Page 58 of High Country Escape

“Just...petite. Not very tall, but also not very big all over.”

“What did the woman do?” Gage asked.

“She told the man they had to hurry. He ordered her to help him and she grabbed my arm and they started dragging me across the ground. I tried to fight, but the man hit me again and I think I passed out for a little bit. It hurt so bad.” She paused. “Could I have some water, please?”

Gage passed her a cup with a straw and she sipped, then returned it to him. “I think they threw me off the ridge,” she said. “I just remember pain—in my arm and my head and everywhere. The next thing I really remember was waking up here.” She looked around the hospital room, with its blue-green walls and a single window with a view of distant mountains.

“Roxanne Byrne was with you, wasn’t she?” asked Gage.

She turned her attention back to him. “She was. But I think by then she had started back toward the Jeep. I told her I wanted to take a few more pictures before I went back.”

“Do you remember if Roxanne was nearby when you were attacked?” Gage asked.

“No. I don’t think she was there. She had gone back. Why are you asking about Roxanne?” She searched their faces. “Has something happened? What aren’t you telling me?”

“Roxanne is missing,” Gage said. “She never made it back to the Jeep.”

Debra’s eyes filled with tears. “That can’t be,” she said. “I saw her walking toward the road.”

Her distress seemed genuine, but Gage had met good actors before. “Do you know a woman named Alice?” he asked.

“Alice?” She stared at him. “Do you mean the other girl William Ledger kidnapped?”

“Do you know her?” Gage asked.

“I’ve read about her. I’ve never met her. I asked Roxanne about her and she said she didn’t know what happened to Alice. I tried to find her before I started looking for Roxanne. I didn’t really know what I was doing back then. There was no traceof her online that I could find, so I moved on to looking for Roxanne and got luckier. I never went back to do more research on Alice, though I always meant to.”

“What about Betty Josephs?” Gage asked.

“That’s the woman who was visiting Ledger in prison. I told Roxanne about her.”

“But you aren’t her?” Gage asked.

“What are you talking about?” She clutched at the covers. “My name is Debra Percy.”

“Has it always been Debra Percy?”

“Yes. If you don’t believe me, ask my mother.”

“And you never met William Ledger.”

“No.”

“You didn’t work with him to lure Roxanne away from safety so that he could kidnap her?”

“No!” Her voice rose. “What kind of a person do you think I am? That’s horrible.”

“I have to ask these things,” Gage said.

“Is that what you think happened to Roxanne—that William Ledger kidnapped her?” She leaned toward him. “Is Ledger the person who attacked me? Who was the woman? Do you think it was Betty?”

“We don’t know much of anything at this point,” Gage said.

“I can’t believe I was so close to Ledger and missed the chance to talk to him,” she said, her words almost a wail. “I could have asked him about Bettina. Maybe I could have caught him off guard and he would have told the truth.”

A nurse pushed open the door and glared at the deputies. “Is everything all right in here?” she asked.

Debra was sobbing, head bent, tears falling onto the sheets. The nurse hurried over to her and put an arm around her.