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Thirty-Nine
Honeysuckle Lane
Ellie leaned over her desk and dragged in deep breaths to stem her rising anxiety.
Had Ava’s kidnapper abducted other girls? Were they dealing with a serial child snatcher? Were they planning another abduction?
Derrick immediately attempted to trace the text Angelica had received, his expression bleak. “It was sent from a burner. No way to trace it.”
Why was she not surprised? “Either the person who sent it is the kidnapper or he or she knows who is. And that the kidnapper has done this before.”
Her captain poked his head into her office. “A domestic call just came in. The Truman house,” he said. “Deputy Eastwood went home to shower. Get your butt over there now.”
Adrenaline surged through her. “What happened?”
“Neighbor said they heard fighting,” Captain Hale said. “That’s all I know.”
Ellie headed toward the door with Derrick close behind her, then they jumped in her Jeep and raced from the parking lot. Traffic was practically non-existent now the winter break had started and the threat of sleet along with fear was keeping people cowering inside. Leaves fluttered down to the ground, the wind swirling the brittle remains across the road. A huge dark cloud hung low in the sky, adding to the morose atmosphere.
As she drove, she noted lit candles in windows in support of the Trumans.
As she reached the Trumans’ house, she saw a black pickup parked half in the grass, half in the drive, as if the driver had jumped the curb and stopped in a hurry.
Shouts echoed from inside as she and Derrick approached, and she heard a loud crash. She pulled her gun at the ready and gestured for Derrick to back her up. Then she knocked and called out.
“Lara, it’s the police. Open up.”
Through the front window, she spotted a man chasing Lara into the kitchen.
A quick look and she didn’t see a weapon, but he’d knocked the lamp off onto the floor and was towering over Lara. He was around five-eleven, muscular, with dirty brown shaggy hair.
A tiny sliver of morning sunlight broke through the clouds and allowed her to see his face. “It’s Jasper,” she whispered to Derrick. “I don’t think he’s armed.”
But he was angry, that much was clear.
She knocked once more, then pushed open the door and called Lara’s name. “It’s Detective Reeves and Agent Fox.”
Gun at the ready, she crept past the entry until she and Derrick reached the doorway. Jasper must have heard her because he whipped his head around. His face was agitated, his hair spiked where he’d run his hands through it. His eyes looked wild and angry, and sweat coated his skin.
“You lost our daughter!” the man bellowed, then he raked his hand across the table, scattering the snowman puzzle pieces to the floor.
“Lara,” Ellie said softly as she slowly moved toward the couple. “Are you okay?”
The woman looked up at Ellie with red-rimmed eyes overflowing with tears. Ellie raked her gaze over her, searching for injuries, and Derrick planted himself between Lara and her husband.
“Step away from your wife, Mr.Truman,” he ordered Jasper.
The man threw his hands up as if to indicate that he wasn’t armed, and Ellie approached Lara. “Are you hurt?”
Lara wrapped her arms around herself, her chin quivering. “He says he doesn’t have Ava,” she cried.
Ellie narrowed her eyes at the man, who fisted his hands by his sides. His face was red, stubble grazed his jaw, and his nostrils were flared. There were scars and scratches on his hands. From his work or from possibly burying Ava?
“I don’t,” he bellowed. “How could you let this happen, Lara?” He pivoted toward Ellie, tone accusatory. “And what are you people doing to find my daughter?”
Lara pressed her hands to her face, her body trembling, and Ellie slid onto the sofa beside her. Derrick nudged Jasper’s arm. “Sit down, Mr.Truman.”
He glared at Derrick with a shake of his head. Sweat droplets dripped from the side of his face. “I don’t want to sit down. I want to know where my little girl is. Did that pervert take her?”
