Page 100 of The Ice Sisters

Barbara pressed a hand to her chest as if it was hard to breathe. “No, this doesn’t make any sense.”

Ellie’s mind raced. “This is what we know about him so far. He was abandoned by his mother then his father remarried when Jeb was four to a woman with a fifteen-year-old daughter. They lived in a small house outside Gatlinburg. But shortly after their marriage, his father and new wife were killed in a car accident and Jeb was sent to live with an uncle.”

Barbara’s face paled. “What was the name of the woman his father married?”

“Grace Huckleberry.”

“Oh, my God,” Barbara gasped. “Grace Huckleberry was my mother.”

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY

GNAT’S LANDING

Ellie studiedBarbara’s reaction, seeing shock and confusion. “I… don’t understand. Jeb… we called him Nate. I… remember him,” Barbara whispered. “He was so little and shy, but I tried to be friendly to him. We were a family for such a short time I didn’t think he’d even remember me.” She ran a shaky hand through her hair. “I don’t understand why he’d hurt me. Or… why he didn’t tell me who he was when he took the job at the school.”

Because he was stalking her. “When was the last time you saw him?” Ellie asked.

Pain wrenched Barbara’s face as if the memories were bombarding her. “The day our parents were killed. The… social worker came to the hospital and… she took him away. I… can still remember him sobbing.”

“So Jeb—Nate—was traumatized by the death of his father.”

The color drained from Barbara’s face. “We both were… I was in shock. I was with them when they had the accident and was trapped in the car.” Her breathing turned choppy. “I heard my mother screaming. Watched her take her last breath. I’ve had nightmares for years about it.”

“Then what happened?”

“They said Nate had an uncle who’d raise him but he didn’t want a teenager he didn’t even know. I thought Nate had it good. That he had a family while I was sent to a group home.”

Sympathy for Barbara suffused Ellie. “I’m sorry that happened to both of you. But right now we have to find him. Do you have any idea where he’d take the girls?”

Barbara shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.

ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-ONE

GNAT’S LANDING

Ellie and Derrick left Barbara in stunned shock.

A half hour later Ellie parked at Huller’s house, an older log cabin set in the woods with thick oaks and pines surrounding it. The land was swampy and overgrown. In the summer, she imagined gnats swarming in droves.

She surveyed the area for a vehicle and spotted a rusty-looking pick-up beneath a makeshift carpet. Was Huller inside the house?

“I don’t see a barn or an outbuilding,” Ellie said as she pulled her gun. “I’ll check inside. He could have stashed the girls here and already be on the run.”

“I’ll look around outside,” Derrick said. “If he killed them, he could have buried or dumped their bodies somewhere on the premises.”

Ellie nodded and they divided up. Except for the shaded patches in the yard, most of the snow had melted. The ground was mushy, damp leaves and pine straw clinging to her boots as she walked to the front door.

She approached with caution, pausing to listen as she jiggled the locked door. Although she had no warrant, the minutes were ticking away, so she picked the lock with a hairpin. She heldher breath as she entered, scanning the dark interior. Worn furniture and scratched wooden floors. Drapes torn. Take-out pizza boxes and bags littered the vinyl counter tops and empty beer bottles filled the trash.

She checked the pantry. Bare. No girls inside.

Easing down the hall, she found a small bedroom that looked as if it had been ransacked. As if Huller had swept through, erratically grabbing clothes to take with him.

She checked the tiny bathroom next. Just like the bedroom, it looked as if he’d rushed through and gathered toiletries. She opened the medicine cabinet and found several medication bottles. Also Tylenol, gauze, antiseptic.

Curious about the medication, she picked up the first one and examined it.

Risperdal.

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