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She was sick again.
Her body shook with chills, and she ached all over. She pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from heaving, but she couldn’t stop crying.
Ever since the lady had brought her here, she’d started feeling bad again. At first, she yelled at the woman to take her home, but the woman said Becky’s mama didn’t want her anymore, that she was too much trouble.
And she had been trouble.
Tears trickled from her eyes and spilled onto the pillowcase, soaking it. She hadn’t meant to be such a mess, especially since her daddy died and Mama was alone and working two jobs and even then she couldn’t pay the bills.
No wonder the lady had taken her. Her mama had had too much on her plate, the lady said. Becky had to be a good girl and stay here and be her daughter now.
“You should be grateful we’re giving you a home,” the woman had told her the night she’d put her in the room with the other girl, Kaylee, and the twin beds and the toys. Kaylee was her age and hugged her and told her everything would be all right.
But Becky got a weird tickle in her belly when the woman looked at her. When the lady’s eyes glazed over and she wanted Becky to call her Mommy.
Suddenly she was sweating all over and shivering at the same time. Her throat hurt like she’d swallowed sand. She wanted to go back to the room with Kaylee, but her new mommy said no, that she had to stay in here until she was better.
She’d fed her chicken soup and wiped her forehead with a cool cloth. But she’d heard her fighting with the man she was supposed to call daddy, and Becky didn’t think it was all right at all.
Now, the man’s voice boomed from behind the door. “Becky is going to die if we don’t do something.”
The woman started crying and Becky dug her face into the pillow and blubbered. She was only a kid. But she knew some things. Like they put you in a hole in the ground when you died like they had her daddy.
And then you went away forever.
Sixty-Nine
Crooked Creek
Ellie called a meeting to fill everyone in while Derrick set up their cover. He was creating a fake website for Erikson’s Financial Firm along with biographies for them and banking information, as he assumed the MWC would run background checks.
He also set up individual profiles on LinkedIn and was establishing a customer list with reviews the clients had posted after using their company’s services. According to her bio, she’d attended the University of Georgia while he’d earned a Masters from Georgia Tech.
She glanced at the whiteboard from their initial conference while she waited on her captain, Deputy Landrum, and the sheriff to arrive. Shondra had driven back to the Trumans to keep watch.
Bryce gave a quick knock then stepped into the room, the first to arrive. He looked stone serious, his jaw rigid as he crossed the room to her. “Any word on the little girl?”
Ellie shook her head. “Any more tips come in?”
“Nothing that panned out. A couple more sightings of kids that resembled Ava, but in between checking in with my deputies—who are taking shifts protecting your child sex offender—I’m covering the tips.” His tone reeked of disapproval.
“Is that it?” Ellie asked, her stomach plummeting. She’d been hoping someone had seen something.
“Oh, some nutcase called and said her niece went missing a year ago, but I looked into her story. Turns out the mother was a drunk, let the little girl wander off at the beach. The kid’s thought to have drowned. Mom was arrested for criminal negligence and then killed herself.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “My father is breathing down my neck about this, Detective Reeves. You’d better come through.”
Ellie met his gaze head on, battling self-doubt. She and Mayor Waters had butted heads before and probably would again.
“Let’s stick to updating everyone,” she said curtly.
His hiss echoed in the air, and he backed away from her as Captain Hale, Deputy Landrum and Derrick joined them. But she caught the warning look in Derrick’s eyes as he pinned Bryce with a cold stare.
Not willing to engage in a pissing contest with Bryce, Ellie stepped to the front and jotted down the new information they’d uncovered: the interviews with Jasper and Autumn, who still remained suspects. Under motive, she listed: Autumn suggested a plan to get rid of Ava. Then she wrote the acronym MWC.
“Autumn was linked to this site. They arrange private adoptions, but it doesn’t seem legit,” she added.
Derrick rapped his knuckles on the table. “We think they could be brokering children.”
“The text Angelica received said there were others missing.” Ellie’s pulse clamored. “We still haven’t been able to trace the origin of the message.”
