    Why hadn’t one of the men gone after him? Why did Jason feel compelled to be so reckless? A moment later, a voice said, “This is Sean Mann. My father is trying to stop Mr. McBride’s bleeding.”
    “What happened?”
    “Not quite sure, except that Ms. Sutton got a call on the radio and then Miller just flipped out. He had a gun and said she was coming with him. When Mr. McBride tried to stop