Page 82 of The Girl in the River

He’d have to fix up a room for her, too. Maybe they could pick out some furniture together and he’d take her shopping and let her choose some toys. Little girls liked dolls, didn’t they? And colors like pink and purple and what was it – teal? Or fuchsia?

She’d need hair ribbons, too, and patent leather shoes and dresses. His daughter was going to look like a princess!

The door opened and the kids ran to the van in the drive, piling in. They were dressed in bathing suits and bright colored crocs, and he assumed they were going to the local pool. The woman, who must be Emily, hauled a giant beach bag outside and stuffed it in the back, then ducked back inside and returned with a small cooler.

A seed of worry darted through him. Children drowned every summer. Did Pixie know how to swim? Would the woman watch her carefully or would she be too distracted with her own children to really pay attention?

The boys were rowdy, shouting about a cannonball contest. But Pixie dragged her feet as the redheaded little girl tugged at her hand. Then she paused for a second and glanced across the street at his car as if she knew he was there.

He ducked low so she wouldn’t see him and hoped she didn’t say something to Emily. It took another few minutes for Emily to get everyone buckled in and he inched his head up enough to see Pixie’s little face pressed against the window looking at him. She looked scared and sad and… like she needed her daddy.

His pulse quickened. “Soon we’ll get to meet, my little one. Soon.”

ONE HUNDRED TEN

CROOKED CREEK

An hour later, Ellie forced herself not to think about her aching body as she knocked on Mark’s door. He looked miserable when he answered, his hair disheveled, his sunken eyes filled with worry.

His brows rose in question. “What happened to you?”

“She was attacked last night,” Derrick cut in.

Mark’s face turned ashen.

“I’m sorry, we haven’t found Mia yet,” Ellie said. “But don’t give up hope yet.”

He gave a pained nod, a heavy silence falling between them as she and Derrick followed him to his kitchen. A box of half-eaten pizza sat on the counter and she spotted a few crushed beer cans in a trash can.

He poured a mug of coffee and offered them one but she declined. Derrick accepted, the faint lines around his eyes a telltale sign of his fatigue. She’d already had two cups at the house and figured she’d get a to-go one for the road as they headed back to Foggy Mountain.

“Do you haveanyinformation?” Mark asked, his tone desperate as he leaned against the counter.

“Some,” she said. “We suspect something happened in Red River Rock that scared Jesse Habersham into running. We think it has to do with her former fiancé and that there’s something strange going on in that town.”

Mark jerked his head up. “You think that guy hurt her?”

“I don’t know yet, Mark. But it would explain why she came here and assumed a new identity. If not him, there may have been someone else in Red River Rock who threatened her.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “If she was scared, why didn’t she tell me? I would have protected her.”

“Maybe she wanted to protect you,” Ellie countered softly.

He grunted a sound of disbelief. “If she loved me, really loved me, she wouldn’t have lied to me.” His chest rose and fell with an uneven breath. “Besides, if she was already married, our marriage wouldn’t even have been legal.”

He had a point, one that had obviously kept him up all night.

Ellie gave him a minute then continued, “Mark, we found out who the Penningtons are. Jo-Jo Pennington was Jesse’s sister.”

Mark gaped at her. “But she told me she had no family.”

“Maybe she was trying to protect them, too,” Ellie speculated.

“Only it didn’t work,” Derrick added. “The Penningtons were murdered a few months after Jesse disappeared from Red River Rock.”

Mark dropped into the chair. “I don’t understand.”

Ellie sighed. “We’re guessing Jesse went into hiding and her sister and her husband were murdered in an attempt to learn where she was.”

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