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He licked his dry lips. Smiled. Then he tiptoed past the old woman’s room. He stepped on a loose board that squeaked and heard footsteps.
Dammit. The old woman was awake.
“Who are you? What are you doing in here?” she shrieked.
He pivoted and she came at him, slinging her bony little fisted hands at his chest. He shoved her away and she stumbled backwards then fell against the floor and hit her head on the dresser. For a split second, he held his breath as he watched to see if she got up. No movement.
When she didn’t, he closed her bedroom door and crept up the stairs. His pulse hammered with anticipation as he pushed open the door. Betsy jerked her head up, then scooted closer to her brother. Cade wrapped his arm around his little sister, but Lorna Bea jumped off the bed.
“Nana!” Lorna Bea cried. “Nana! Someone’s here!”
“Sorry, darlin’,” he murmured. “Nana can’t help you now.”
The boy grabbed his sister’s hand and tugged her toward the door. He raised his hand and struck the kid across the face, sending him stumbling to the floor. Betsy screamed.
“Run, Betsy!” Lorna Bea cried. “Run, get help!”
He tried to catch the little girl as she darted toward the open door, but she ducked under his arm and ran down the steps, ponytail flying.
Lorna Bea ran to the boy and shook him. “Cade! Cade, get up!”
He took advantage of the moment, grabbed Lorna Bea around the neck and dragged her down the steps.
NINETY-FIVE
Lorna Bea screamed and kicked, yanking at the man’s hand to escape. But he hauled her across the room like she was a rag doll. “Nana!”
“She’s gone, honey,” he murmured against her ear as they passed the rocking chair. “No use crying now.”
Terror clogged Lorna Bea’s throat. Nana couldn’t be gone. “No!” Her eyes darted to Nana’s bedroom. But the door was shut. “Let me go!” she screamed.
The big man slapped his hand over her mouth and drowned out her cries. She dragged her feet, digging her heels in as he hauled her through the door. The humid air hit her and she smelled the awful scent of his sweat and cigarettes. With one arm around her neck, he dragged her toward the woods.
She clawed at his arms as he reached the water, and she used all her might to kick backward. Her foot connected with his knee, and he grunted and loosened his hold long enough for her to bite his hand. He bellowed in pain and she stumbled away from him.
Rage filled his voice as he lunged after her. She ran forward, stumbling blindly. One step. Two. Three.
A sudden wind picked up. A gray cloud rolled across the sky.
“Help!” she screamed. “Someone help me!”
Thunder rumbled. A motorboat puttered past. Her scream was lost in the sound.
Then she heard him behind her. Brush crackling. Twigs snapping. His breath puffing out as he got closer.
She jumped over a log and a broken branch, skidding in a patch of weeds. Briars stabbed at her. Mosquitos buzzed. She ran faster but she tripped over a log and he closed in.
She couldn’t give up. Breath huffing out, she snagged a stick and swung it at him. He grabbed at her and she kicked him again then rolled to her stomach to push herself up.
Then something hard hit her in the back of the head. A rock? A gun?
A second later, the sounds grew quiet. The woods darkened. The sunlight faded…
NINETY-SIX
LAKE HAVEN APARTMENTS
While one ERT team processed Sarah’s apartment, another searched Coolidge’s.
