Page 97 of The Girl in the River

She and Derrick left through the front door, eying the parking lot for the guy.

“That beat up pick-up truck,” Derrick said, pointing to the vehicle Chester was climbing into.

Ellie rushed to his sedan and Derrick got in, started the engine and eased from the parking lot. Chester opened the driver’s window and hung his arm out. Through the rear window, she saw smoke curling from his cigarette.

He seemed oblivious that he was being tailed, although Derrick took precautions by not getting too close and occasionally turning onto a side street then catching up a couple of blocks over. They left the town center and turned onto a country road winding along Foggy Mountain. With the recent rain and night setting in, the mist rose in thick waves, like steam oozing from a tea kettle.

They passed another outfitters store, a restaurant called Goats on the Roof, and signs for scenic trails for hiking to Red River Rock Falls. A deer darted in front of them and Derrick slowed as a family of four raced across the road. SUVs and trucks hauling canoes and kayaks passed, done for the day.

Chester turned down a dirt road that looked like it disappeared into the mountain.

Three miles in, swallowed by the wild landscape, they made a couple more turns then Chester stopped at a chain-link fence. Derrick cut his lights and pulled into some bushes several hundred feet away.

Chester got out, snagged a metal ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked the chain. After opening the gate, he drove through and relocked it. His lights faded as dust whipped up behind him.

A few moments later, she and Derrick slipped from his sedan, climbed the fence and followed on foot. Ellie’s body still ached, side splitting as they hiked up a hill then through the pines and aspens. The area was fraught with overgrown weeds and briars that clawed at her legs as she pushed through the dense foliage. Insects hissed and buzzed around them and in the distance she heard the drone of an ATV chopping through the woods.

A mile in and she spotted the old warehouse and a van parked beside it.

Her foot slipped on a branch and it cracked, then suddenly gunfire rang out.

ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE

Kevin was so crazed with anger that he was shaking. He slid his hand into the pocket of his dress slacks where he’d stowed the .38 he kept for his own protection. His father’s lectures about people targeting those with money and power echoed in his head. Predators, jealous lovers, business associates, and disgruntled employees would stab you in the back if you dropped your guard.

The injustice of that drove him to purchase a gun and visit the shooting range regularly. The feel of the smooth, cold steel beneath his fingers calmed his nerves as he watched Mark and Pixie kick a soccer ball back and forth.

Pixie laughed when she missed the ball and ran in circles around Mark, then he swung her around and around while she giggled.

How dare that Emily woman leave his little girl alone with that man? He was nobody to Pixie, and never would be.

Night settled in, the sun dipping below the horizon, a quarter moon peeking from behind the cloud cover.

Finally, the bastard collected the ball and they walked toward the parking lot, swinging hands.

A scream of protest burned through him and he started after them.

What if Mark was taking her back to his house? What if she called himDaddy?

No! No! No! He couldn’t allow that. Mark was not her father. Never would be.

Pixie washisjust like Jesse had been. His to love and hold and keep forever.

They wereMoons.

He closed in on them as they reached a dark gray Range Rover. The man opened the trunk and tossed the ball inside then he and Pixie walked to the back door.

Sweat beaded Kevin’s skin and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. His body shook. His lungs strained for air.

He couldn’t let that stranger have his little girl.

Moving quickly, he inched closer, scanning all directions to make certain no one was watching. Mark leaned forward to open the car door, and Pixie started to climb in.

Kevin slid the .38 from his pocket then jammed it into Mark’s back. “Step away from her.”

Mark jerked his head up, eyes stretched with shock, then he threw up an arm as if he planned to fight. The gun went off, bullet hitting Mark, and his body jerked. Blood soaked his shirt as he collapsed.

Pixie screamed from the back seat as he reached for her. “Shh, sweetie. I’m your Daddy.”

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