Page 18 of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow
“It does matter,” Ari soothes. “How you feel matters. Maybe if you tell me about it, we could work things through. Come up with a solution for this… situation we’re in.”
Randy stares at Ari long enough to make me think he’s considering her offer.
The he sets his shoulders and shakes his head. His tone hardens. “No. It’s too late for that.”
My breath catches.
“It’s never too late.” Ari flashes an encouraging smile at him. “We can fix this.”
He frowns at her. “How?”
“Well.” She drags out the word. “You could put down the gun. That would be a good start. And then we could talk this over. Come up with a way to let everyone go and solve whatever problem you’re facing.”
There’s another long hesitation before he responds.
Hope kindles in my chest.
Maybe it’ll work.
Maybe Ari can talk him into letting us go.
Then he shakes his head again. “Nope. There’s only one solution. For the ritual to work, I need four sacrifices. Not five or six or seven. And I can’t risk you messing it up. So that means the three of you”—he gestures at Ari, Shea, and me—“will have to die first.”
CHAPTER 5
BEN
“And here’s where you can tell she’s not going willingly.”
With Cash hanging over one shoulder and Oliver the other, I point at the still frame from the security footage displayed on my phone. “Right there,” I continue. “See where his hand is? Not resting on her back, but pointing something at it.”
Oliver leans closer. His jaw works. “Shit.”
“You think he’s holding a gun on her?” Cash asks.
“I’m not sure,” I reply, “but if I had to guess, I’d say a gun or a knife. Something small.” Moving the video ahead slightly, I tap the screen where a glint of light reflects from lamp post overhead. “And it’s reflective. I suppose itcouldbe a phone, but?—”
“No way.” Oliver’s voice is hard. He moves away from me to look out across the now-empty library parking lot, where, according the the security footage, an unidentifiedman and woman crossed it ninety minutes ago. “It’s a weapon. I’m sure of it.”
I’m pretty sure, too. It’s the only explanation that makes sense.
Oliver comes back to my side to look at my phone again. “And look,” he says. “Her posture. It’s not relaxed. She’s anxious. Scared.”
“What are the chances this has something to do with Ari going missing?” Cash asks. “Ari, Thea, and Shea,” he amends. “Iwantto think it’s all connected, since this is the first real clue we’ve found.”
“It’s a lead.” Oliver slips Shea’s phone into his left pocket, then reaches into his right to pull out his own. He taps the screen a few times before lifting the phone to his ear. A few seconds later, he says, “Cole. Ben found something. From the security footage at the library. At five-forty-five, a man and woman crossed the parking lot, headed towards the alley between the library and the bank. It looks like he’s holding something made of metal behind her.”
Oliver goes quiet for a moment while Cole responds. Then he replies, “Right. I’m guessing gun. I know it’s not a definitive link, but the timing seems suspicious.”
After another silence, Oliver’s expression grows even grimmer than before. “Okay. I know he’s doing the best he can.” He stops. “Yeah. I want to focus the search here. The old bank. The dry cleaners and law offices across the street.” Another beat. “Right. See you soon.”
Once he ends the call, Oliver scowls at his phone for a second before putting it away. He takes a deep breath and huffs it out before saying, “Leo couldn’t get a currentlocation on Ari’s phone. But its signal was last picked up within a two hundred yard radius from here.”
Cash winces as though he was struck. In a carefully controlled tone, he says, “Alright. So. We have the man and woman walking across the parking lot. Possibly with him holding a gun or other weapon on her. So if we’re looking at a kidnapping?—”
“If he was armed, he could force all three women to go with him,” Oliver interrupts. None of them would want to risk the other. And Shea—” Pain twists his features. “She says she’s fine. After the kidnapping attempts before. But she still has nightmares. If someone pointed a gun at her…”
My stomach churns.
