A second later, there was another voice, an altered one.
“Wednesday’s child is full of woe,” the voice said. “Will you find her in time, Detective?”
Twenty-Six
Nerves clawed at Ellie as she phoned back. If the killer was taunting her, maybe he’d want to talk. But yet again the call didn’t go through.
Shaking all over, she stabbed the sheriff’s number, pacing in front of the doors leading to her back deck. A plane buzzed above, disappearing into the clouds that crept across the sky, obliterating the stars and the moonlight, casting the mountains in gray.
“Dammit, Bryce, where are you?”
The call rolled to voicemail, and she hung up and rung again. Finally, he answered.
“Sheriff Waters.”
Her stomach curled at his voice, but she steeled herself. Shondra needed her to be strong. “It’s Ellie.”
“Are you finally calling to tell me you found another body?”
“I just got home,” she said, irritated at his tone. “The victim is on her way to the morgue. But that’s not the reason I’m calling.” Panic made it hard to breathe. “It’s Shondra.”
“Shondra?” He made a disgruntled noise. “So you talked to her and what? Does she want me to beg her to work for me? Because I’m about to fire her ass.”
“Listen to me, Bryce. He has her.”
The sheriff cleared his throat. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I just got a call. It was her… crying for help.”
A tense heartbeat of silence passed. “Are you sure? Shondra was pissed at me and probably just went off to pout.”
She inwardly cursed. Why did she think Bryce would actually care?
“I know it was her. I’m going to her place to look around.”
“I’m tied up right now or I’d meet you there,” Bryce said. “But keep me posted.”
“You could put her on the missing persons list and spread the word.”
“Don’t tell me how to do my job. Find some proof that she’s actually missing and I will.”
Technically he was right. But that call… it had been real. If the killer had abducted Shondra and they waited too long, she might already be dead.
Twenty-Seven
Marvin’s Mobile Home Park
Her anxiety rocket-high, Ellie raced to Shondra’s trailer. The mobile home park had seen better days. The owner, Marvin, charged too much for rent, and last year, Ellie had busted him for using two trailers in the rear as brothels. But Shondra was not one to complain or to care about material things––and she felt like her presence might keep the other single women living there safe from the pimps that came around at all hours of the night to collect their cut and beat up on the girls.
Shondra had grown up with no one to look out for her, so she’d learned to do that herself. She was as independent as they came.
But lately, she’d hinted about a girlfriend.
What was her name?
Self-recriminations screamed in Ellie’s head. She’d been so caught up in her own problems, she hadn’t been a good friend. She’d only half listened when Shondra mentioned her new love interest.
If Shondra was dead, she’d never forgive herself.
As Ellie climbed from her jeep, three black crows gathered on the power line, giving her an eerie feeling. According to a high school teacher, crows were symbols of danger and death, said to be God’s messengers to the mortal world.
Ellie had never been superstitious, but she couldn’t shake the sensation that they were here for a reason.
Shondra’s black pick-up truck was parked beneath the carport, and the sound of dogs barking filled the air, the wind slapping a loose awning against the metal structure.
Unease crawled up her spine as she gauged the property. The grass needed cutting, the side of the trailer was splattered with mud from the recent thunderstorms. An animal had foraged through the trash, strewing plastic bottles, fast food wrappers, and beer cans everywhere.
Walking up to the carport, Ellie used her flashlight to peer inside Shondra’s truck from the passenger side.
Candy wrappers were discarded on the passenger seat, a reusable water bottle was in the console, with a Warriors hat from the girls’ soccer team she helped coach beside it. As far as Ellie could see, there was nothing amiss.
As she headed to the driver’s side, Ellie’s foot hit something and sent the object skidding. Looking down, she spotted Shondra’s cell phone in its silver sparkly case. Scuff marks darkened the area by the driver’s door and the keys to the truck glinted from the weeds.
Her breathing growing labored, she pulled latex gloves from her pocket and retrieved the phone and keys. A quick check revealed the cell battery was dead.
Ellie moved toward the front door of the trailer, glancing through the window. There was no movement inside. Raising her hand, she knocked, then tapped her foot while she waited. Seconds passed. No one answered.
She pounded the door again with her fist. “Shondra, if you’re in there, open up. It’s El.”
But the knot in her chest told her no one was inside. Her friend would never just disappear, never give Bryce the satisfaction of allowing him to think he’d run her off.
And that had been Shondra’s voice. There was no doubt in her mind.
Wind whistled in the silence, and a stray cat meowed from somewhere nearby. Worry knotting her muscles, Ellie walked to the opposite window, which offered a view of the living area. Remembering that her friend left a key beneath the bird feeder in the side yard, Ellie hurried to retrieve it. Seconds later, she snagged the key and let herself inside, checking the living room and kitchen, both of which were empty.
Turning into the hallway, she held her breath as she spotted a trail of daffodil petals––leading all the way to Shondra’s bedroom.
She followed the trail, her pulse clamoring. Stopping in the doorway, she saw that her friend’s bed and the entire floor were covered in petals.
Twenty-Eight
Somewhere on the AT
Shondra lay curled on the floor in the metal cage, shivering from the cold and pain. Her shoulder was twisted and aching, her ribs bruised, maybe even broken, and her fingers bloody from trying to claw open the metal cage.
Her arm throbbed and she felt weak from losing so much blood. Blood he’d taken from her in vials. He’d been collecting it ever since he locked her down here, though she had no idea what he was going to do with it. Maybe he was just going to drain her blood until she had none left, leaving her to slowly die.
Ellie had probably gotten the message by now. She’d come looking for her, and the thought comforted Shondra.
Memories of lying in the dark as a child, listening to the sound of her father beating up her mother, taunted her. His drunken rages, breaking dishes, punching walls. Why did some men use their fists to make a point?
Hysterical laughter bubbled in her throat as she recalled the rage flaring in her abductor’s soulless eyes when he realized she wasn’t going to obey or beg or kiss his ass.
Closing her eyes, she forced her breathing to steady. He’d gone out again. He would be drinking. Would come home with another woman tonight. One a day for seven days, he’d told her.