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“I’ll tell when I go to school,” Ava mumbled.
“Mommy homeschools us,” Kaylee whispered. “We never leave the farm except to go out and play when she’s with us.”
“Then I’ll run away,” Ava cried.
“I tried that when I first came here. But there’s no place to run. There’s just trees and the scary woods out there.”
Ava hunkered into Kaylee, so mad and scared she was shaking, just like Ms.Dottie’s orange cat did the day it got stuck out in the rain.
“Come on, let’s look for Becky.” Kaylee tugged Ava’s hand, pulled her to the door.
Ava’s stomach churned, the milk threatening to come up as they stepped into the dark hall. Kaylee felt her way through the shadows, and Ava held onto her, crouching low like a dog and sneaking around the corner.
“Where are we going?” Ava whispered.
“Shh.” Kaylee turned around and clamped her hand over Ava’s mouth. “Don’t make a sound. If they hear us, we’ll get in big trouble.”
Ava went still and pressed her lips together. She didn’t want to know what that meant.
They tiptoed around another corner, then paused at a door. From under the cracks, there was a weak light, and Kaylee leaned her ear against the door. Ava did the same and they both listened, even though she had no idea what she was listening for.
Then she heard the woman’s voice. “Come on, you have to stay with me, baby. I love you.”
Kaylee went still, and Ava clutched her arm.
“We have to let her go,” a man’s voice echoed from the other side of the wall. “We can’t go on like this, sweetheart.”
“You’re her daddy now. You have to save her. I need her,” the woman sobbed. “She has to be here for Christmas.”
Ava dug her nails into the floor. The lady said her daddy was coming to get her.
But that was not her daddy’s voice.
Eighty-Three
Crooked Creek
Ellie rubbed her bleary eyes.
She and Derrick agreed that MWC could have changed the little girl’s name. Some kidnappers even changed their victims’ hair color and forced them to dress in opposite gender clothing so as not to be spotted. Daisy had been dressed picture perfect to pull at heartstrings.
Derrick entered her photo in the NCEMC data base, and they waited and waited while it ran, but it yielded nothing.
Had no one reported her missing?
Derrick rolled his shoulders as another message from Serena came through. He read out loud: “Deposit the remaining balance in the morning. Once it clears, we’ll meet to make the exchange at Bear Mountain. Will send you the time and location.”
Ellie twitched. This was happening so quickly her head was spinning.
“They want money first,” Derrick said.
“It’s despicable,” Ellie said. “They’re exploiting innocent women and couples who desperately want a child. And with the storm system brewing, the park will probably be deserted.”
His jaw tightened. “Let’s get some rest. Authorization from the Bureau for the money is complete. I’ll make the transfer in the morning, then we’ll head toward the park.”
Ellie nodded, her determination fueled by concern for the children. “If they have Ava, why not include her picture?”
“Because her face is all over the news. They’d want to keep her for a while before offering her up.” He turned back to his laptop, where he had a message from Bennett that he also read out loud. “Child has not been photoshopped. Tech is analyzing the site and IP address to determine the location of the company headquarters.”
