Page 10 of Once Vanished
At the sound of her voice, Gabriela’s head snapped up.Her eyes, swollen from crying, widened with a mixture of relief and also fresh anguish.
“Señora Riley,” she choked out, rising unsteadily to her feet.“I try—I try to stop him.I swear to you.”Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks as her words dissolved into a strangled sob.
Riley crossed the room in three quick strides.She pulled the older woman into her arms.Gabriela’s body shook against hers, hot tears soaking through the fabric of Riley’s shirt.
“It’s not your fault,” Riley murmured into Gabriela’s hair, even as her own throat constricted.
The officer discreetly stood, closing her notebook.“I’ll be upstairs if you need anything else,” she said.Riley nodded her thanks as the woman slipped from the apartment, closing the door softly behind her.
Gabriela pulled back, wiping roughly at her face.“Sit, sit,” she insisted, her caretaking instincts momentarily overriding her distress.“You look terrible,Señora.”
Despite everything, Riley felt her lips twitch in the ghost of a smile.Even now, Gabriela couldn’t help but mother her.They both settled on the couch, and Darby curled himself up close to their feet.
“Tell me what happened,” Riley said, trying to keep her voice steady, professional.“Everything you remember.Start from the beginning,” This was an interview now.She needed facts, not just emotions—especially not her own.
Gabriela concentrated hard.“Darby heard something and ran upstairs, barking.Then I heard Jilly scream my name.I got the weapon and went up the stairs …” She stopped, a horrified expression on her face.
“I thought I could stop him,” Gabriela wailed, her accent thickening with distress.“I should have made him leave her…” She broke off, then tried again, her work-worn hands pantomimed holding something.“I had the gun—the gun you taught me to use—right here in my hands.But I couldn’t...my fingers wouldn’t...”She shook her head.“If my aim wasn’t perfect, if the bullet...”Her voice dropped to a horrified whisper.“I couldn’t risk hitting Jilly.But I should never have let him...”
“No,” Riley said firmly, squeezing Gabriela’s hands.“No.This is not on you.This is all him.”She leaned forward until Gabriela’s eyes met hers.“Listen to me.You tried to protect Jilly.I’m sure you were right not to fire.I wouldn’t have fired either.You called for help immediately.You did everything right.”
“Not enough,” Gabriela whispered.
“It was something,” Riley insisted.“You surprised him.Made his plan less perfect.And that matters, Gabriela.It matters a lot.”She paused, weighing her next words carefully.“Did he say anything else?Anything that might help us understand where he was taking her?”
Gabriela frowned, clearly trying to sift through the blur of traumatic memory.“He say...he say he expects you to be hunting him.”
“But nothing about where?”
“No … nothing like that.”
“Did he drive away?Did you hear a car start?”
“He took her out through back gate.Must have car there.”
“You’ve been very helpful,” Riley said, rising from the couch.“Try to rest now, if you can.There will be officers here to keep you safe.”
Gabriela looked up at her, something like determination hardening in her tear-streaked face.“You will find her,Señora.I know this.You always find them.”
To Riley, Gabriela’s faith felt like a physical burden.She’d found countless victims over the years—some alive, dead.But this was different.This was Jilly.Her Jilly.
“Sí,”Riley said, borrowing Gabriela’s certainty, if not feeling it herself.“I will.”
As she rose to leave, Darby whined and pressed against her leg.Riley crouched down, running her hand along his silky fur.
“We’ll bring her back to you,” she murmured.“I promise.”
Riley gave Gabriela one last reassuring glance before stepping into the hallway.
I will find him,she thought.I will bring Jilly home.And this time I will stop Leo Dillardfor good.
As she climbed back up the stairs, she considered what she knew about Leo.He wouldn’t just be satisfied with taking Jilly.Of course his main intention was to hurt Riley.But he would also take pleasure in the pain he’d caused Gabriela, in her crushing sense of guilt and shame.It was part of his game—to wound not just the primary target of his obsession, but everyone in their orbit.To create a ripple effect of suffering.
At least, Leo will likely keep Jilly alive for a while,she thought.Or would he—?
She cut the off the question in her mind, unable to follow it to its logical conclusion.She had to operate on the assumption that Jilly was alive.Anything else was unthinkable.
What was he doing to her right now?The possibilities formed a parade of horrors in Riley’s mind.She forced those thoughts away, too, focusing instead on the practical.The timeline.The evidence.The next steps— the things she could control.