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“Let’s get out of here.”
“What about him?” Ellie said.
Derrick shot her a sideways look. “I planted a tracker in his pocket.”
Ellie gave him a relieved look, grateful he’d had a plan, then he pressed the accelerator and sped from the parking lot. All she wanted to do right now was to get Daisy away from that monster.
Then they’d figure out if the group had Ava.
Eighty-Nine
Hangman’s Dome, near Crooked Creek
Priscilla reread Jan’s text as she parked at the overhang overlooking one of the steep drop-offs near Blood Mountain.
It’s Jan. I thought I’d text to make sure you got it. Meet me at Hangman’s Dome, and we’ll visit that reporter together.
Priscilla had posted her number in the Facebook group a while back, but all the members usually communicated through Facebook and its Messenger app. Jan had been right, though—Priscilla didn’t always pick up Facebook notifications quickly, and appreciated her friend’s thoughtfulness. Priscilla had already been anxious about being treated like a crazy person again, just like with Detective Forrester and that sheriff, so had jumped at Jan’s offer.
Jan had become her support system, and she needed a friend, especially during the holiday season when all she could think about was family. Despite the circumstances, she felt a little excited to meet her friend in person for the first time. The group was a godsend, but Priscilla could use the face-to-face connection right now.
The wind had died down as she cut the engine, the air still and listless, filled with the scent of pine and rain. The overhang lookout was deserted, the outline of soaring vultures barely visible through the thick cloud cover.
Hangman’s Dome had been named for the rock structures that formed a dome-like shape above the creek which flowed into the Chattahoochee. Years ago, a group of teens high on drugs had hanged themselves here in a mass suicide that had haunted the area with stories. Some claimed the lost souls of those kids cried out for help, their voices boomeranging off the rocks with pleas for forgiveness, while some rumors claimed they begged others to join them. It was common for local parents to forbid their children from visiting the dome, afraid they would succumb to the mysterious lure of death.
She looked up as a vehicle approached. A van pulled up opposite her and flashed its lights. As Priscilla got out of her car, she waved, but something seemed off. Jan worked in an office, so it seemed a little odd she drove a van. Jan’s windscreen was a little foggy, but even from here Priscilla saw a short dark bob under her ski hat, not the auburn hair she remembered from Facebook.
She guessed it was natural for people to look a little different in person, though. Maybe she’d changed her hair for the holidays. Priscilla grabbed her purse, locked her car and walked toward the van. Riding with Jan would give her time to sort through her feelings, bolster her courage and prepare exactly what she wanted to say to Ms.Gomez.
Jan hopped out and walked around the front of the vehicle, her face lost in the bright headlights, but Priscilla noticed something shiny in her hand. She froze, squinting to see what it was.
Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it was a gun.
“Wh-what are you doing, Jan?”
“I’m not Jan,” the woman hissed. “And you’re not going to talk to the cops or that reporter. Now turn around slowly and walk back to your car.”
Priscilla turned and began to walk, wondering if this woman was going to make her drive somewhere. Could she get her car started before the woman got in? She quickened her pace, fumbling with her keys as she drew closer to the car. She heard pounding footsteps behind her, and then realized why the woman had sent her back towards her parking spot by the ridge. She tried to brace herself, but a moment later, two hands shoved her violently in the back and she felt herself falling.
Ninety
Near Bear Mountain
“It’s all right now, you’re safe,”Ellie murmured as she rocked Daisy in her arms.
Derrick clamped his jaw tight. “We’re being followed.”
The sound of an engine roaring made Ellie jerk her head over her shoulder. He was right. A dark sedan was closing on their tail.
“They must have had someone watching,” Derrick said.
He sped up, but the roads were icy, and she heard the tires grinding ice and spewing sludge. They rounded another curve as the sedan grew closer. The brakes squealed, and the Jeep skidded sideways toward the ravine.
“Hang on, Daisy,” Ellie said as he clutched the steering wheel and struggled to maintain control.
But the sedan suddenly sped up, ramming into their rear. Daisy screamed as the Jeep slipped forward, and Derrick jerked the wheel to the right to keep from running into the ditch. A second later, the sedan banged into them again and the Jeep flew into a spin.
As Daisy screamed, Ellie covered the girl her with her body.
