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They toss around some more ideas. Theo’s frustration is rising. None of this is helping him find Halley.
“I have to go back to Brockville. Whatever is happening with Halley, it stems from there. I’m not convinced now that she ever left. And if there’s a chance they’re trafficking, we have cause to tear that place apart.”
“I don’t disagree,” Lemke says. “We’ll keep in touch if there is anything new. Sorry we didn’t find her, but we’ll keep looking here.”
“Hey, you did great helping ID the drivers. Thank you. You should loop in Baird Early in Marchburg. He has some CODIS data that you can plug into your machine there. Maybe you can find some more missing or murdered people with ties to Brockville.”
“I’ll do that.” Ross shakes his hand; Lemke follows suit. “Good to meet you. I’ll shoot you more info as we get it.”
Theo looks at his watch. “I have a four-and-a-half-hour drive ahead of me. See if you can’t find me enough to get my team into Brockville with a search warrant. Anything, okay? Anything at all.”
Ross’s eyes gleam with the challenge. “You got it.”
“What if we can’t get anything?” Lemke asks.
Theo shrugs. “Then I’ll go in myself.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Halley
When Halley was little, her dad used to massage her head when she had a bad headache. She was too young for the heavy-duty painkillers that would help alleviate the migraines, so they went for old-fashioned cures. Cool cloths, dark rooms, gentle massage. It helped; it always did.
She is relieved that he is stroking her hair and running his fingers lightly around her temples now. Her head is in his lap, and her eyes are screwed shut against the pain.
“Relax,” her dad says. “You’re okay. You’re going to be just fine.”
His voice is odd and thick. His hands feel bigger than normal. Stronger. They are pressing too hard. She shifts. “That hurts.”
The pressure doesn’t let up.
“Daddy, stop. You’re hurting me.”
The pressure releases, and she breathes a huge sigh of relief. “It’s a bad one. I can’t see anything.”
He is running the lock of white hair through his fingers, tugging on it uncomfortably. “Dad, seriously, stop.”
“So beautiful.” The voice croons to her. “I made this. I got inside you and left my mark on you. I’ve been with you all this time. And you still don’t remember me. I’m wounded.”
Not her father.
She tenses, realizing she is tied down. There is nowhere to go. It is dark, pitch black.
Keep your head. Don’t panic. Don’t freak out.
“Who are you? Why should I know you?”
“Oh, Halley Bear. The most pivotal moment of your life. Think back. Think.”
And as he says it, the memories come back.
Ian. Her sister’s boyfriend. The boy Cat met at camp. The one their parents fought with her about, over and over. Warning her he was trouble. Forbidding her to see him. Cat was in love, though. She wasn’t about to stop seeing the dark and dangerous young man she’d met. Who she talked to constantly. Who followed her home.
Who killed Halley’s mother.
“Run, Halley Bear. Run.”
“Stay down. Don’t move. Make him think you’re dead.”
