Page 108

ONE HUNDRED SEVEN

COAL MOUNTAIN HOSPITAL

Ellie addressed the head nurse. “How’s Barbara Thacker? Can we see her now?”

“She’s awake but in a fog from the pain meds,” the nurse said. “Thankfully the wound wasn’t too deep. Can you wait and talk to her tomorrow?”

“No,” Ellie said. “Lives may depend on what she has to say.”

Alarm streaked the nurse’s eyes. “Okay, but go easy on her. She has a severe concussion.”

Ellie didn’t know if she could hold back. Not when Barbara’s secrets might have gotten the girls killed. Not if she was an accomplice to kidnapping and possibly murder.

She and Derrick followed the woman to a patient room down the hall. When they entered, Barbara was lying beneath a blanket, her hair tangled across the pillow, her face as pale as the white bedding.

“Ms. Thacker, it’s Detective Ellie Reeves and Special Agent Fox. Do you know the reason we’re here?”

She gave a resigned sigh and nodded. “Did you find Ivy?”

“No, the man who abducted her escaped. Her mother and father are a wreck. Loretta wants to see you, but we need to ask you some questions first.”

Barbara squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them, tears swimming. “How much do you know?”

Ellie wanted to hear the truth from Barbara. Maybe she’d even kept things from Loretta. “Some, but not enough. Why don’t you tell us what happened? And start with how you met Loretta.”

Barbara clenched the blanket then explained about delivering a stillborn baby and meeting Loretta, Rosalyn and Claire in therapy, then confirmed that she’d given them her frozen embryos for implantation. She also confirmed that they made a pact to keep their secrets and to allow Barbara to be part of the girls’ lives. “It worked well for us,” Barb said. “Until… recently.”

“That must have been difficult for you, watching the girls grow up and hearing them call your friends Mommy. Did you ever want to renege on the deal and have them live with you?”

Barbara cut her eyes toward the wall for a second, then straightened. “It was difficult,” she admitted. “But the girls were happy and I couldn’t tear their families apart.”

Ellie’s jaw tightened. “What happened earlier today?”

Barbara’s hand trembled as she swept a strand of hair from her face. “It’s not what you think.”

“Isn’t it?” Ellie asked. “You were with the man who abducted Ivy.”

Barbara swallowed hard. “I was shocked when I heard the twins were killed and tried to reach Claire but didn’t hear from her. Finally, I went to her house and found her.”

“But we searched that house and she wasn’t there,” Ellie said.

“There’s a secret room in the basement. She was down there, locked inside. It looked like she’d been beaten to death.”

Ellie’s temper flared. “Then why didn’t you call the police?”

“Because of our agreement. No one knew about the girls being mine,” Barbara murmured. “I wasn’t sure that was the reason the killer murdered Taylor and Heidi. Not until he took Mazie.”

“Yet you still didn’t call the police.”

“I was looking for Ros and Mazie in town. When I found them, he came up behind me and he had a gun and forced me to go with him,” Barbara cried. “I thought I could protect Mazie… He was going to kill her but said he wanted Ivy to be with her and for me to watch. I played along hoping I could get help in town.”

“Who is he?” Ellie said, her tone hard. “Why did he want you to watch?”

Barbara’s face crumpled. “I honestly… don’t know. I didn’t see his face because he was disguised in that Santa suit and beard.”

“What about his voice? Did you recognize it?”

Barbara shook her head. “It was deep. Sinister. Almost as if he’d disguised it. Although something about his eyes seemed familiar.”

“What about his build? Was he tall, short? Heavy? Thin?”

“Medium height,” Barbara said. “It was hard to tell how big he was with that Santa suit on.”

Ellie narrowed her eyes. “Barbara, who would hate you enough to murder your children?”

Barbara scrubbed her hands over her eyes. “I don’t know. I’m just a teacher. I don’t have any enemies.”

She was wrong about that, Ellie thought. Dead wrong.

Derrick pulled his phone. “What kind of vehicle was he driving?”

She ran her fingers over her bandaged hand. “A cargo van with tinted windows?”

“I’ll issue a BOLO for it.” Derrick stepped into the hallway.

“You have to save Mazie and Ivy,” Barbara whispered.

“Where are they?” Ellie asked.

“We were in the back of the van and I couldn’t see out but we were somewhere in the mountains. Maybe a farm. I think there were old chicken houses there.”

Ellie stiffened. Modelle lived on a farm with outbuildings.