Page 70 of Dead Man's Hollow

“Well, I don’t.” She’s pale and shaking now. “Take me back to your house. Now.”

“That’s not happening,” he tells her calmly.

“Why are you doing this?” she wails.

“Because you’ve screwed everything up by coming back here. You should have stayed gone. Now you’re causing problems.”

“I don’t want to cause problems,” she assures him. “We’ll leave—today. Please, Rich. I don’t want to do this.”

“Chloe, get out of the car.”

He unbuckles his seat belt and then hurries around to the passenger side and wrenches the door open. She gives him a long, frightened look, unclips the harness, and sits unmoving as if she’s trying to figure out how to get away.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he tells her. “But you have to get out of the car.”

Unable to devise a way out of her predicament, Chloe reluctantly exits the car. She stands shakily in front of Rich, who vibrates with barely contained agitation. Her stomach twists. Despite what he says, she feels unsafe and vulnerable. She neither trusts nor likes this man, who is effectively a stranger.

Maisy extricates Jordanafrom a conversation with Diana’s daughters and pulls her into the laundry room off the kitchen.

“Chloe’s gone.”

Jordana gapes at her. “What do you mean, she’sgone?”

“She was out back, and now she’s not. She’s nowhere in the house, and she’s not answering her cell phone.”

“You don’t think … could she have had another episode?” Her face is ashen.

“It’s a strong possibility,” Maisy admits. “Bastian and I are going to look for her.”

“And Emilie, right? Isn’t that what snapped Chloe out of it last time?”

“It is, but he doesn’t want to chance it. He thinks if Chloe doesn’t recognize Emilie, the girl will be devastated. I understand where he’s coming from. Could you imagine how you’d feel if your own mother didn’t remember you?”

Jordana’s expression is sickly. “That would really sting.”

“Right. She’s occupied with her cousins right now. Bastian and I are going to slip out and comb the neighborhood.”

“I’ll come, too.”

Maisy shakes her head. “No, you have to stay here and keep the Ryan sisters calm. Amy is insisting she wants to look for Chloe, and you know Kristy and Diana will want to do the same. But Bastian doesn’t want her to be overwhelmed or freaked out when we find her. Your job is to stop them from helping.”

Jordana lowers her chin. “And how exactly do you expect me to do that?”

“Improvise,” Maisy tells her.

Bastian appears in the doorway.

“Are you ready to go?” he asks.

“Ready.” Maisy fishes her car key out of her bag.

They’re halfway out the door when Amy calls her name. She turns. Amy’s holding up a mobile phone.

“It’s Chloe’s. It was on the coffee table. Wherever she is, she won’t be answering her phone.” Her expression is unreadable.

Jordana appears behind Amy, takes her by the elbow, and gently guides her back to the kitchen as Maisy and Bastian go outside. Maisy starts down the walkway and stops suddenly. Bastian bumps into her back.

“I’m sorry.”