Page 99 of The Girl in the River

Don’t ever get in a car with a stranger.Mommy told her that all the time. But she was in the car and now what was she going to do? She couldn’t reach the door handle or the lock and even if she could, if she jumped out, she might get runned over.

“I’m your daddy,” the stranger said. “I’m taking you to your mommy.”

No… he couldn’t be her daddy. Mommy said her daddy was dead.

He swerved around another car and honked his horn, shouting bad words, and she covered her ears with her hands and squeezed her eyes closed. Sniffling back tears, she pictured her mommy waiting for her.

But she had a bad tickle in her tummy and she thought the man might be a big fat liar. That he wasn’t really taking her to her mommy. That he was the kind of stranger Mommy warned her about.

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FOUR

BLUFF COUNTY HOSPITAL

Derrick swung into the ER parking lot, tires screeching, Ellie’s anxiety at peak level. Laney texted:

With the ME in Red River Rock. Autopsy confirms Thelma Coonts died of internal bleeding sustained from the crash. Tox screen negative.

Ellie quickly replied thanks then filled Laney in on Pixie’s kidnapping. She’d fretted the entire drive, her mind venturing to dark places she didn’t want to visit where Mia or Pixie were concerned.

Her phone call to Sheriff Kincaid raised her anxiety even more. He hadn’t answered so she’d left a frantic message, demanding his help. “Mia – Jesse’s – daughter has been kidnapped and Mark Wade, Mia’s fiancé, shot. Find the Moons and see if they’re responsible for this. A little girl’s life is at stake.” Her breath rushed out. “And dammit, call me when you do.”

Derrick threw the sedan into park and they jumped out, rushing into the hospital. Bryce stood in the waiting area, a frown tugging at his mouth.

“Any word?” Ellie asked. “How is he?”

“Not good. A gunshot wound to the back,” Bryce said. “They’re not sure if it severed his spinal cord. He’s in surgery now.”

Oh, God. Ellie swallowed hard. “Did you call his parents?”

A grim look flashed in the sheriff’s eyes. “They’re on the way. Meanwhile, the Nettles are here.”

Ellie’s heart hammered as she spotted the couple holding hands, heads bowed in prayer. “Was Emily there when it happened?”Please don’t let her children have witnessed this.

“No. She met Mark at the park and left Pixie with him for a visit.”

Ellie silently chastised herself. She should have anticipated Kevin might try something and placed Pixie in protective custody.

She and Derrick crossed the room to the Nettles, but in reverence to their prayer, she waited until they finished and looked up.

“Mark is hurt and Pixie’s gone,” Emily said, huge tears swimming in her sea-blue eyes. “I… I’m so sorry.”

Ellie sank onto the chair beside her while Derrick and Andy walked over to the coffee machine to talk.

“This is not your fault, Em,” Ellie said. “So don’t even go there. Just tell me what happened?”

Emily inhaled a deep breath and twisted her hands together. “Pixie was so sad,” Emily said in a low voice. “I found some drawings she made of Mia and Mark, and I sensed she felt like her mother and Mark both abandoned her. That’s when I called you, then Mark. We met at the park.”

A hitch caught in her voice. “I should have called you or maybe the sheriff and had someone watch them but I… didn’t think…” Tears laced her words as she trailed off.

Ellie took Emily’s ice-cold hands between her own and rubbed them. “Listen, you had no way of knowing she was in danger. No one knew where Pixie was staying.”

“Then how did this person find her?”

Ellie’s mind raced to catch up. “I don’t know. He must have hired a PI or have contacts somewhere. If the Moons did this, they have connections.”

“You have to find her,” Emily cried. “That poor baby. She must be so terrified.”

“I know,” Ellie said. “And we will, Emily. Just keep praying.”

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