Page 72 of Little Child Gone

“Taylor’s okay?” Jared looked genuinely relieved. “Where did he go?”

“He’s a smart kid,” Nikki said. “Thinks like an investigator.”

“What are you talking about?” Jared demanded.

“He found Rebecca’s school photo. And the others,” Nikki said. “The ones you kept from there. He noticed your reflection in one of them. The night before going back to school after the break, Amelia told him she thought there was a camera in her wall. He found the page Elena had set up for Bianca and her children.”

She wished Taylor were here to see the shock on Jared’s face. He likely hadn’t thought a teenager would be his demise.

Jared’s chest heaved. “How did you find me? No one knows about this place.”

“Elena did. This is where Bianca first stayed when she escaped you. The cabin’s still in Bianca’s name.”

“No.” Jared shivered in the freezing cold. “She told me it was in my name. Even showed me the document.”

“Like I said, Bianca beat you.” Nikki struggled to hide her smile, knowing it would set Jared off. “But you can still win this one. Go now, get a head start. Let Penny go back to her mother.”

“Good idea.” Liam’s voice came from behind Nikki. “I’ve got a scope and made harder shots than this, Jared.”

Nikki almost smiled. A few years ago, Liam had made an incredible shot to save Nikki from one of the worst killers she’d encountered. “He hit the guy on the other side of the St. Croix. He won’t miss you this close.”

Penny glanced up at her father, who watched as though he were in a trance. Nikki kept talking before Penny could realize the danger her father was in. “Penny, don’t you want to see Taylor?”

Penny inched forward. Nikki held her breath, waiting for Jared to reach for Penny and the gunfire that would follow if he did. But Jared let Penny crawl to Nikki. She stowed her weapon and pulled off her coat, wrapping it around the freezing child.

“Now you’re going to arrest me,” Jared said.

Liam crept out of the trees, his rifle still pointed at Jared. Nikki glanced at her partner, who nodded. State troopers were ready.

“A deal’s a deal.” She hefted Penny in her arms. “But you better go now.”

Jared watched as she backed up to Liam, holding Penny against her. Stunned, he watched as they moved toward the trees, giving him a clear path to run.

Given his exhausted state, he’d be lucky to reach the other side of the forest.

“Is Taylor really okay?” Penny asked.

“Go on,” Liam said. “I’ve got eyes on him.”

Nikki squeezed the little girl and turned to walk back to the cabin through the dark woods. “Sure is. I talked to him myself.”

“No!” Jared’s terrified voice cut through the air, followed by a splash. Nikki spun in the snow, nearly falling. Caden stood at the edge of the dock, staring motionless down into the dark, frozen river.

THIRTY

Liam raced to the dock and Nikki followed. She handed Penny to Caden, who stood motionless watching Liam shine his light into the water. Nikki flung herself down on the dock next to Liam. His flashlight made the exposed water look like thick, black ink. “Do you see him?”

“No,” Liam said. “But the currents are fast.”

Nikki had fallen into the frozen water once, pushed by the serial killer Frost. The thin ice near the shore had given Caitlin enough time to pull Nikki out, but she could still remember the water pressure in her lungs, sinking deeper into the lake…

Liam nudged her. “Don’t look into the water if it bothers you. He’s gone.”

Nikki looked at the surrounding ice, but several inches of snow covered the lake. “That’s a big hole.”

Liam glanced back at the two siblings. “Big enough for him.”

“Did he push him?” Nikki whispered.

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