Page 16 of High Country Escape

“Oh, I overheard someone say you were in one of the tiny houses,” Debra said. “They weren’t hard to find.”

Roxanne felt sick, but tried to hide it. Debra moved farther into the house. She picked up a small ceramic vase from a table, examined it and put it down. “You have some nice things,” she said.

Roxanne said nothing. Dalton cleared his throat. “Was there something you wanted?” he asked.

Debra turned to face them. “I wanted to know about Roxanne’s accident,” she said. “What happened?”

“It’s over now,” she said. “It doesn’t matter.”

Debra pursed her lips and sighed. Roxanne half expected the other woman to scold her for not sharing the details of her ordeal. Instead, she said, “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”

Roxanne glanced at Dalton, who was frowning at Debra. “What is it?” she asked.

Debra’s gaze shifted to Dalton. “It would be better if I told you when we were alone.”

She didn’t want to be alone with this woman. She couldn’t even say why. Debra was annoying but harmless, surely. “Tell me now,” Roxanne said.

“It’s about Billy.” Another glance at Dalton.

Dalton moved closer to Roxanne. “What about Billy?” he asked.

Debra’s eyes widened. “You told him about Billy?”

“I never call him that,” Roxanne said. “But yes, he knows about William Ledger.” She rarely told anyone but revealing her past to Dalton had been surprisingly easy.

“Well, well. You two certainly have gotten close quickly.” Debra smirked—that really was the only way to describe the look.

Roxanne fought the urge to fidget. “What do you want to tell me?” she asked.

“They let him out of prison. Can you believe that? After what he did to you and Alice. And to Betty. Betty is my sister,” she told Dalton. “I’m sure Billy Ledger kidnapped and kept her before he took Alice and Mary. Even if Roxanne won’t admit to knowing anything about Betty.”

“Idon’tknow anything about her,” Roxanne said. “I wasn’t lying.”

Debra shrugged. “Anyway, Billy is old now. We’ve all moved on. Here’s hoping he has, too.”

“Why do you call him Billy?” Dalton asked.

“That’s what Mary and Alice called him,” Debra said. “I read that in the newspaper stories about the trial.”

Billy was the name Ledger had made them call him. A friendly name for a man who was not their friend.

“Anyway, I doubt you have anything to worry about,” Debra continued. “He’s not likely to find you, anyway, since you changed your name and moved around so much.”

“You found me,” Roxanne said.

Debra nodded. “I did. But I worked at it. You didn’t make it easy. But I was able to find the record where you changed your name, and I have a friend who could look up driver’s license records for me. Then I went to your last address and talked to people. Someone there told me you were moving here.” She shrugged. “I’m really good at talking to people. And I’m smart and persistent. From everything I’ve read, Billy wasn’t all thatbright. Just mean. Dumb and mean. A nasty combination, for sure.”

Roxanne shuddered.

Dalton’s arm was around her again, steadying her. “Thanks for stopping by,” he said. “Roxanne needs to rest now. Doctor’s orders.”

Anger flashed across Debra’s features but was quickly masked. “I hope you’re feeling better soon,” she said. “See you.”

Dalton walked Debra to the door. Roxanne followed more slowly. They stood together at the window and watched her get into her car and drive off. Only then did Roxanne turn away, hugging her arms across her stomach.

“What was that about Betty?” he asked. “Or would you rather not say?”

She liked that he always gave her the option of not talking. “Debra cornered me in the coffee shop last week,” she said. “She knew who I was. She knew about William Ledger—he insisted we call him Billy. I didn’t even know his last name until after he was arrested. Anyway, Debra’s older sister disappeared when she was thirteen and the family thinks Ledger took her. Debra wanted to know if I knew anything about that, but I don’t.”