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Sarah was her name.
The date on the calendar taunted her. Two days until Christmas. Her lungs clawed for air. In her mind, she could see Piper racing to the tree to find the presents Santa had left her, ripping open packages and tossing the bows in the air like confetti.
Her family had to be complete this year. She couldn’t live without her baby girl any longer.
“I’ll be right back, girls. Those look beautiful.” She hurried to the living room then heard Silas leave Becky’s room and go into his home office. He’d been locking himself in there more and more this month, sullen and silent, not spending time with the family. It was almost as if the more she wanted them all together, the more he withdrew.
She eased open the door to tell him she had another errand to do and ask him to watch the girls but found him looking at the news on his computer.
“Look at this,” he said, his tone guarded. “Ava’s parents are on TV pleading for whoever kidnapped their daughter to bring her back.”
She turned away as the couple clung to each other crying. She didn’t care what those people had to say. She wasn’t a kidnapper. She just took what was rightfully hers.
They were not getting Ava back.
“I have to go out for a while.”
“Again?” He stood and grabbed her arms, the frown lines around his eyes deepening as he scowled at her. “Where to this time? To steal someone else’s daughter? For God’s sake, look at those people’s faces.”
“What aboutourfamily?” she spat. “Or don’t you care? You just let our baby die—”
Pain tore through his eyes. “This has to stop,” he said, his teeth clenched. “You have to get some help. Go back to that counselor Emily and talk to her.”
“I don’t need help,” she screeched. “I need my baby back and you killed her.”
He shook her hard, but suddenly she heard Kaylee shouting, “Mommy, Mommy!”
The shrill sound of Kaylee’s voice sent a jolt of fear through her, and she shoved at her husband, turned and ran back to the kitchen.
“What’s wrong?” she said as she bolted into the room.
“Ava’s gone.”
Heart hammering, she looked up and saw the back door was open, frigid air swirling inside, rain running like a river across the backyard, reminding her of the awful night when her husband had killed her daughter. The world blurred and she was catapulted back to that horrible day.
Ninety-Seven
Cattail Cove
“Why did we have to come tonight?” she grumbled as she followed Silas and Piper along the path toward Cattail Cove. “It’s too cold to be out here.”
“I promised Piper I’d show her the cattails,” her husband said. “It’s rare to find them up here in the winter. But the climate here is odd right now, a mix of warm humidity with the trees shrouding the murky pond water. And Piper is so excited.”
Their daughter was definitely excited. She’d been bouncing all over the place all day. But she had a bad feeling that it wasn’t safe in these woods. All around her, wild animals scuttled about, and on the drive here, the weatherman had warned a freak tornado might strike in the mountains. Last year one had ripped through, tearing ancient trees from the ground and demolishing homes and trailers like a bulldozer.
“I think I see them, Daddy!” Piper burst into a sprint, singing at the top of her lungs.
Silas yelled at Piper to wait, but she skipped ahead. Pure panic ripped through her and she darted forward, jogging to catch her daughter. She jumped over a patch of briars and a fallen log, sweat trickling down her neck as she shouted. Suddenly Piper hit the icy pond at full run, skating across it, arms flying around her to keep her balance.
“Piper, stop!” she called.
“It may not be completely frozen,” Silas yelled.
She stepped onto the pond. Oblivious, Piper was twirling and dancing and leaping like a ballerina.
The sound of ice splintering rent the air and sent her heart pounding so loud she heard the blood roaring in her ears.
A faint sliver of moonlight illuminated the slip of her little girl crashing through the ice and plunging below. Her puffy pink jacket… the bob of her ski cap, one pink-gloved hand clawing at the ice and air and disappearing.
