Page 95 of Firefly Effect

“Must have been planned. He doesn’t have any more campground reservations for another week.”

What the fuck is going on tonight? Everything feels like it’s unraveling. Billy is missing. Francine took Lucy to Deep Creek Campground to see the fireflies without even telling me. Patrick Vaughn is mysteriously back in town. Jenkins is going rogue while on house arrest.

And I’m about to lose my damn mind.

“What’s the plan?” I ask. Dylan is always the one with the plan—I’ve just been helping him narrow down his suspect list. But now that my daughter is involved, I need him to tell me the fucking plan.

“I’ll follow them, see what they’re up to, then I’ll meet you at Deep Creek to help you find your daughter.” He pauses, and silence lingers on the line. “She’s going to be okay, Linc.”

Nothing seems to be working right—my brain, my heart, my senses. I’m blindly following the only information I have on the whereabouts of my daughter and hoping it’s enough.

“Hey,” Dylan adds gently. “Wait for me before you do anything reckless. I’ll call Gabe and get us some backup. Call me if you find Lucy.”

I take in the deepest breath I can manage, trying to control my heart rate. “Thanks, man. I will.”

After we hang up the phone, I reach over to retrieve my gun from the glove compartment then call Francine one more time, just in case.

“Hello?”

I want to cry with relief when Francine’s voice comes on the line. My head falls back against the seat. “Thank god, Francine.”

She laughs like she doesn’t have a care in the world. “Oh my, I’ve never known you to be so happy to hear from me.”

Gritting my teeth, I try to hold back my anger. She has no idea what’s going on. “I’ve been trying to get ahold of you. Why didn’t you tell me you were taking Lucy to Deep Creek?”

“Oh,” she tsks. “That’s what this is about. You forgot to sign her permission slip, and the daycare called me telling me she was sobbing because all her friends were on the field trip except for her. So I took her.”

Again, being angry at Francine is completely wrong. She doesn’t know. She loves Lucy. She’s only trying to do the right thing by Lucy.

“And I didn’t think I had to tell you. Lilith said she’d call you.”

I freeze, my relief short-lived as horror washes through me. “Lilith hasn’t called me, Francine. Why would she call me?”

“Because Lucy wanted to stay at the campground with Willow. She wanted to go on that firefly walk tonight. The bugs were biting me like crazy, so Lilith offered to watch Lucy. She was going to call you and see if you wanted to join them.”

My chest constricts, and I’m not sure I’m capable of breathing right away. My worst nightmare has just come true—my daughter will be among the fireflies in the same place where my sister was killed. With a killer on the loose.

“Lincoln, are you okay?”

I don’t respond. I’m not sure how to. Instead, I hang up the phone and call Lilith next. It rings, but no one picks up, so I try one more time, already mapping out my search route in my head as I wait for her to pick up the phone. When it goes to voicemail again, I grab the gun and shove it in the back pocket of my jeans.

Just then, a loud banging comes from the passenger window. I jump and look over to find a completely disheveled Lilith. Her hair is wild like she’s been running a marathon in a windstorm, her eye makeup is smeared in black streaks around her face, and her eyes are bloodshot like she’s been crying.

“I’m so sorry,” she shouts. “I’m so so sorry.”

Anxiety winds through me. Somehow, I already know why she’s sorry. Yanking open my door, I step out of the car and come around it to face her. “Where’s my daughter, Lilith?” I don’t even try to hide my accusatory tone.

Her eyes plead with mine for forgiveness. “I don’t know.”

“What?” I boom, causing her to jump.

She shakes her head. “The girls ran off when I went to the restroom, and I’ve been searching for them ever since. I was about to check the trail, but I saw you coming. I thought I could find them before you got here.”

I narrow my eyes, wondering if I should remind her that she was supposed to call me and tell me Lucy stayed at camp with her. “How do you know they went into the woods?”

“They kept trying to dart off in that direction earlier, but I was able to stop them.” She covers her face with her hands and begins to tremble. “I’m so sorry. If he has them, I will never forgive myself.”

My worst nightmare is coming to fruition. “What do you mean if he has them?” I ask through gritted teeth. “Who?”

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