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Jan’s stomach roiled as she watched Angelica Gomez interview the Bluff County sheriff. The police had just busted a child kidnapping ring.
Cold sweat exploded on her neck and her mouth suddenly felt dry. What if that same group had kidnapped her daughter?
Horrified at the thought that Becky had been sold, she turned to the Facebook group and posted, addressing Priscilla.
Jan:Saw the news about that child kidnapping ring. Makes me wonder if my little girl was taken by them.
She waited several minutes but Priscilla didn’t respond. Anxious, she drummed her fingers on the table, then sent Priscilla a private message.
Jan:Priscilla, are you there? Did you call that detective or the reporter?
Another few minutes dragged by, and she decided to call the woman. She’d stored her number when she’d posted it a while back. But the phone rang and rang and then went to voicemail.
“Priscilla, it’s Jan Hornsby from Facebook. Please call me,” she said, her pulse quickening. “I just saw news about a child kidnapping ring. I think we should call the police. Let them know to ask about Kaylee and Becky.”
One Hundred Four
Spruce Tree Farms
Ava was so cold she couldn’t stop shaking.
She peered over the haystack and thought she saw an animal outside the shack. Maybe a wolf or coyote. Its beady eyes seemed to be looking for her.
She shivered and rubbed at her arms to try to get warm. But she had to be quiet or he’d find her and eat her alive.
Monsters were hiding between the big trees. Their eyes glowed in the dark like a spooky owl’s eyes. The snakes and spiders and other animals were crawling through the forest, too. She had to be still. Quiet.
Cold rainwater beat at her, and balls of sleet banged the wood shack so hard she thought it was going to fall down on her.
For a minute, she thought about running some more. But she was so tired and her feet hurt and she was freezing. And she had no idea which way the road was. If she ran into the woods, she’d get lost and no one would ever find her. The boys at school had told her bad people lived in the caves. Bad men that would cut her head off if she got near them and then feed her to the wolves.
She closed her eyes and pictured her mommy decorating the sugar cookies they always baked together. She saw the little presents her mommy lined up on the mantle, pictured the snow globes and the reindeer and Santas. Last year Mommy had hidden a bright red bicycle outside and they had a scavenger hunt to find it.
Her lip quivered. Swiping at her tears with the back of her hand, she stared into the dark again. There was no way she could find her way tonight. The cold wind whirled loose hay around her. The puddles of water grew bigger.
In the woods, she thought she saw a flicker of light up the hill. She curled into herself and tried to make herself as small as she could, peering between her fingers.
No, it wasn’t a light. It was the beady eyes of a monster coming for her…
One Hundred Five
“Ava! Ava where are you?”Silas trudged through the mud, shining his flashlight across the wet grass and weeds. The rain made it impossible to follow the girl’s footprints and he had no idea where she’d run.
But he had to find her.
He’d already killed his own daughter. He couldn’t let Ava die, too. And then there was Becky… She wasn’t doing well. She needed medical attention.
But if he carried her to the hospital, he’d have to explain. Then they’d arrest him and his wife.
And he’d lose everything.
He was starting not to care… everything he’d loved was falling apart anyway. He’d ruined it all. Destroyed everything he’d ever believed in. The nightmares of killing Piper tormented him day and night. He couldn’t live with another child’s death on his conscience.
But he couldn’t betray his wife. Couldn’t send her to prison. She’d never survive.
Rain slashed his face and coat as he hurried across the rocky terrain. The wind swirled wet leaves from the trees, sending them in a blinding haze. Sleet pounded the ground at his feet.
His flashlight lit on a patch of weeds, and he spotted a torn piece of fabric caught in it. It was from Ava’s shirt.
