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She took off running, and his wife yelled at her to come back as she raced after her. “Stop her, Silas! The pond is frozen over!”
He jogged after her, slipping and sliding on the icy path weaving from their campsite to Jacks Rock Falls. He’d only wanted a day out with her, to have some family time after the hundred hours he’d worked this last week. The cases had piled up. The nursing staff was overworked and exhausted. He’d lost a patient.
He’d begun to feel helpless.
Ice crackled and popped from the trees and the ground as he ran and he saw Piper skate onto the pond, her ponytail swinging in the wind gusts that rolled off the mountain, arms waving excitedly. His wife reached the water before him and jogged onto the icy surface. “Stop, honey!” she called.
But his daughter danced across the surface, twirling and spinning as she belted out “Frosty the Snowman”.
He reached the edge and suddenly heard the ice cracking. He looked down to see the frozen surface splintering like shards of glass.
“Get off the ice now!” he yelled.
But Piper was oblivious and flew into a dancer’s leap, and his wife screamed in panic as the ice split and the force of the cold water below sucked his precious girl under.
Eighty-One
Crooked Creek
A pounding on her front door interrupted Ellie and Derrick. It was already 9 p.m. but the knock came again, this time louder, more impatient.
She opened the door and found Angelica waiting on the stoop, her chignon slightly disheveled, her teeth chattering. “Ellie, locals are calling the station complaining about that man Grueler. They’re demanding we give them updates on what you’re doing to find the Truman child.”
Resigned, Ellie ushered Angelica inside. The reporter rushed to the fire to warm her hands, rain dripping from her coat. At the sight of Derrick, curiosity flared in her eyes.
Derrick nodded in greeting, but remained seated, his attention on their undercover operation.
Angelica crossed her arms.“What’s going on, Ellie? I have to report something. People are panicking. They’re even talking about canceling the Christmas Eve parade for fear there’s a stalker hunting children.”
Ellie pinched the bridge of her nose. “I wish I had good news. All I can say is that we’re working a lead.”
“That’s not enough,” Angelica pressed. “Everyone is scared, Ellie. And when you say nothing, it makes them think you aren’t doing anything to find Ava.”
Ellie hated it, but Angelica was probably right. “Listen,” she said. “Okay, but this is between us. We’re looking at Jasper Truman’s girlfriend and her affiliation with a group that sells children. Agent Fox and I are working under cover and setting up a meeting with them to determine if the girlfriend gave them Ava in exchange for money. But I can’t have that leaked or it could compromise the investigation.”
Angelica rubbed her hands together. “Oh my god, that’s horrible.”
“I know,” Ellie agreed. “The Trumans can’t hear about this. And if you think that people are in an uproar now, imagine how they’d react if they thought a child trafficking ring was operating in the area.”
Angelica tapped her fingers on her arm. “All right, I see your point. But if this pans out, I want to be the first to know. Did you trace that message I received?”
“No, it came from a burner phone,” Ellie said. “Obviously someone knows something, but they want to remain anonymous.”
Angelica gave a decisive nod. “Understood. For now, I’ll just report that you are actively working a lead and that you may be close to cracking the case.”
Ellie hesitated. She didn’t want to mislead the people. But with only two days until Christmas, they needed at least a breadcrumb of hope.
Eighty-Two
Somewhere on the AT
Ava’s stomach hurt. She wanted to tell the lady that she felt sick, that when she’d looked in the glass of milk, she saw her Mommy making the chocolate gingerbread houses and the icing they’d smeared on their mouths and a gob on her cheek. Then them washing the gooey frosting down with tall tumblers of milk in bear-shaped mugs.
Kaylee crawled over onto the bed and put her arm around her. “It’s okay, we’re sisters now.”
“I don’t have sisters,” Ava whimpered. “I hate it here.”
“You’ll get used to it,” the girl said.
