Page 41 of High Country Escape

“Alice and I played together, then we split an ice cream she bought from a stand there. I never had money for ice cream, so that was a special treat. She promised to come back the next day. I went early and waited and sure enough, she came and we played again. I was so happy. So starved for attention.”

She sat on the side of the bed, still hugging herself, not looking at him, but at some point in the past. “After a few days of this, she invited me to come to her house to play. She said her dad had said she could invite me for dinner. I wasn’t supposed to do anything like that without permission, but I was afraid the group mom would say no. So I decided I would go anyway and worry about the consequences later. Getting to play with Alice would be worth any punishment.” She choked on the last word and Dalton came and sat beside her. But he didn’t touch her. She looked so fragile, he feared she might shatter.

“I didn’t pay much attention to the man driving the car. Alice and I sat in the back seat and talked the whole way to her house. I don’t even know how far we drove. When we got to the house, she took me to her room. It had twin beds with pretty quilts on them, and some toys. We played and talked and I was so happy. But it began to get late. I started to worry I would be in big trouble. I said I needed to go home and Alice told me I couldn’t. I had to stay with her now. Something about the way she said it frightened me. I ran to the door, but I couldn’t open it. ‘You can’t get out,’ she told me. ‘The door is locked.’ I started screaming that I had to go home. Alice grabbed me and begged me to be quiet, but I wouldn’t be. Then Ledger burst in. He grabbed me and shoved me into a closet. I cried and beat on the door andwhen I finally wore myself out, I couldn’t hear anyone. It was dark and hot in there. Alice told me later I was in there for three days before he let me out.”

She leaned against him and he held her tightly. Anger over what had been done to her overwhelmed him. He held on as much to comfort her as to keep himself here in this room, instead of giving into the impulse to go out and search for William Ledger and hurt the man. He tried to focus on Roxanne instead. He thought she was crying, but she was so silent he couldn’t tell. He stroked her hair and whispered, “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Over and over.

After a long time she pulled away and wiped at her eyes. She looked at him, more calmly now. “I’m not saying he wouldn’t grab a girl off the street,” she said. “I don’t know that at all. I just... I wanted you to know what happened to me.”

The moment felt precious and fragile. He didn’t want to spoil it by talking too much. “Thank you for trusting me with that,” he said and laced his fingers with hers.

They sat like this for a long minute, then she gently withdrew her hand. “You need to rest now,” she said.

“Are you going to be okay?”

She met his gaze. He saw sadness there, but also strength. “I’m good,” she said. “My memories may make me sad, but that’s in the past. I’m in a much better place here.”

What kind of place was he in? Worried over a little girl he didn’t even know. Confused about where he stood with this woman he was growing to care for a great deal. Did she see him as merely a friend, or potentially more?

Because he wanted more. Maybe even more than she could give.

Chapter Eleven

By midmorning the next day, Roxanne gave up trying to focus on work and drove to the campground where Sarah Michaelson had disappeared the day before. A plea for searchers had been broadcast on social media, but Roxanne was still stunned by the number of vehicles crowding both sides of the dirt road leading to the campground.

She followed a stream of people to a field where signs directed volunteers to gather. Dozens of men and women and several dogs milled about while people in orange safety vests tried to direct them to gather in groups. The throb of a helicopter pulsed overhead and a group of ATVs raced by on the road behind the field.

“Roxanne!” The shout carried above the cacophony.

Before Roxanne could even turn around, Debra had hold of her arm and was pulling her out of line. “I need to talk to you,” Debra said.

“Debra, I don’t want to talk right now.” Roxanne pulled free of the other woman’s hold.

Debra leaned in so close Roxanne could see where her eyeliner had smeared. “Don’t tell me you’re not thinking the same thing I am,” she said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Doesn’t this sound like something Billy Ledger would do?” Debra spoke in a harsh whisper.

“Why do you say that?” Roxanne found herself whispering, too. As if most people overhearing them would even know who Ledger was.

“It’s what he did to you, isn’t it?” Debra asked. “A ten-year-old girl, taken off the streets near her home.”

The words sent a chill through her. “How do you know that?” she asked.

“I read all the newspaper accounts of Ledger’s crimes. I’ve been researching this for years. You don’t think I woke up last week and decided to look you up, do you? It took me years to learn how to dig and search in order to find you.”

“What did the newspapers say?” Roxanne had never read them. At ten, she had been too young to even think of it. Later, she had no desire to relive her ordeal.

“The foster home reported you missing when you didn’t come home from playing in the park. The local police looked for you, but when they couldn’t find you they assumed you had run away.” She looked around them. “Too bad they didn’t do a massive search like this.”

Too bad.Roxanne’s throat tightened. Alice had told her not to count on anyone looking for her. “People don’t miss kids like us,” she had said. “Kids without families. It’s why Billy picked you. You didn’t really have a home, so he could give you one.”

It hadn’t been a home. It had been a prison, even though Alice refused to believe that.

“What makes you think Ledger did this?” she asked Debra again.

“You know he’s out of prison, right?”