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“Did you believe the danger to be from the Patton family?”

“Yes.” Another confession rose in her throat, but she choked it back.

If she told them she’d been afraid of her own family back then, they would ask for her reasoning. It was all a big web of loyalties and broken ties.

“Did you believe the danger to be from Brett specifically?”

“No.”

Jennifer turned to glance at Brett over her shoulder. “Would you like to continue this conversation alone?”

“No. I know Brett didn’t do this to me, and I know he wouldn’t have hurt me back then either.”

Jennifer nodded, signaling for Thea to continue.

“I’ve been living in the Southeast for the last five years.”

“Did you believe yourself to be in danger there?” Jennifer asked.

“No.”

“Why did you come back?”

The flashes of pain and betrayal were fresh in her mind. Coming home had done her no favors. “My mom is sick. She’s been battling cancer for years, but she got news from the doctor recently that the treatments aren’t working the way they should. I wanted to see her.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your mom,” Asa said.

Thea bit her lip and nodded once. The wound from her mom’s diagnosis was still too raw.

“My cousin, Emerson Howard, called me last week and told me. I asked for time off work and flew up here. I saw my mom on Saturday night.”

“Last Saturday?” Jennifer asked.

“Yes. The incident happened right after I saw Mom.”

“Where were you?”

“Emerson’s house is located on the property that borders my mom’s. I had planned to stay with Emerson. I walked through the woods between the houses.”

Thea’s breath halted in her lungs. Would she be accused of trespassing? Her mom would never charge her, but if Uncle Tommy found out or already knew, would he use that against her?

“I spoke to my mom then started back toward Emerson’s house. I was walking along the road on my way to the woods when a truck drove past. The truck stopped just ahead of me, and two people got out.”

“Could you tell whether they were male or female?” Jennifer asked.

“Male.”

“Can you describe the vehicle?”

“It was an older pickup truck. It was a dark color, but I couldn’t tell you exactly what it was.”

“What happened when they got out of the truck?”

“They started toward me, and I ran for the woods.”

Jennifer asked for the address of Thea’s mom’s house and a few other location details before they moved on to the attack.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know who it was or what they looked like. They were much bigger than me, and they didn’t speak. It was dark, and I couldn’t see anything.”