Page 122 of The Girl in the River

The search team explored the area around the warehouse for miles and miles.

Her phone buzzed, a call from the helicopter team. “We spotted the woman down the river about a mile. There’s an outbuilding of some sort there.”

“Thanks,” Ellie responded. “We’ll check it out.”

Hanging up, she told Derrick about the call. They rushed to one of the small motorboats she assumed had been kept by the property for transporting the girls in and out. They climbed in and Derrick started the boat. The blades cut through the choppy river, the sky black with the threat of another storm. The acrid odor of fear and death seeped from the dark moss and the horrible secrets that had been hidden there.

She kept her eyes peeled as Derrick maneuvered the boat, searching for the building. Finally, a metal structure, smaller than the warehouse and almost completely shrouded by trees and brush, slipped into view.

Derrick eased into a cove and they slipped off the boat then crept through the bushes, careful to keep their footfalls light. The garage door to the metal building screeched open and more whiskey barrels lined the inside.

A sense of evil permeated the air that made Ellie’s chest tighten with dread. What was inside those barrels? Corn liquor? Drugs? Guns?

Patty Lasso had been found in a barrel just like those. Was another body inside one of these?

Staying hidden, she watched as Ronnie appeared, sweating and cursing as she rolled one of the barrels out to a ramp leading to the back of another cargo van.

She and Derrick moved closer, then when they were only inches away, she stepped from behind the bushes. Derrick inched the opposite direction so he could sneak up behind Ronnie.

“It’s over, Ronnie!” Ellie shouted. “Put your hands above your head. Now.”

Ronnie’s harsh laugh boomed like thunder. “Honey, ain’t nothin’ over.”

Gun aimed at Ronnie, Ellie eased closer. “Your boys are in custody and so is Kincaid. You’re going to prison with them.”

Suddenly Ronnie pulled a knife and lunged at Ellie. She fired a shot but Ronnie knocked her sideways and jumped her. The force of her two-hundred-pound body sent Ellie slamming against a rock and the world spinning. The woman was like a mountain, strong and tough, one beefy hand circling Ellie’s throat, the other swinging the knife down toward Ellie’s face. Ellie summoned every last ounce of her strength. She was not going to let this animal kill her.

Ronnie sneered at her, spitting tobacco as she traced the blade down Ellie’s throat, drawing blood. Sucking in a painful breath, Ellie went totally still. The knife was too damn close to her jugular.

A tree limb cracked behind them, then came the sound of the chamber clicking in Derrick’s gun as he placed it at the back of Ronnie’s head. “Drop the knife, Ronnie.”

The woman hissed like a rattle snake coiled to strike, then whirled around and tried to wrangle the gun from Derrick. It went off and the bullet pinged off one of the barrels. Ronnie jumped Derrick, using her bulk to knock him backwards, giving Ellie time to push herself up. She was breathing hard, blood trickling down her neck but she crawled to her weapon and retrieved it from the bushes.

Derrick and Ronnie rolled on the ground then Ronnie grabbed him by the shoulders and banged his head against a rock. He went limp for a second, and Ronnie twisted away to come after her.

Ellie didn’t intend to let the woman get the best of her this time. She raised her gun, watching fear flicker in Ronnie’s eyes for a second. It didn’t last long. Ronnie bellowed and charged toward her. Ellie fired a shot and hit Ronnie in the shoulder. But the woman kept coming. Ellie pulled the trigger again and the bullet pierced Ronnie’s stomach. She grunted, staggering as she gripped the wound.

“Go ahead and kill me, bitch,” Ronnie snarled.

“No,” Ellie said. “You kept those girls prisoners. Now you’re going to know what it’s like to be locked away.”

Ronnie’s eyes turned feral then she charged at Ellie again. Ellie fired at her knee and Ronnie went down in a blaze of agony.

While she howled, Ellie rolled the woman over and handcuffed her.

Derrick groaned and lifted his head, wiping away blood.

“You okay?” she asked.

A scowl darkened his eyes as he gave a nod, glancing at Ronnie wailing and cursing.

Ellie crossed to him and handed him her weapon. “Keep this on her. I’m going to see what’s in those barrels.”

His hand was shaking as he took it but he didn’t argue. He trained the gun on Ronnie.

Seconds later, Ellie found a crowbar in the warehouse and carried it to the barrel Ronnie had rolled outside. Using brute force and the end of the tool, she wedged it enough to pry the nails loose, and then looked inside.

Shock and rage hit her as the stench of a charred dead body assaulted her.

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