Skeeter pointed toward a thicket of dense juniper and motioned for the boys to enter it. Next, he gestured to Ray to follow.
It was go time.
Emerging from the forest’s protective shadows felt like stepping from the wings of a live-action theater and into the center-stage spotlight. The rushed strategy the two men had pieced together now felt absurdly inadequate.
A charming house lay in the center of a sea of brown, knee-high Bermuda, a grass that didn’t grow naturally in the Smoky Mountains. Lizzy had sodded the area at some point. He could imagine how lovely this little country cabin would look surrounded by a lush, green yard. Had she done the work herself or hired a landscaper? How many contractors and laborers had gone missing when their jobs were complete?
He ran toward the front door, ignoring the two shuttered windows on either side of the porch. Those shutters would make it more difficult for Lizzy to shoot him without some noise; the knowledge gave him a small boost of confidence. Skeeter had already disappeared around the corner.
So much was riding on Ray’s knowledge of Lizzy and their history together. She hadn’t killed him when she’d had the chance. Actually, she’d had many chances, both inside and outside the warehouse. The fact was significant, and the detail upon which the success of their plan now hinged.
From the bottom step of the cabin, Ray yelled, “I know you’re in there, Lizzy! Come out and let’s talk.”
A scuffling sound came from inside the house. Harlan believed Willa and Fergus were in there, constrained in some way, details unknown. Accepting this limited information as fact required a large dose of reality suspension and an even larger leap of faith. Ray desperately hoped Harlan and his astral-plane intel would prove accurate.
More scuffling sounds.
Ray charged up the steps and pounded on the wooden door.
“Lizzy! You know you don’t want to hurt a child. You told me that in the woods. Your rules, remember?”
The doorknob moved an inch to the left, then another inch. Ray held his breath; the Mossberg’s muzzle pointed toward the ground.
The door creaked halfway open, just like in a horror flick. Nothing but darkness beyond.
“Lizzy,” he said, his voice lower and reasonable-sounding now, “Please. We can work something out.”
“Hi,” a high-pitched voice squeaked from inside. A moment later, a head with flaxen pigtails appeared in the opening.
“Hi,” Ray replied. “You must be Willadean.”
“Yep. And you’re the guy who delivered candy to me and the boys. Miss Lizzy said your name is Ray.”
He smiled. “That’s right. Are you well? Is everything...okay in there?”
The instant grin looked just like her brother’s. “Oh, yes. We’re being treated very well.”
“Fergus is with you, then?”
“Yes, sir. Mister Fergus is also being treated very well.”
Something about the sing-song quality of the girl’s voice sounded phony, like a child star in a Broadway musical. Leapin’ lizards! Ray wished Skeeter had been standing nearby so he could gauge the grandfather’s reaction to it.
“I’m happy to hear that. May I speak with Lizzy? Is she in there?”
“She said she can’t come to the door at the moment. She’s indisposed.”
Lizzy’s unsettling giggle emerged from somewhere behind the child.
Willadean’s Adam’s apple bobbed, normally a nervous ‘tell,’ but the little girl sounded casual and unafraid. Perky. “Perhaps you should come back another time.” The sun’ll come out tomorrow...bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow there’ll be sun.
“I can’t do that, Willadean. Lizzy, I need to talk to you,” he said, projecting his voice above the child, toward the source of the giggle, and loud enough — he hoped — to cover the noise of Skeeter entering through the back.
“The .380 I took from your warehouse is pointed at the back of the adorable head you’re looking at,” Lizzy said. Her words were slurred, like she was tipsy. Or drugged. The image of her sleeve exploding flashed through his mind. How much damage had Otis’s shot inflicted? “How did you find me, by the way? You’re no woodsman, Ray. That was evident when I captured you and your friend. Someone led you here. Was it the woman you were with? I doubt it was the man. I’m fairly certain I left him in worse shape than he left me.”
“Just let the girl go. You can keep Fergus. He’s a big boy.” Ray hated hearing himself say those words. Sacrificing Fergus was a calculated risk. If he could get the child to safety, they would come back for his friend.
Another giggle. This one sounded tired.
“You read my journal, Ray. Did anything in there give you the impression I’m magnanimous?”
“No. I know exactly what you are. But I also know what you said about rules. You’re not going to hurt a child.”
As he spoke to Lizzy, he watched the girl. The intelligent eyes blinked. Then one eyelid dropped and raised. Willadean had winked, but what did it mean? What silent signal was she sending him?
“You have no idea what I’ll do. Sometimes I don’t even know what I’ll do.”
The consonants softened with each sentence. Whatever drug Lizzy had taken was making her sleepy. There may never be a better opportunity.
He squatted on the front porch, eye-level with the child, hoping her body would block Lizzy from seeing his face and the words he planned to mouth to her.
Before he had time to do anything else, the sound of rifle shots followed by the crash of a door bursting from its hinges propelled him to action. Almost without
