Page 53 of The Girl in the River

He picked up their engagement picture and traced his finger over her face, remembering her gorgeous eyes. The silkiness of her hair. Her soft pliant lips. Her adoring smile.

Time swept him back to the day that other girl had been found in the river.

He’d fallen to his knees and sobbed like a baby, thinking it was his Jesse. Looking at her had been impossible. So painful he’d thought he’d die himself.

The days he waited on the autopsy had been excruciating.

Then the call with the results. He and his father rushed to the morgue and met the ME Dr. Leonard Garrett.

“The woman is not Jesse,” Dr. Garrett said. “Her name is Stella Carnes. She was dead long before she was put in the river.”

Kevin staggered backward with relief and hope. If this woman wasn’t Jesse, then she might still be alive.

The wind hurled a branch from the tree and banged it against the window, jarring him back to the present. He squeezed the photograph in his hand so tight the glass shattered. Sharp fragments jabbed his skin, blood dripping from his hand.

He stalked to the kitchen, grabbed a hand towel from the drawer and wrapped it around his bloody palm.

Tomorrow, he’d call the PI he’d used before and have him locate the little girl. If the child was his, he’d find out. Then he’d go to her rescue. Make sure she knew her father was very much alive.

SIXTY-SEVEN

CROOKED CREEK

DAY 3

Pixie bit her bottom lip to keep from crying again as Norah decorated her pancake with a smiley face made of chocolate chips.

“Make an emoji face,” Norah said with a toothless grin.

Pixie didn’t feel like it, but Norah was so excited and kept bopping up and down in her chair, twisting her long red hair around her finger.

“Pixie?” Norah tugged at her arm. “It can be any kind of face. Make it silly.”

Pixie wanted to smile at Norah, but her mouth wouldn’t turn into one cause all she could think about was her mommy and how she hadn’t come back. She liked sleepovers, but she didn’t have her own clothes here or her special blanket and even though she liked Ms. Emily’s cause there was always kids to play with, she didn’t feel like playing.

But Norah had let Pixie sleep with her big stuffed teddy bear and had snuggled up to her last night when she woke up crying. So she picked up a chocolate chip and made one eye, then another, then a triangle for a nose. Then she lined them up to make a mouth, only this one was turning down.

Her chest hurt and her throat felt weird again and she dribbled the syrup to make teardrops below the chocolate chip eyes. Her pancakes were crying, just like she was inside.

SIXTY-EIGHT

Determined to find some answers today,Ellie stopped to pick up breakfast at the Corner Café and slid onto a bar stool beside Cord. The morning crowd was steady with locals and tourists, the air filled with aroma of cinnamon rolls, bacon, sausage and country fried ham.

The gossipy biddies in town led by Maude Hazelnut hovered, eyes darting around for any juicy tidbits for their next brood session. Crystal Marrs entered, her silky caftan sweeping the floor, tiny bone earrings dangling to her shoulders as she walked breezily to a table and seated herself. Families were decked out in red, white and blue in honor of the Memorial Day weekend, the kids chattering excitedly about the parade.

Cord sipped his coffee while Lola set a plate of eggs and country fried ham in front of him and left Ellie a cup of coffee.

“Thanks, Lola,” they said at the same time.

“Sure.” Lola gave Ellie a chilly look. “I’ll get your food in a minute. Gotta take care of Bryce and Mandy.”

Ellie nodded, wondering what had Lola off today. She seemed on edge. Then again, maybe she was just busy with the breakfast crowd. Memorial weekend had brought them in in droves. Good for Crooked Creek’s economy, especially considering that the recent crimes had taken its toll on tourism. She’d even heard a few locals were moving out of town, touting that Crooked Creek was too dangerous a place to raise a family. That it was happening under her watch hammered guilt even deeper into Ellie.

Cord watched Lola while he chomped a piece of ham, his expression troubled too. What was going on with the two of them?

Not your business, Ellie. Your friend is missing.

Still, she studied Lola as she stood laughing and chatting with Bryce and his daughter – her niece – Mandy. The teenager had struggled a couple of months ago when she and her friends had discovered the bones of several children at an abandoned orphanage. Ellie had rescued Mandy and was glad she and Bryce seemed to be forging a relationship. Mandy needed him.

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