Page 28 of Stolen Angels

He nodded, tears trailing down his cheeks, his thin face contorted in anguish. “I didn’t mean to, but I couldn’t help it. She was so pretty and sweet and always smiling…”

Ellie’s stomach convulsed. “You said shewaspretty,” Ellie said. “Does that mean she’s not anymore? That you did something to her?”

He shook his head, his hair sticking up wildly as he angled the gun toward her. “No, I didn’t do anything,” he screamed. “I wanted to, but I didn’t. But it doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter,” Ellie said. “If you took Ava, tell me where she is and I can help you.”

“I told you I didn’t!” he screeched. “But you’re going to blame me anyway. And I can’t take it anymore. I take the pills they give me and thought I could control my urges, but they come anyway.” His voice broke off in defeat.

“We can help you,” Ellie said. “Get you to a doctor.”

“It won’t do any good,” he screamed. “I did watch Ava. Almost every day. But I did not kidnap her.” He whirled the gun around toward himself. “It’ll never stop. Every time a kid goes missing or something happens to one of them, you’ll come knocking at my door. I can’t live like this. I might as well be in prison.”

Ellie swallowed hard. “Nolan, I talked to your mother,” she said in an effort to distract him as Derrick inched into the room. “She knows you’re troubled.”

“She’s ashamed of me,” he cried. “She’s better off if I’m dead.”

“No,” Ellie said firmly.

But Nolan choked on another sob and pulled the trigger. The whoosh of air and the click of the chamber as the bullet was released echoed in the air.

Ellie and Derrick dashed forward. The bullet had pierced Nolan’s chest, his body bouncing backward and hitting the floor, blood gushing.

Running to him, Ellie shook him. “Dammit, don’t you dare die, Nolan. Where’s Ava?”

“I didn’t do it,” he rasped. His eyelids fluttering, he stared at her, his head lolling downward.

“Talk to me, please,” Ellie whispered.

He stared into her eyes with a weak expression. “I wasn’t the only one watching her. A lady, white van,” he moaned. Before he could say anything else, his body convulsed, his voice died and the blood-soaked gun fell from his hand.

Thirty

Ellie stared at him in stunned silence. Someone else was watching Ava?

“Who are you talking about?” she asked in a raw voice.

He coughed, his body jerking as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Derrick knelt to check for a pulse. “He’s still alive. Call an ambulance.”

Ellie lowered her gun while Derrick grabbed rags from the kitchen and pressed them to Nolan’s chest. “I’ll apply pressure. You search the place.”

Ellie called for help and told the 911 operator to have the medics come the direct route as she opened the door to the cabin’s only other room, which obviously served as the bedroom. It was bare apart from an old sleeping bag.

She shined her light into the closet but found nothing, so returned to the small living room and kitchen. Quickly checking the pantry, she saw an old bag of flour ripped open by critters, along with a metal tin of oil, bugs crawling along the empty shelves.

A small old-fashioned refrigerator sat in the corner, rusted and stained on the outside. A stench filled the space, mingling with the metallic tang of Nolan’s blood pooling on the floor.

Holding her breath, she maneuvered around him and Derrick to the refrigerator. Shoulders tense, she pulled the door open, and was nearly knocked over by a fishy stench. She slammed it closed in a hurry.

“No sign of Ava,” Ellie said. “I’ll call an Evidence Response Team. Cord can lead the medics here. Then I’ll check Grueler’s vehicle.”

“How did he drive up here if we couldn’t make it?” Derrick asked.

“Like I said, there’s an alternate route from the other side of the mountain,” Cord said. “We took the short cut. But he might have come in that way so the caretaker of the cabins wouldn’t see him.”

Which meant he was hiding something. Ellie hurried outside. Maybe she’d find something inside his car to lead them to Ava.

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