Page 60 of Natalie's Nighthawk

“I’m thinking Natalie wouldn’t go into those woods, any woods, alone.”

“You think she was forced?”

“Seems crazy, I know. But it’s the logical conclusion. Especially after the threatening note.” But who? How? And more importantly, where? He needed to talk to Lucy.

Finch landed at the local airfield where Tin Man was waiting for them in his truck. It was decided that Finch would fly up to the cabin just to double-check she wasn’t, in fact, there. Then he would join them. As the helicopter lifted into the air, the truck was already careening down the road toward Lake Haven.

Arriving at Natalie’s fifteen minutes later, Graham jumped out before the truck came to a complete stop. Maddie met him at the door. “I need to talk to Lucy.”

“She’s still here. She’s with her parents in the living room.”

When Lucy spotted him, she jumped up and ran to him. He scooped her up, and she squeezed his neck with her tiny arms. “She’s lost. I know it. I saw her. She’s lost like me and Colin were.”

He sat down at the dining table, placing her on the edge of the table. An image of Natalie sitting in the same spot the day they made love here flashed through his brain. His heart clenched. He shoved the thought away for the moment. “Okay. Tell me from the beginning,” he coaxed. “When did you see her?”

“Friday. After school.”

“Where were you?”

“I was playing in the front yard. I saw her walk up the sidewalk that Colin and I take to school. I wanted to go to her,” she broke off.

“Why didn’t you?” Graham said more calmly than he felt. He needed to stay calm. Slow his panic if he was going to get the answers he needed from the frightened girl.

“She wasn’t alone.”

“Do you know who she was with?” His suspicions had been correct. She hadn’t gone alone. Now the question was, did she go willingly?

“It was that lady. The one who gave me the cookie after I got out of the hole.” Lauren?

“Do you remember her name? When she gave you the cookie, did she tell you her name?”

Lucy thought hard. “Sharon. Karen. No, that’s not it.”

“What did she look like?” he asked. He needed to make sure.

“Blonde hair. Taller than Miss Ghannon.” Graham took out his cell and scanned through his pictures. Finding one of Lauren, he held it out for Lucy to see.

“Could this be her?”

Her little face lit up. “Yeah, that’s her. She looked mad. Not as nice as she did when she gave me the cookie,” she whispered.

“Why do you say that?”

Her little shoulders shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it was the way she was walking. Kind of like marching. My mommy does that when she gets mad. And her face looked mean.”

“Okay. Do you remember where they went?”

Her face crumpled. “I know I shouldn’t have done it. I just wanted to be with Miss Ghannon. Mommy’s going to be so mad.”

Graham rushed to reassure her before he lost her to hysterics. “It’s okay, Lucy. You’re not going to get into trouble. Especially if what you tell me helps me find Miss Ghannon.”

“R … really?”

“Yup.”

She still fought to hold back tears. Then she leaned closer to whisper to him, “I followed them.”

“Good!” he praised, bolstering her courage. “Where did they go?

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