Page 42 of Forgotten Girls

“Hmm.” Callie headed for the house, moving from one tree to the other. “All the reason to be running away with us.” She turned as Shiloh moved to her side. “She must want to escape and she’d be able to find us supplies. If we plan to survive even one night, we’ll need food and coats. He must have our coats inside the house. She’d know where everything is kept.”

Stomach flip-flopping, Shiloh crept toward the back door and pressed against the wall. The cold from the logs seeped through her clothes and raised goosebumps on her arms. They’d only been outside for a few minutes and her teeth chattered like castanets. She placed one hand on the doorknob. The ice-cold metal bit into her flesh as she turned the knob. The door opened and she peered inside. The house smelled of boiled cabbage and cigars. One thing for sure, Bonnie wasn’t a good cook. She boiled everything and created a meal they called a forever stew. From the taste, she kept the pot boiling day and night and just added things to it.

“Go inside, we need to grab a few things we can use.” Callie moved through the door. “We need to speak to Bonnie. If she won’t come with us, we’ll leave right away, or she’ll tell on us when Evan comes home.”

Following her, Shiloh spotted her coat hanging on a peg in the mudroom. She grabbed it and shrugged into it. “That’s better. Is that your coat?” She pointed to a pink hoodie.

“Yeah, but I’ll take the brown one.” Bonnie took it down from the peg. “It will hide me better. It fits just fine.” She pulled up the zipper. “Oh good, there are gloves in the pocket. “Now we need food and water. Maybe a backpack or something similar. Look around.”

They found what they needed and filled two old and stained backpacks with anything useful but not too heavy. Shiloh heard footsteps and gripped Callie’s arm. “Someone’s coming.”

They hid beside the washer as Bonnie walked into the kitchen and Shiloh gasped. To her dismay, Bonnie was carrying a chain that led to ankle manacles. Evan had chained her legs to prevent her from escaping when he was at work. Poor Bonnie needed to walk bent over to lift the chain so it didn’t drag on the floor. Throwing caution to the wind, she stepped into the kitchen and startled Bonnie, who dropped the chain and one hand went to her mouth. Shiloh took a step toward her, hands outstretched. “Bonnie, don’t be afraid. We need to get away from here, from Evan. He’s evil. We’re going to escape when Evan goes to sleep tonight. Come with us.”

“You need to go now.” Bonnie’s eyes widened. “He’s coming back before he goes to work. He’s probably on his way. He only went to the doctor’s cabin. He said he would be twenty minutes. He’s angry. The doctor made him go to collect more beds. He’s getting two more girls first thing in the morning. They’ll be sharing with you.”

Terrified, Shiloh gaped at her. “Okay, but we’re leaving tonight and we’ll need supplies. We need you to get them—and water and a first aid kit. Wear warm clothes. It’s going to be freezing overnight.”

“I’ll get the supplies, but I’ll stay here. I can’t run in the chains and I’ll slow you down.” Bonnie pointed at her bruised ankles. “You go and get help. Send the cops.”

“I can pick that lock, no worries.” Callie smiled at her. “Just be ready to leave the moment Evan is asleep.”

They headed for the door and in the distance Shiloh made out the sound of an engine. Panic twisted her stomach and she swallowed hard. “Run, we need to get back before he knows we’re missing.”

“One second.” Callie was sifting through a tool kit open on the counter. She selected a few items and then smiled. “This will make things easier for picking locks and there’s a pocketknife as well. We might need it.”

Terrified, Shiloh grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the door. “We haven’t got a second.”

They took off, running back through the forest. Shiloh slowed to look behind her just as Evan’s truck turned the corner. She ducked down and rolled in the grass. “He’s coming.”

FORTY-SEVEN

Grinning, Beth punched the air when a response came into the chat room from Shoebridge. “He took the bait.”

They’d been waiting patiently for over an hour, and she’d been on the brink of giving up. She scanned the page and then looked at Styles. “He’s complaining that he’s doing all the work. He mentions organizing auctions and distributing photographs to members as well as working night shift. He also says that he doesn’t have any beds to take to the cabin where he’s keeping the girls and will need more but he doesn’t want to attract attention to himself by going into town to buy them. He suggests collecting them from the doctor’s cabin.” Beth looked away from the screen. “I assume it’s closer to him than town.”

“I figure you tell him that’s fine. Go ahead pick up the extra beds he needs from the cabin.” Styles met her gaze. “Maybe add how pleased he’ll be with the new delivery and see what he says?”

Beth typed a suitable reply and they sat back and waited for Shoebridge to answer. She smiled. “He’s going to get that done before work and he also mentioned that the auction that they had planned for the first of next month is going to be a money spinner. They have overseas and out-of-state interest. He suggests increasing the minimum bid as the demand is increasing by the day.”

“Maybe tell him that they can discuss that when he sees him tomorrow.” Jo leaned on the desk and looked at her. “Mention that he’s late for his appointment so he has to go. You need to keep this conversation as short as possible before he discovers that you are not the doctor.”

Nodding, Beth cut the conversation short. “I’ve added for him not to forget to send me the address for the delivery.” She chuckled. “Here it is. We have the address. Kalo, can you give us a location, please?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.” Kalo smiled at them and a satellite map popped up on Beth’s screen. “It’s in Rainbow, not far from Rattlesnake Creek. You could drive from there. If he works nights, maybe you’d have a better chance of checking out his place when he’s out.”

As Styles and Carter wrote down the coordinates, Beth’s mind moved into planning mode. She turned to Styles. “We need to move on this right away. How long will it take us to get home?”

“Some time.” Styles pushed a notebook inside his jacket pocket. “We’ll leave now for the ranch. Fly back to the Helena airport. Preflight checks will take time. Once we’re back home, we’ll change into tactical gear, night-vision goggles, and then drive to Rainbow and try and locate this guy’s cabin.” He looked at Carter. “I figure we’d get there around ten—if we can find his place in the dark.”

“Yeah, it will take that long to get there.” Carter chewed on a toothpick, frowning. “It would be faster if we took one of the choppers to Rainbow but then we’d announce our arrival.”

“We’ll drive.” Styles rubbed the scar on his chin. “If we find any kids, we’ll need to transport them back to town or Rattlesnake Creek. We’ll also need a suitable vehicle to transport Shoebridge or whatever his name is this week.”

Beth had closed down her computer and thanked Kalo during the discussion. She went to Styles’ side. “You’ll need Cash and maybe bring Nate along as well in case anyone needs medical attention.”

“I don’t figure we should risk Nate in a raid. If Shoebridge is at home, things could get nasty.” Styles frowned. “TJ would be better and Cash can deputize him. Maybe have them as backup? I’d really prefer if they watched the road in case Shoebridge slips past us.”

Agreeing Beth nodded. “Yeah, that would work.”

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