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Thirty-One
Ellie rushed outside to search while Cord went to meet the medics. Inside, she found a Barbie doll and a My Little Pony, but nothing indicating Ava had been in the vehicle. Cord returned with the medics in tow and she showed them to Gruler. The medics took over, taking vitals and adding blood stoppers.
“He’s a suspect in a kidnapping. Keep him alive,” Ellie told them. If Grueler had seen Ava’s kidnapper, she couldn’t let him take his secrets to the grave.
“Did he say anything else, Derrick?” she asked.
“No, he just passed out,” Derrick answered.
She turned to Cord. “Did you find anything outside?”
He shook his head. “I’ll have a team search the woods and creek in case he left Ava close by.”
“What about his car?” Derrick asked.
“A couple of toys, but nothing of Ava’s. And no snacks he might have given her to keep her quiet, or rope to subdue her. We’ll have ERT go over it though. If she was in there, they might find prints.”
Derrick gestured toward Nolan, who still hadn’t regained consciousness. “Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know what to think,” Ellie said. “He admitted to watching Ava. If he decided to commit suicide, why not admit he kidnapped her and tell us where she was?”
Derrick twisted his mouth in thought. “Good question. Maybe his therapist can add some insight.”
She glanced at Cord again. “Any outbuildings or a fallout shelter?”
“Nothing,” Cord said.
Ellie scratched her head. “Nolan said a woman driving a white van was watching Ava.”
“Could be a misdirect,” Derrick suggested.
“True. Or maybe he didn’t know who it was.” Frustration clawed at her and she stepped aside and phoned his parole officer.
“I know he was tormented,” the woman said, obviously disturbed by the news. “But I didn’t realize he was suicidal.”
Ellie had driven him over the edge, she thought. “He confessed to watching Ava. But if he abducted her, why not confess to that, too?”
A tense silence stretched between them. “That doesn’t make sense,” Genesis said. “When the accusations were made against Nolan before, he didn’t bother to deny them. In fact, he admitted to what he’d done and to the plea deal without contesting it. I… think he wanted to be stopped.”
“Do you think he shot himself because he lost control and abducted Ava?”
Another heartbeat passed. “I can’t say for sure, but Nolan never lied about anything. If he abducted her, he wouldn’t have hurt her. And if he was so guilt-stricken he was planning suicide, he would have left her some place where she’d be found.”
But there was no sign of Ava anywhere.
Thirty-Two
Ellie got the therapist’s number from the parole officer and phoned her while Cord organized search parties. Dr. Myers was in an appointment, so she left a message that it was urgent she speak with her.
“We’ll divide up and start with a ten-mile search radius,” Cord told her. “One of the men can drop me at my truck when we’re finished.”
Ellie addressed the team who’d gathered to help Cord. “Thanks for coming so quickly, you guys. We don’t know if Ava’s out there, but if she is, we need to find her.” With winter on them, it was pitch dark already. “The wind is picking up and it’s only going to get colder in the night. If Ava was here and somehow escaped from Grueler, she could have run into the woods and fallen over a ledge or in the creek. A wild animal could get her. And if she survived, she could be lying somewhere scared, cold and hungry.”
“We won’t stop until we’ve searched every inch for miles,” Cord promised.
Ellie clapped her hands. “Then let’s get to work.”
Cord showed them the map and they divided up and set out, determination on the men’s faces.
