Page 48 of The Sleeping Girls

“How about this morning?”

“Look, I’m a single mother doing the best I can,” Billy Jean snapped. “I got home late and slept in,” she said. “Ruby gets up and fixes her own breakfast.”

Ellie nodded. Sounded like both mother and daughter had it hard. “Where is Ruby’s father?”

Billy Jean swirled the liquid in her glass with a disgusted grunt. “He ran out the minute I told him I was knocked up.” She gave Ellie an angry look. “Now stop asking me all this shit and find Ruby.”

“I’m sorry the questions upset you but it’s part of the investigative process,” Ellie said. “Did you notice anything odd when you got home last night?”

“What do you mean odd?”

“Did you see a car hanging around? Hear a noise outside or inside?”

Billy Jean rubbed her hands over her face. “No… I was tired and… had a guest and we just went to bed.”

“What was your guest’s name?”

“Jim Roberts, the manager of The Hungry Wolf. But he didn’t do anything to Ruby.”

Still, they’d check him out.

“Did he talk to her?”

“No, I told you she was in her room, and we went straight to bed.”

“Is it possible that he got up while you were sleeping and could have done something to Ruby?”

She slammed her fist on the table rattling the glass. “He’s not like that. He doesn’t like young girls.” She leaned forward. “Now listen to me, don’t you dare go accusing him of this. I can’t afford to lose my job.” She knocked back the rest of her drink. “You know the creep who took Kelsey probably took Ruby, too. Now go find him.”

“I intend to,” Ellie said. “Was the door locked when you got home?”

Ruby’s mother cut her eyes toward the front door. “Yes. I remember dropping my keys and having to pick them up.”

“How about the back door?”

She slanted a look toward the rear door which Ellie noticed stood ajar. “I… didn’t notice.”

A knock sounded and Derrick lifted a hand from the doorway, motioning he wanted to talk to her. “Excuse me,” Ellie said. “I’m going to issue an Amber Alert for Ruby. And I need to speak to Agent Fox.”

The woman stared into the whiskey glass as Ellie maneuvered the crowded room to the door.

“Anything from the mother?” Derrick asked.

Ellie shook her head. “She worked late, had an overnight guest, didn’t check on Ruby when she got home in the night, so we don’t have an exact timeline for when Ruby was taken.”

Ellie inhaled. “Text Deputy Eastwood and ask her to talk to the manager of The Hungry Wolf. He spent the night here last night. If he didn’t take Ruby, he might have seen something this morning when he left.”

Derrick nodded and sent the text.

“I found a friendship bracelet and headband that may have belonged to the girl and saw footprints,” Derrick said. “I’ve called an ERT. There were also ATV tire marks near the creek, indicating her abductor may have used it to get away.”

Dammit, where had he taken her?

FIFTY-ONE

While the ERT searched for evidence outside the property, Ellie texted Cord to search the woods behind the trailer park. Next, she phoned her boss and filled him in.

“It looks like the same person who took Kelsey Tiller abducted Ruby,” Ellie said. “Issue an Amber Alert.” Although, most likely this was a recovery mission, not a rescue. The best she could hope for was that someone saw the photograph of Ruby and had information on who would hurt these girls.

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