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Derrick returned from talking to the medics and cleaning up his bloodstained hands. “They’re leaving with Nolan,” he said.
“Take my Jeep back.” Ellie handed Derrick her keys. “I want to ride along with Grueler in case he comes to.”
“Are you going to stop by and tell Ava’s mother about Grueler?” Derrick asked.
“No. She’s had a tough enough day. And so far we have no proof of Grueler’s guilt. Let’s wait, see if he survives that bullet wound.”
He agreed and she rushed to the ambulance, where Grueler was pale and limp, hooked up to an IV. She climbed in the back beside him.
Siren wailing and lights flashing as they pulled away, Ellie phoned her captain to explain the situation. “We probably should have someone stand guard at his hospital room,” she suggested. “He’s too weak to try and escape. But if word leaks that we were questioning a registered sex offender as a person of interest…”
“We’ll keep it quiet, but you’re right,” Captain Hale said. “That could be a problem. I’ll talk to the sheriff.”
Ellie sighed as the siren wailed into the night. Day one, fifteen hours after Ava disappeared, they were no closer to finding her than they were when Ellie first received the call.
Thirty-Three
Honeysuckle Lane
Lara ran her finger over the glittered ornament Ava had made at school, her heart aching as she set it on the mantle. She wouldn’t hang it on the tree until Ava came home and they could do it together.
Panic struck her.What if she doesn’t come home?
She’d heard stories about kidnapped children who were never found. Ones who were raised by another person and brainwashed to the point that the child forgot her real parents.
And just last year all those bones of the little girls had been discovered on the AT.
Another sob caught in her throat and she dug the bag of gifts she’d bought for the twelve days of Christmas from her closet. She’d started the tradition when Ava was two. Each day she gave Ava a small, wrapped present leading up to Christmas Day. They were simple little presents, like a pack of cards or stickers or new markers.
She wrapped the giant box of crayons she’d planned to give her daughter today, then set the gift on the mantle beside the ornament. They would both be waiting for Ava.
Her little girl was not going to be one of those kids lost forever.
Jasper had to have her. If he did, at least she’d know Ava was safe.
But why would he run off without telling her? Didn’t he realize she’d panic and call the police? Or didn’t he care?
Was this a devious ploy to strong-arm her into signing?
Her heart hammered against her ribs, and she snatched her phone and called his number again. Three rings and it went to voicemail. “Jasper, it’s Lara. Please call me. I need to know if Ava’s safe. If you’ll just bring her home, I’ll sign the divorce papers. Please…”
Her voice wavered as tears filled her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. She hung up, then went to Ava’s room and stared at her empty bed. The sheets were still tangled where the little girl had slept last night, her stuffed animals lined up against the wall like she always tidied them up at night. She liked to lie on her side, sing to them and whisper secrets.
Lara crawled into Ava’s bed, pulled her pink blanket up to her cheek and sniffed it. With her daughter’s sweet scent filling her nostrils, she rolled to her side and faced Ava’s stuffed animals. Ava called the stuffed animals her friends and said they protected her while she slept.
Who was protecting her tonight?
Thirty-Four
Bluff County Hospital
Anger at Grueler built inside Ellie as the ambulance swerved into the ER.
“I want an update on his condition as soon as you have one,” she told the male nurse who’d met the medics at the door. “And I need to speak to him the minute he regains consciousness.”
“Of course,” the nurse replied. He turned and raced along beside the medics as they wheeled Grueler to an exam room.
Ellie walked to the vending machine and got a cup of coffee. Carrying it to the nurse’s desk, she asked about Nolan’s mother, who’d been brought in earlier.
