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Please, God…
The prayer slipped through his mind and for the first time in a long time he didn’t push it away. He wanted to bargain with God. If God would do something to help Bethany, Mason would swallow his pride and relinquish his long-held anger against the God who hadn’t done anything to stop his mother from walking out on her family. Shame hit him. He knew God didn’t work that way.
Reining those thoughts in, he looked at Georgia. “And that’s why you didn’t say anything?”
“Partly. But also because…” She broke off and sighed.
“I’ll be right back.”
She slipped from the room and disappeared down the hall. When she returned, she carried a piece of paper. Mason took it from her and read aloud. “‘Tell anyone what you saw that night and your brother, Nate, will be next.’”
A harsh gasp from Georgia’s mother sent Lacey to the woman’s side. Mason watched her offer comfort even while his mind clicked with questions. “Georgia, when did all the weird things start happening with you and Bethany?”
Georgia raised a hand to rub her forehead. “Um…about a month ago, I guess. And it wasn’t every day. Just every once in a while. Out of the blue, something weird would happen. Then it would be quiet for a couple of days. Then something else…you get the idea.”
Mason did a quick calculation. “The car wreck happened during spring break. That was the beginning of April. We’re now halfway through the month of June—about ten weeks later.”
Lacey frowned at him. “Right.”
“The incidents started about a month ago. Why wait so long after the car accident to make another attempt to grab Bethany or come after you? He knew you saw him, right?”
“Yes.” Georgia gave a slow nod.
Mason looked at Lacey and saw Georgia’s confusion mirrored in her eyes. He said, “He was recovering. Georgia said she thinks he got hit by the bullet.”
The light went on for Lacey and she jumped in. “So that’s why everything was quiet after the wreck. He was hiding out. Once he recovered, he must have realized his threat worked, when there was no report of an attempted kidnapping and Georgia and Bethany weren’t named in the news in relation to the wreck. Which left him free to try again,” she responded. “Exactly.”
“Then how do we go about tracking this person down?” Lacey demanded.
Mason looked at Georgia. “You said you think she knew him. Do you know from where?”
“No. She didn’t say his name or anything. And I’ve never seen him.”
Mason rubbed a hand across his head. “All right. Here’s what you can do to help a little more. I know it’s been a while, but we need you to work with a sketch artist.”
The teen gulped but nodded. “O-okay. And, um, now that you know pretty much everything, you should probably also know that Bethany called me a couple of hours ago.”
From her position next to Georgia’s mother, Lacey bolted to attention and zeroed in on the girl. “Shecalledyou? Why didn’t you tell me right away?”
Georgia’s gaze flicked from one adult to the next. “Because I wasn’t going to say anything at all about anything. But—” she bit her lip “—I think she’s in some really big trouble and needs help in spite of the fact that she didn’t want Ms. Gibson knowing about the threat. She was going to deal with it her own way.”
“How did she think she was going to do that?” Mason demanded.
Georgia shrugged. “She said she was going to find her dad and he would help her.”
Mason winced and shared a look with Lacey. Her heart thudded. “I don’t know how she planned to find him. She doesn’t have any idea who he is.”
“Yeah, she does. At least she thinks so.” Georgia looked Lacey in the eye. “She found your diary in an old box when you moved and started reading it.”
Lacey felt the air leave her lungs as though the words had physically punched her in the stomach. Her diary?Oh, Lord,she prayed,not that.“But I never mentioned his name in the diary. I only used initials.”
“Oh.” Georgia looked doubtful. “Well, all I know is Bethany said she was going to talk to everyone in the city whose initials were MGS. She was going through the phone book one by one.”
Lacey glanced at Mason. Poor Bethany. She never would have found him. His number was unlisted. Lacey had had to get it from her mother who got if from his step mother under false pretenses. For once, her mother had done something to really help her out. It had been the start of the reparation of their relationship.
Mason rubbed a hand across his eyes, then said, “Georgia, I need your phone number. I’m going to see if I can get Bethany’s call traced.”
She rattled it off for him and he got on his cell phone to pass the number on to one of his contacts at the police station. Probably Joseph or Catelyn. Or Daniel.
