She snorted. “You’re telling me now?”
Miriam knew she’d hit a sore point. She’d stepped over a line.
“I’m sorry.”
“I think you should head home. Thank your mother for the eggs.”
She’d pissed her off. It took a lot to get her riled up, and she didn’t think for one minute that Hazel was mad at her. She was angry at her sister.
Miriam hugged her, told her she loved her, and then headed out.
Climbing back on her bike, she pedaled away, feeling her aunt’s disapproving eyes boring holes into her back. She rode down to where the street forked, and stopped, considering heading the long way home instead of passing the Stricklands again.
The long way would take her up through Alderpoint, a lonely stretch of road. If anything happened along the way, no one would hear her cries. Instead, she opted to go back the way she came. At least there she knew cops were patrolling. As soon as she was behind her aunt’s home, it would be a clear shot up into the hills.
Ten minutes tops and she would be out of Garberville. She adjusted her backpack, tightened it, and lowered her head to the breeze as she made her way out.
Passing the Strickland home, she was relieved to see the group was no longer outside.
Miriam made it out of Arthur Road, crossed Alderpoint Road, and veered off onto Timber Lane, a short dirt road that would take her through the woodland. She hadn’t made it but a few yards when the sound of a truck’s engine roared behind. A nervous glance over her shoulder revealed an old 1970s 4 x 4 barreling toward her.
She couldn’t see the driver, but with all the hooting and hollering they were doing, it was clear who they were.
The Stricklands.
She picked up the pace, pedaling as fast as she could.
There was nowhere to go except forward or back. Her heart pounded in her chest as she swerved around giant potholes. If she could just get to the end of the dirt road, they wouldn’t be able to…
The bumper hit her rear tire, and the next thing she knew, she was forced into a large pothole. The front end slammed hard against the rim, and she was thrown over the handlebars, landing hard in the ditch.
NINE Colby
Merced County
The fifteen-year-old was every bit as rambunctious as she appeared.
Colby had pulled her inside an unlocked mobile home and sat her down so she wouldn’t run. He wanted answers. She kept eyeing the door as she explained. He learned that when she said the residents were gone, she meant that the residents of Santa Nella had been transferred to Los Banos under an evacuation order. The city was located twelve miles east, a sprawling community of forty thousand people.
“It’s where they always go when there are forest fires. They have a hospital there. We have nothing here.” She was right. Santa Nella was a pit stop along the main highway, a growing community that was still lacking in amenities. “All we have is a fire station, the elementary school, a liquor store, the market, and a few fast-food joints. The place sucks, and I had every intention of getting out until…” she trailed off, looking more angry than sad.
Colby looked out the window.
It was quiet.
“Why are you still here?” he asked.
“My sister. Those assholes took her.”
Colby frowned. “The men I shot?”
She nodded.
“And your parents?”
“They stayed behind, a few other families did, but I think they’re gone now.”
He nodded. “Can’t be easy being here alone.”
She shrugged.
“What’s your name?”
“Eva. Eva Nixon.”
“And so where’s your sister, Eva?”
She pointed east. “The hotel. That’s where he holds them.”
“He?”
“Spider. Yeah. He took a few women from here, folks who stayed behind. That’s why I cut my hair, and found these boy’s clothes in my neighbor’s home, figured I might be able to slip by them.”
“Why haven’t you gone to the police?”
She laughed. “The police are too busy dealing with the larger cities to care about this place. We’re a speck on the map. That’s why they evacuated people to Los Banos. They don’t want to be running back and forth.”
“Come on. You’re telling me this guy is using a hotel to run some kind of trafficking business? Please. They wouldn’t allow that.”
“Who wouldn’t? Look around you. You see anyone else here?”
“The police.”
“Speak to them. They’re in Los Banos. Not here. That asshole didn’t move women to that hotel until everyone had evacuated.”
There was a break in the conversation. It made sense. No one around. No reason to return. Little to no transportation. A guy like Bill could run quite a lucrative enterprise. The question was what was he gaining from this?
Colby had to see this for himself. Sure, Jeb had told him that Bill had got mixed up in the trafficking business. But there had to be more to this. No one in their right mind would take these kinds of risks eleven days into a disaster. Police were still out there. They might not have been patrolling this community but someone would speak out, someone would say something. No amount of lawlessness would stop the cops from putting a dent in a trafficking organization.
“Slip by them. You said you plan to slip by them?”
“Yeah. To get her back.”
“Come on, Eva, you’re just a kid.”
“And?”
Colby shook his head and looked out. The streets were empty. “How many women are in that hotel?”
“How the hell would I know?”
“You’ve been spying on them, haven’t you?”
“Yeah, but they don’t hang around outside. They have guys patrolling.”
“So how did you intend to… slip by them?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I was biding my time. Waiting for the right
