Page 99 of The Sleeping Girls
Because she had a bad feeling he would be back.
She thought she had no energy or fight left in her. But she managed to find it. She had to escape.
The pinging water grew louder. Stronger. As if rain was gushing in somewhere. She breathed in the icy chill as she rolled to her belly and began to drag herself across the room again. Feeling along the rough wall surface, she bit back a cry. She’d only made it halfway around before she’d passed out earlier.
Her arms strained as she pulled herself inch by inch along the floor. She felt for a window. A door. Crawled through a puddle of water streaming inside. Cold water seeped through her clothes. The sound of the wind wheezed from the right. If the wind was blowing through, there had to be an opening.
Hope fueled her determination, and she dragged her body toward it. Her limbs ached. Her head hurt. The rough floor scraped her hands.
Another foot and she spotted a thin stream of light in the distance. She clawed her way toward it. Grunting with frustration and exhaustion, she finally reached the light. A door.
She inhaled a deep breath as she crawled over the edge and to the outside. Rain splattered the ground. It was so dark outside she could barely see. She crawled forward and mud sucked at her. Eyes squinting through the fog, she saw trees bowing in the wind.
Then headlights.
Terror shot through her, and she struggled to move faster. Get into the woods. Hide somewhere. If only her hands and feet weren’t bound, she could run.
She made it another foot. Heard the car door slam. A loud curse.
Footsteps. Shouting.
She tried to find the shadows and hide in the bushes, but he had a flashlight and shined it all around. The light blinded her. Then he was on her.
Grabbed her by the hair.
She screamed and kicked, but pain shot through her skull. Then he hauled her through the mud back to the building.
ONE HUNDRED ELEVEN
RED CLAY MOUNTAIN
Ellie made a quick call to her boss and updated him. “Bianca Copenhagen was taken from the high school. Ranger McClain found another grave at Landrum’s childhood home. Dr. Whitefeather is at the old Landrum House with McClain and says the body looks as if it is an adult female,” she said. “With the timing of the disappearance of Mary Landrum, my guess is it’s her body, but Dr. Whitefeather will confirm with the autopsy.”
“Do you think Woodruff killed her?” Captain Hale asked.
“I don’t know. Landrum’s father and Anna Marie’s biological father both had motive.”
Her boss must have popped a peppermint in his mouth, a substitute for a cigarette, because she heard him chomping on it. “By the way, Deputy Landrum burst into the room and confronted his father, asked him if he killed the mother.”
Ellie cursed, watching as the ERT arrived and Derrick went to confer with them. “What happened?”
“I dragged the deputy from the room. But his father claimed innocence. Then he demanded his lawyer.”
“Do you believe him?” Ellie asked.
“On the fence.”
Ellie agreed. If Heath’s father killed his wife and daughter and set up Darnell, she’d throw the book at him. “Even with the attorney, we can hold Gil Landrum for twenty-four hours. So make sure he stays put. And check his alibi for earlier today.” If he was at work and now at the station while Bianca disappeared, that eliminated him as a suspect.
“Done.”
“There’s one other person with motive. Anna Marie’s birth father. Jason Jones. We’re on our way to see him now.” They hadn’t called because she and Derrick wanted the element of surprise on their side.
Another call beeped in, and Ellie transferred over. “Detective Reeves.”
“It’s Bryce,” the sheriff said. “Ellie, they called from the hospital. Caitlin O’Connor has regained consciousness.”
Finally, a break. “Get over there now and talk to her. Maybe she can identify her attacker.”