Page 61 of The Ice Sisters

Or maybe to join them. Then she could hold her babies in her arms forever.

But… what if she went to hell instead and never got to be reunited with them?

Guilt overwhelmed her. That would be fitting for a mother who hadn’t protected her daughters.

The room spun and she felt herself slipping into unconsciousness.

Joel’s image came next. Handsome, charming, smiling, down on one knee with a sheepish grin on his face as he proposed. His beaming smile when she’d walked down the aisle and met him in the rose-draped gazebo at the winery where they’d declared theirvows. She saw his face light up at the sight of the pregnancy test. Heard the shock and excitement when she’d surprised him with the ultrasound of the twins.

“Not one, but two,” he’d said as he picked her up and twirled her around.

Then the birth when they’d first held the tiny infants in their arms. He’d kissed her so gently and murmured, “We’re finally having the family I’ve always wanted. I love you, Claire. I always will.”

She loved him and the girls, too. More than life. But now they were all gone…

“Please just kill me,” she begged as she heard things go quiet upstairs.

His evil laugh pierced her ears as he slapped a piece of duct tape over her mouth. “That would be easy for you, darlin’, wouldn’t it? But do you deserve it after your lies?” His sinister chuckle filled her ears. “I think you should have to live with the knowledge that it’s your fault your family is dead.”

SEVENTY-TWO

Claire’s eyes pleaded with him, but he had no sympathy. Besides, Barbara would suffer even more with Claire’s death on her conscience.

He locked her inside the dark room, then made his way into his private inner sanctuary to wait until the cops had gone. Instead of engines firing up to leave though, a few minutes later, he heard another motor.

Looking through the tiny window, he saw headlights then a pick-up truck careen down the drive and park. Two men dressed in jeans and ranger’s hats stepped from the vehicle, a dog by one of the men’s sides. The shaggy-haired ranger walked over to that female detective, the one he’d seen on the news, and the other cop who looked more like a fed. The detective gestured around the exterior of the house and the ranger nodded.

A litany of curse words rolled off his tongue. Shit. He’d thought they were finished. But now they were going to do a full search outside.

They’d probably find Claire’s husband. Not that he cared.

That stupid wimp Joel had been nothing but a suck-up to his wife. Even when he told him what Claire and the other women had done, he’d fought like a dog to protect Claire and the kids.

Tossing him in the river had been a good move. Maybe they wouldn’t find him and he’d rot there forever with the fish and snakes.

SEVENTY-THREE

Cord intended to make it his mission to keep an eye on Modelle. He’d been watching the bastard’s house when Ellie texted.

“What are we looking for?” he asked.

“This house belongs to Claire and Joel Woodston,” Ellie explained. “We believe the twins, Taylor and Heidi, lived with them, but there’s no sign of either of them inside. It’s possible the man who killed the twins also murdered the parents. Could have happened during the abduction.”

Cord clenched his teeth. “If they’re on the property we’ll find them.”

“I did a preliminary sweep of the exterior of the house when we arrived,” Derrick said. “But I’ll look again and take the south side nearest the road.”

“Copy that,” Cord agreed. He and Milo formed a plan to cover more territory. With Benji at Cord’s side, he and the men divided up and launched into the search. The woods were thick, some trees so close together they almost created a wall. Using his flashlight and following Benji, he hiked through the terrain, listening for the sound of the river to guide him.

Cord kept his eyes trained on the ground, looking for footprints or evidence someone had been in the area. Snowdrifts dotted the landscape and the fresh snowfall made it difficult to track.

A quarter-mile in, Benji’s ears perked up and he paused to sniff a section of weeds, then he sprinted toward the river. Cord shined his light on the patch of ground where Benji was and paused when he saw what had sparked the dog’s interest.

Blood.

Cord noted the spot to pass onto forensics then raced after Benji. Briars and weeds clawed at his jean-clad legs as he followed Benji’s trail. Benji had reached the edge of the river where a small wooden dock jutted a few feet in, and he was digging at the edge with his paws.

Cord hurried to him and shined his light over the ground, beneath the edge of the dock.

---