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Rage seethed through Gayle. “I had to. She told her sister and the cops about me, and I knew she could recognize me and then someone would figure it all out. I… was so desperate,” she said in a low voice. “It was a year since Piper had gone. With every day that passed, I died a little inside.”
“And then you pushed Priscilla off the ridge at Hangman’s Dome,” the detective said.
Gayle nodded, expression crazed. “I found that stupid Facebook group. I saw the two of them making friends. They were going to the reporter, and you were looking for Ava and… I had to do something.”
The detective inched forward. “It’s over, Gayle. I know you’re sorry for frightening the children and that you’re in pain, but I know you don’t want to hurt anyone else, do you? That’s not what Piper would want.”
Pure agony overwhelmed Gayle, and she shook her head.
The detective was right. It was over. She knew what would happen next. She’d gone too far. Crossed too many lines. Hurt too many people.
Her husband. The children. Their mothers.
She’d go to jail. Be locked away forever. She deserved it.
Although she’d been a prisoner to her pain for two years now.
She lifted the gun again, then backed to the van, keeping the .22 trained on the detective. Then she dove into the driver’s side and started the engine.
Silas was right. This had to stop. But before she really ended it, she had to be with Piper.
One Hundred Forty-Two
Ellie wanted to go after Gayle, but the kids needed her. For once, she had to delegate.
“Take my car and follow the van. I’ll have the officer drive me and the girls to the hospital,” she told Derrick. “Their families are waiting for them.”
Derrick took her keys, jogged to the Jeep and sped off.
Ellie ran to the girls and climbed in the back seat of the squad car with them. “Take us to Bluff County Hospital,” she told the officer, then she turned to the girls. “It’s okay, Ava, Kaylee,” she said. “We’re going to carry you back to your families.”
She fastened the girls in the back. Ava’s tear-stained eyes sparkled, but Kaylee dropped her head forward. “My mommy’s dead,” Kaylee said in a tiny voice.
That was true. And Ellie couldn’t change that. She pulled the child into her arms and brushed her hair from her face. “I’m sorry, honey. But your aunt Priscilla came to me. She’s been looking for you. That’s why I’m here.”
Kaylee’s eyes sparked with life again. “She did?”
“She did,” Ellie said and gave her a big hug. “And I’m going to take you to her.”
Ava’s lips formed a pout. “The lady said my mommy didn’t want me anymore. That I was too much trouble.”
“Oh, honey, that’s not true,” Ellie said softly, cradling Ava’s small face in her hands. “She loves you and has been worried out of her mind. She called me, too, and she hasn’t stopped looking for you since that lady took you.”
Ava reached across and clasped hands with Kaylee. “I told you she was a liar.”
The defroster and wipers worked furiously as the officer drove back toward Bluff County. By the time they reached the main highway, the girls were so exhausted they’d curled into the seat and fallen asleep.
Ellie phoned Shondra. “We have Ava and Kaylee,” she said. “They’re frightened but okay. I’m on the way to the hospital with them. Tell the Trumans and bring them to meet us.”
“That’s great news,” Shondra said. “Lara’s been so despondent, but she and her husband went and picked up a puppy for Ava today.” Shondra’s voice wavered with emotion. “I think they had to do something, hold on to hope.”
“Good. I’m just glad the girls are safe.” She explained about Gayle Gooding and her husband. “We issued a bulletin for her car and Derrick is in pursuit. I want to question her husband, see if he knows where she might go. He was transported to Bluff County Hospital earlier.”
She imagined Lara and Priscilla’s faces when they heard the news and smiled in anticipation.
One Hundred Forty-Three
Derrick sped after Gayle and trailed her onto the highway, grateful Ellie’s Jeep had four-wheel drive and snow tires. Still, the wheels chugged through the slushy streets and icy patches, slowing him. A few snowflakes blended with another deluge of rain, and fog blurred his vision. He cranked up the defroster, heat whirring through the vehicle, the windshield wipers scraping furiously to clear the ice.
