Page 54 of Run for Her Life
But for now this man was going to do. The man who had walked into the sheriff’s station like he owned the place. The man everyone believed to be abusing his kids. He wouldn’t be missed. He didn’t deserve to be missed.
A fading voice inside her told her to stop. Her mind was being pulled in all directions. She really needed to stop doing this. The world wasn’t hers alone to fix. And this wasn’t the way to do it. But what if it was? What if she could save those children this way?
A messaged popped up on her phone. It was from Simon.
S: I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable, Z. I was in a bad place. Talk soon.
She sighed. That was the last thing she wanted to do. It didn’t help that Simon wasn’t someone she could avoid forever—but nor did she want to. He was one of the rare few people in her life who wasn’t in transit.
The wind howled through the railyard, whipping between the freight cars, rattling loose metal, sending dust and grit skidding across the gravel. She parked her car just outside the reach of the floodlights and rolled down the window. The cold air snaked through the seams of her jacket, nipping against her skin.
He was right there. Hard hat tilted back, sleeves pushed up, standing like he had nothing to fear. He was ugly—the way he talked and moved was crass and jarring. Like he thought he was better than everyone else. Like he was doing them a favor by being there.
Zoe clenched her jaw, flexed her fingers against the cold. She could go to him. Right now. Let him feel powerless. Let him feel the pain he inflicted. Let him feel that agonizing helplessness of injustice.
Don’t do it.
She climbed out of the car. The wind pulled at her, pushing her forward, dragging at her like it was urging her on. She took a step. Just one. The itch was too strong; her insides were coated with it. This was a line she’d never crossed. But maybe nowwas the time. Who was she going to find who was worse than someone abusing their own children?
She took another step and a gust slammed into the freight cars, making them groan against the rails. The floodlights flickered, and in that brief second of darkness, his shadow stretched long across the ground, swallowed by the night.
She could do it, right? It wasn’t the worst thing. Happy, sweet Zoe could do something wrong. She was someone who apologized to fire hydrants and streetlamps if she walked into them. Surely, she could do something bad for once.
And then her phone rang. A sharp, trilling sound pierced through the dark. Luckily, she was far away enough that no one had noticed her. It was Aiden. What the hell did he want now?
“What?” she snapped.
“Hello to you too,” he said, instantly making her frown. Since when did a stoic Aiden develop a personality? “What are you doing?”
“I…” She blushed like she was a child caught stealing candy. “Running an errand. Why?”
“I just came back to the station because I left my wallet here and I ran into Ethan, who was working late going over Jackie’s cell phone records and looking very distressed.”
“What did he find?” Her heart rose in her throat.
“He ran one of the numbers on her call list in the weeks leading up to Annabelle going missing. It belongs to Jim.”
“Who’s that?”
“Jim Gray. Lisa’s husband.”
THIRTY-THREE
“I want to live your life!” Gina whistled on the phone. “Look at you, Zoe. Making out with a married man.”
“Shut up, G! He’s separated. And I gave in only for a second afterheinitiated it.” Zoe groaned. She had done a good job of burying that memory somewhere deep inside her. “Please tell me I wasn’t a total asshole.”
“You weren’t a total asshole.”
She pinched the bridge of her nose, an ache pulsing in her stomach. “His wife would hate me. And rightfully, so.”
“She would but she did walk out on him. It’s not cheating. Meanwhile the most exciting thing to happen to me is that I learned from a teacher that your favorite nephew has expanded his vocabulary by learning the word ‘dick.’ Yes, Zoe. Dick. I can feel Mom judging me.”
“She’d be proud of you,” Zoe said. It wasn’t often they spoke of Rachel. Zoe always thought it was too painful for Gina, who didn’t have that many memories of her. Though Zoe had promised Rachel to forget about her and move on, it was Gina who had kept that promise. Gina with her husband and her children and her house in the suburbs. Gina with her summer evenings spent drinking lemonade on the porch. Gina with herSunday mornings busy trying to shepherd the kids for morning hockey practice.
Meanwhile Zoe had autopsy pictures of Jackie laid out in front of her.
“Well, you’re overthinking this.” Gina’s voice disrupted her train of thought. “We’re all allowed to be messy sometimes, sis.”
