Page 76 of The Girl in the River

Standing up to him had been a mistake. He wouldn’t allow it.

She rubbed her wrist where he’d squeezed it so hard he’d broken it. The bruises on her face had forced her to call in sick at work the next two days.

While he’d slept, she’d sneaked into the bathroom and called her sister, spilling everything. “Don’t marry him,” Jo-Jo said. “I had a bad feeling about him when we met.”

Jo-Johadwarned her he was trouble from the beginning. But she’d been too blind to see beyond the package. At the time, she’d argued with her sister and stopped calling her, certain she was walking into paradise.

But that first slap had changed everything.

The next day Kevin apologized, brought her a diamond necklace and promised it would never happen again.

She’d lied to herself and they’d fallen back into a nice rhythm, planning the wedding. Only he wanted a lavish ceremony on the riverboat his father owned.

“Please, you know I’m scared of the water,” Jesse had begged. “Let’s do it on land.”

“No, baby, it’s all planned. And it’s going to be so beautiful.”

The next week she’d noticed a beefy guy with tats on his arms following her. Patty had seen him too, said he’d been in the shop and gave her a creepy vibe.

“I think something’s going on with the books,” Patty said. “Things aren’t adding up, Jess.”

Jesse took another look at them and agreed. Thinking his accountant might be cooking the books, she pointed it out to Kevin, in private that time. He’d promised to take care of it.

Then he’d become more possessive. Even paranoid. She’d found him checking her phone. Heard him talking to his father and saying he had her under control. Heard him telling her sister, “Stop calling, Jo-Jo. I told you Jesse wants nothing to do with you anymore.”

Jesse had known then what she had to do. Get away from Kevin and Red River Rock.

Only getting away meant lying and pretending. She needed help. It was only a week until the wedding and she had to make a plan…

ONE HUNDRED ONE

CROOKED CREEK

Dark clouds had rolled in for the night as Ellie drove back to Crooked Creek. If it rained overnight, maybe it would cool things off and still allow holiday plans not to be canceled. Not that she would be celebrating anything until Mia was found.

“How did the call with Lindsey go?” she asked as she parked beside Derrick’s sedan at the police station.

“She didn’t answer,” he said. “I’m not surprised. But I do worry about the kids, especially with the memorial services this weekend.”

“I’m sorry, Derrick. I’m sure she just needs time,” Ellie said softly. “And she knows you’re there. That’s all you can do, just be there for her when or if she does need you.” She brushed her fingers over his hand. “You want to come over?”

“I’m tired, Ellie. It’s been a long day and I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s going on in that town. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and she swallowed hard.

A sadness had washed over him, and she knew he was still mourning his friend. There was no time limit on grief.

She had to take her own advice, be patient and be there for him.

He slid from the passenger seat and got in his sedan, and she turned onto the road and drove to her bungalow. At this late hour, the diner and all the shops were closed for the evening. Her shoulders ached as she pulled into her drive.

She hesitated, her pulse quickening. She always left the porch lamp and the light in the kitchen burning, but the outside light was off. Unease splintered her calm and she ignored her aching muscles as she grabbed her gun and climbed from the Jeep. She eased the door closed, examining her property, senses on alert.

The wind whistled through the trees like a siren, and barking dogs echoed in the distance. Lightning zigzagged across the sky, illuminating the mountain ridges behind her bungalow.

She inched toward her home and thought she detected movement at the side of the house. The flowers in the beds Mia had planted were drooping, the brisk breeze tearing newly budding leaves from the trees and tossing them around like confetti.

There was the movement again. So quick she thought she’d imagined it.

Someone was on her property.

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