They held hands and waddled back to the group, candles held high.
Cord’s gaze swung toward the light at that lodge. Maybe someone out here was trapped or lost and found the lodge and went inside to escape the elements. That made sense.
Except the lodge had been deserted for years as Ester said. Another murder had occurred up here. A troubled family? A history of death on the mountain? Rumors about a child killing animals…
With a predator on the loose and a woman and two children still missing, he started toward the lodge.
NINETY-EIGHT
Midnight Ridge
Fuck that bitch Mabel.
He never should have reconnected with her. But at one time, he’d been able to control her and after her downward spiral into depression and alcohol, he’d had the perfect opportunity to sink his teeth into her.
He knew her Achilles heel and used it against her. She’d wanted a baby more than anything in this world. So badly she’d naïvely ignored the details of his plan until it was too late. Not that he’d revealed the part about killing the girls.
When she’d realized that, she’d tried to get out of it.
But greed had gotten to her in the end. Not for money but greed for a kid.
He pressed a rag to his arm where she’d sliced him with that kitchen knife. It stung like crazy and he’d bled like a mother the entire way back to the lodge.
He had more ketamine that he could take for the pain. But that shit made you crazy and with the cops hunting him, he couldn’t take the chance on being incapacitated.
Not that they knew who he was. But he couldn’t be too careful.
At least tonight with the whiteout conditions and power outage, no one would bother him up here at the lodge.
NINETY-NINE
Mystic Hospital
The drive to the hospital seemed to take forever. Ellie had to push through the snowy streets at a snail’s pace, careful on the black ice. Snowplows and salt hadn’t yet been dispensed by the county to this area and might not be for days, meaning people could be trapped in their homes or possibly on the roads during that time.
But she desperately wanted to speak to Mabel and prayed she’d regain consciousness, so she could lead them to the killer and to Dana Jo and the missing children.
Derrick drummed his fingers on his legs, his body tense. “Have you heard from Cord?”
“Not yet,” Ellie said. “But in this storm, he’ll have to call off the search and rescue teams and get them out of the elements until the snow tapers off.”
Derrick’s jaw tightened. “At least the weather might keep the unsub from moving around tonight.”
“That worries me, too,” Ellie admitted. “If he’s stuck inside and Dana Jo is still alive, what is he doing to her?”
Derrick’s expression darkened. “True. But it could also mean that if the children are being transported out of town or the state, they would be slowed down.”
Ellie tensed as she hit a patch of ice and skidded. Focusing on driving in inclement weather, she didn’t fight the skid or brake too quickly but managed to right the vehicle. Ahead she spotted the entrance to the hospital.
Thankfully the backup generator had kicked on and there were lights inside as they parked and hurried into the ER entrance. They brushed snow from their coats as they entered and wiped their feet on the mat. Already wet footprints dotted the floor, making it slippery.
Ellie rushed to the front desk while Derrick made a phone call to his partner.
“A car accident victim, Mabel Putnam was just brought in.” Ellie flashed her badge to the desk nurse. “I need to question her as soon as possible. She might have important information regarding the missing children in the Midnight Ridge case.”
Alarm flickered in the nurse’s eyes. “I’ll have a nurse consult with the doctor.”
She made a quick phone call then addressed Ellie. “I’m afraid the accident victim is unconscious at the moment. But the nurse has been instructed to inform me when she comes to.”
