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“It’s all right, girl,” her daddy said as he curled his arm around her. “I’ll always keep you safe.”
She huddled close to him and knew he meant it. She smiled. Finally, it moved again and they climbed off, then got cotton candy and played games and he won her a giant panda bear. Then a clown came up to them with his painted face and big red nose. His mouth was painted into a big red smile but it was scary… She trembled.
The clown looked down at her, peering at her oddly, “Hey, honey, what’s your name?”
Her father snatched her hand. “Come on. We have to leave.”
“But my panda bear,” she cried.
“Forget about it,” he snarled as he dragged her away. “I’ll buy you one.” Suddenly, he rushed them to the car and tore from the carnival.
She cried as they left all the pretty lights and the rides and the panda behind.
ONE HUNDRED ONE
WIDOW LAKE
As Derrick swung the Jeep into a parking spot at Widow Lake cabins, Ellie phoned. “I got your message.”
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Where are you?”
“I just arrived at the Hammersteins’ cabin.”
“Be there in a few. I’m on my way.”
He hung up and hurried to the door.
The father opened up, his expression distraught. “Thanks for coming.”
Derrick identified himself and the man did the same. “Ken Hammerstein. My wife is Gina and our kids, Cade and Betsy.”
The names teased his mind. Betsy was the child Ellie had looked for when they discovered the bodies up here. “What happened?” Derrick asked as he followed Mr. Hammerstein inside.
The ceiling fan whined, and soft crying echoed across the room from the sofa. The mother was sitting on the couch holding Betsy in her lap. The boy was huddled beside her, staring at the toes of his high-tops with a dull expression.
“Shh, it’s all right,” the mother whispered to the children. “The police are here now.”
“The kids went to see Lorna Bea, the girl in the cabin next door.” Mr. Hammerstein’s breathing was choppy. “Apparently her father locked her in her room. Cade found the key and unlocked it.”
“Her daddy covered the windows with foil,” Cade said.
That disturbing image made the hair on Derrick’s neck prickle. “Did she say why he covered the window?” Derrick asked.
Cade bit his lip. “He told her bad people were out there. That they could see in.”
That definitely raised suspicions. “Was he at the house when you went over?” Derrick asked.
The boy shook his head. “We waited till he drove off.”
Derrick swallowed hard. “Then what happened?”
Mr. Hammerstein rubbed his son’s shoulder. “It’s okay, Cade. Tell him.”
Cade’s eyes widened in fear. “This man came in and tried to take Betsy.”
Anger hardened Hammerstein’s voice. “My brave boy Cade grabbed her hand but the man knocked him down.”
