Page 107 of The Sleeping Girls

“You killed my son!” she screamed. “You killed him!”

Ellie wanted to bang her head against the rocks but shook Artie instead.

It was too late though. He was dead.

Emotions clogged her throat. Now he couldn’t tell her where the girls were.

Derrick shielded Mrs. Jones from the sight of her son’s bloody body while she cried hysterically. Ellie called the ME and an ambulance, then her boss to request an ERT. Hoping Ruby and Bianca were close by, she phoned Cord and asked him to bring a SAR team to the property.

Finally, as Mrs. Jones quieted, Derrick led her back to the front porch where she sat on the stoop, shivering and sobbing. Ellie braced herself for the woman’s wrath and anguish, and walked over to her. She still had a job to do. The case wasn’t over until she found Ruby and Bianca.

“You didn’t have to kill him,” Mrs. Jones said, her voice reeking of anger.

“Your son shot at Detective Reeves and myself,” Derrick said. “I’m sorry but it was self-defense.”

“He wasn’t a bad boy,” she whimpered. “He wasn’t. He… just got…”

“Caught in a bad situation,” Ellie said gently. “I realize he must have been devastated when he learned about his biological connection to Anna Marie. Bur Kelsey Tiller, Ruby Pruitt and Bianca Copenhagen had nothing to do with that.”

“I… wish I’d known he heard us, or that he was seeing Anna Marie,” she said, her voice tiny. “Only I didn’t. I… thought he was just distraught over losing his father.”

A heartbeat passed. “I understand this is difficult but think back to the last few weeks. Has he mentioned anything to you that might have triggered suspicion?”

Her brows wrinkled. “What do you mean?”

“Did he talk to you about the girls who went missing at his school?” Ellie asked.

Mrs. Jones sniffled then looked up at Ellie. “No. But he seemed more sullen than ever. He was just never the same after his father died. And now I understand the reason.”

Sirens wailed and Derrick hurried to meet the ambulance and ME.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Ellie said, earning an accusatory glare. “But if there’s anything you can tell us that will indicate where he left the girls, please tell us.”

“I don’t. My God, I had no idea he had it in him to kill anybody,” she cried.

Ellie rubbed the woman’s shoulder to soothe her. “Did he have a second home anywhere or a special place he liked to go?”

She shook her head. “Not that I know of. He lived on a teacher’s salary and was pretty much a homebody.”

Except he’d preyed on the very students who’d trusted him. But Ellie wasn’t cruel enough to say that to this grieving mother.

Derrick stepped over. “I’m going to search the exterior of the property.”

“I’ll take the inside.” If there was a clue in the house indicating where he’d left the girls she’d turn the house upside down to find it.

ONE HUNDRED NINETEEN

While Derrick checked the outside of the property for a place where the girls might be and waited for the ERT, Cord, and the ME, Ellie rushed inside.

She quickly swept the interior of the house, looking for a place the man could have stashed the girls. “Ruby, Bianca! Are you here?”

Heart pounding, she shouted their names over and over as she checked the pantry, then the man’s bedroom and office, which were empty. One by one, she searched the closets but nothing. The house had no basement, only a small attic.

Derrick met her inside. “Nothing in the crawl space or the old shed out back. ERT and McClain are here and starting to search the property. Deputy Eastwood is comforting Mrs. Jones and Dr. Whitefeather is with the body.”

“Good, I was just about to go upstairs to the attic.” Derrick followed her up the stairs, which creaked with every step they took.

The door was closed. Locked. Derrick slammed his shoulder against it, but it didn’t budge so he raised his foot and kicked it until the wood splintered and he created a hole large enough to reach inside and open the door.

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