She looked in the rearview mirror and caught the surprised face of Father Donahue. God would forgive her for stealing a car, and they could deal with Sheriff Eagle when Jenny was back in her arms.
Red turned in his seat and growled at Pete. “What is Iris doing? Where is she going with our daughter?”
Pete kept his eyes on the road ahead. “She won’t hurt her.”
Dizzying fear thrummed through Claire’s body. She strained to see further down the road, looking for the red Ford. “You were keeping Beth a prisoner,” she accused. How could they trust his word now?
“I wasn’t going to let Iris keep the baby,” Pete said quickly. “You have to believe me.”
Claire could see his stricken expression in the rearview mirror. She swerved around a boulder in the center of the road. “Look.” Claire saw the red tailgate ahead. “That’s the truck.” Claire pushed down on the gas, the police car surging forward. The Henshaws’ truck veered from one side of the damaged road to the other. Claire could barely breathe, thinking of Jenny with Iris, driving wildly on the rough road. Could Jenny have survived Rock Creek Campground just to die in a car crash with Iris Henshaw?
“You’ve got to understand,” Pete went on, his voice breaking. “We lost both our boys. She’s not herself.”
Ahead of them, the truck slowed and turned off the main road.
“Where does that road go?” Claire asked Red.
“It’s a Forest Service road,” Red said. “Goes to the Hutchinson Bridge.”
“She can’t go too much farther,” Pete said. “The bridge was damaged by the quake.” Pete kept talking. “I didn’t want to lose Iris, too. You’ve got to believe me.”
Claire turned down the road, her racing heartbeat pounding against her ribs. She glanced at Red, taking her eyes off the road for a split second. He was leaning forward, determination in every line of his body.
The road curved, and she lost sight of the truck. She took the curve far too fast and they all slid sideways. The bridge came into sight and—there—the red truck—nose down on the edge of the riverbank, the passenger door gaping open. Claire jammed on the brakes, and the car shuddered to a halt.
Claire pushed out the door and ran to the truck. “Jenny,” she gasped as she reached it. The cab of the truck was empty.
“Claire.” Red was right behind her. His voice held a note of panic and Claire followed his gaze. The Hutchinson bridge listed sideways, its deck buckled and broken. The guardrails on one side hung loose and twisted, dangling over the waterless ravine of the Madison River twenty feet below.
Claire’s breath lodged in her throat.
Iris Henshaw stood on the devastated bridge with Jenny in her arms.
chapter 64:RED
Pete was out of the car and running toward the bridge. “Iris,” he called out. “What are you—?”
“Stay away from me.” Iris took a step backwards, toward the twisted guardrail and the precarious drop to sharp rocks below. Jenny yelped a stuttering cry that made every muscle in Red’s body tense.
Claire lunged toward the bridge and Red caught her arm. “Don’t,” he whispered.
She’s not herself.Red looked at the woman on the bridge holding his daughter. Her cheeks were sunken and her eyes were shadowed. Iris wasn’t in her right mind. What might she do to herself—and to Jenny?
“Slowly,” he said to Claire. He took her hand. It was ice cold and he could feel her trembling. They reached the spot where Pete stood, just before the road met the plank decking of the bridge.
“Don’t come any closer,” Iris yelled, her eyes darting wildly from Pete to the drop-off.
Red felt Claire strain forward and tightened his grip on her hand. Claire gave him a look of pure anguish. “Easy,” he whispered.
“It’s your fault.” Iris’s voice was a choked sob. “It’s your fault Dell is dead.”
It took Red a moment to realize she was talking to Pete.
“Iris,” Pete pleaded. “I tried to stop him. He was always headstrong.”
“No,” she spit out. Tears glinted on Iris’s cheeks as she looked down at Jenny. “Dell is a good boy.” She put Jenny on her shoulder and swayed back and forth. Jenny’s cries stopped. “You stay away from me, Pete.”
Pete’s hand went over his heart like she’d pierced it with her words.
