The Body in the Woods: A Point Last Seen Mystery

Alexis feels relief—she believes they’ve caught the killer and saved a girl. She goes home—and her mom is there. Alexis embraces Tanya in a tight hug and asks what happened. The police picked Tanya up thinking she was drunk; when they realized she was having delusions, they took her to a hospital. Her mother’s clothes and nails are clean, and her eyes are clear. Alexis asks about medication as she notices her mom’s eye twitching. Tanya is on a lot of pills, even some new ones. She doesn’t like how they make her feel, but Alexis tells her she has to take them—she can’t leave Alexis on her own like that. Alexis sits on the couch and cries for all of the girls and women that weren’t saved and for herself.

On Wednesday, Ruby’s parents meet with SAR leader Jon Partridge about pulling her from SAR. Jon doesn’t want Ruby to go—she aces her tests and is an asset to SAR. Her mom is proud when she hears that Ruby stopped another volunteer from touching evidence. Jon argues that SAR is excellent preparation for becoming an emergency medicine doctor. They work out an agreement: SAR won’t call Ruby for anything gruesome, and Ruby has to be up front with her parents about when she is doing SAR. Ruby is thrilled: This is what she wants more than anything.

Ruby gets back her phone and car keys and asks to go see the swifts at Chapman Elementary where the birds are roosting. She hurries to tell Alexis and Nick the good news. Crowds of people are looking up at the sky; some have camping chairs and blankets, and many photograph the birds. Ruby and Nick find Alexis and she hugs them, which takes Ruby by surprise. Ruby is so proud that they found the killer. They tell Ruby they couldn’t have done it without her figuring out it wasn’t marijuana grower Adams.

Caleb Becker walks up behind them. He has binoculars around his neck and asks if they’re enjoying the show. Ruby thanks him for telling her about it. He offers them hot cocoa from his thermos to celebrate. Becker tells Ruby he’s heading over to Forest Park in the hopes of seeing the northern spotted owl. Ruby notices the cocoa doesn’t taste right, but she drinks it to be polite. The crowd cheers as the birds funnel. Ruby’s phone rings: Detective Harriman angrily tells her that she, Alexis, and Nick need to stay away from his case.

Detective Harriman is mad that Ruby riled up Alexis and Nick into trying to do his job. The man Nick assaulted was a father who didn’t want his teenage daughter to go out partying. She was grounded, not held captive. Now Detective Harriman looks like an idiot, and what’s worse, the man could sue the police. As they talk, Ruby becomes dizzy but fights through it. She tries to convince the detective that there is one killer collecting girls. He tells her to stop and hangs up.

Ruby shakes her head. Her brain feels like it’s sloshing back and forth. Becker appears and asks if she’s okay. When she tells him she’s dizzy, he suggests getting some fresh air away from the crowd. She feels like her voice is echoing, but Becker says she is just perfect. She protests that she knows she isn’t normal, but he says normal is overrated. Becker suggests trying to find that spotted owl first since it’s not very far. Then she’ll have it on her life list too. She agrees with excitement, imagining the bird’s gray color and pale face. They walk up the hill to Forest Park on a muddy path which makes her think of Locard’s principle of exchange as her shoes pick up the dirt. As she follows Becker up the hill, she sees that he is leaving the same shoe prints she saw next to the body of Miranda Wyatt.

Detective Harriman calls Alexis and Nick, gives them the same speech he gave Ruby, and then hangs up. Suddenly, Nick and Alexis notice that Ruby is gone. Nick worries that Ruby must be completely distraught after such an angry call from the detective, but he is also mad at her crazy idea that a killer is collecting unhoused girls. Nick tells Alexis he’s going to go find Ruby. He pushes through the crowd and Alexis follows. He is furious that he didn’t save a girl from certain death and isn’t a hero at all. He wonders what his dad would think. Nick sees a flash of copper hair going up the steep hill towards Forest Park and realizes that Becker has his arm under Ruby’s elbow.

Nick’s thoughts spin as he wonders why Becker keeps popping up everywhere they are. If the killer isn’t the runner or the unhoused guy, it’s the birder. Alexis panics—now has Ruby! They know the best thing would be to stay put, but Nick feels they don’t have time to wait for the police. He thinks of his dad, how he was outnumbered, outgunned. Nick makes up his mind to do something.

The narrative shifts to the murderer’s perspective. As the man reveals that there’s no northern spotted owl, readers realize that Caleb Becker is the serial killer. In a few minutes, he plans to pretend to see the owl and give Ruby his binoculars. Then, he can do what he did with the first girl, DeShaundra Young: loop the strap over Ruby’s neck, pull it hard, and lift her off of the ground until she can’t breathe anymore.

Ruby stares at the footprint, knowing now that Becker killed Miranda Wyatt, and her body goes cold. She knows she has to get away, but he grabs her wrist with such strength she feels it through her jacket. He reminds her that it’s such a rare chance to see a spotted owl. He moves forward, but she digs her toes in and tells him she’s changed her mind and she’ll look another time.

Becker turns to face her, still holding her wrist. Ruby’s dizziness increases. He tells her it’s just a little bit farther and it’s the sighting of a lifetime. She says no—she wants to go back to her friends now. Becker pulls out a knife and says she’s coming with him. He expects her to pull away, but she moves towards him to throw off his balance. She twists her wrist so it pushes against his thumb and he curses as he lets go. Becker stands between her and the way back to the park. Ruby knows she can’t stay on the path, so she takes off into the woods.

Nick sees Becker pull the knife on Ruby. As he runs up the hill, he calls Detective Harriman and explains that Becker, the birder, is trying to kill Ruby in Forest Park. Nick is urgent about assistance as he knows this is life or death for Ruby.

Ruby runs under the trees and concentrates on putting distance between her and Becker. She hopes her dark clothes will camouflage her. She feels her thoughts slow, but grits her teeth and pushes forward despite wanting to lie down. She wonders why Becker chose her and then she thinks about the blond hair Nick found. Ruby realizes the killer wants to add her red hair to his collection. Ruby hopes she is running parallel to the park and not deeper into it. She trips over a rock and falls hard, knocking the air from her lungs. She thinks to herself urgently that she has to get up. Ruby can’t hear anything. She gets up and moves quietly, deciding she’ll count to one hundred in her head. At count 23, she believes she’s lost Becker, but she is wrong.