Page 111

ONE HUNDRED TEN

Ellie’s phone signaled a text as she and Derrick left the hospital.

Cord: At Modelle’s .

Next, came a series of pictures. It took a minute for Ellie to realize what she was looking at. First photos of Modelle with an ax. Then him tearing out a wall inside the house. Next, Modelle dragging out what looked like a body wrapped in a rug and hauling it into the woods. Then Modelle dumping the body into a hole.

“We’ve got that son of a bitch,” she said to Derrick as she showed him the pictures.

“Who is that?” Derrick said. “Doesn’t look like a child.”

“No, it’s an adult.”

“I’ll use this to obtain warrants for his house and property then call an ERT.”

“I’ll text Cord and tell him to stay put until we arrive. Tell ERT not to approach either until we have those warrants in hand. This time that SOB is not going to be released on a technicality.”

“Copy that.”

She texted Cord.

On our way. Wait for us and do not approach.

Cord : Yes, ma’am.

Ellie almost smiled at the sarcasm in those two words. But the image of Modelle hiding a body in the wall taunted her. What if he’d done the same thing to Mazie and Ivy?

No, don’t go there. Those little girls have to be alive .

Derrick made the call while she sped from the hospital and headed onto the highway leading to Modelle’s farm. “The warrants will be waiting at the station.”

“We’ll swing by there on the way.”

Anxiety plagued her as she sped away from the hospital. Minutes later, she parked at the station and left the engine running while Derrick rushed inside to pick up the warrants.

He returned, waving them in his hand and they drove in silence as she raced onto the highway leading to Modelle’s. The mountains loomed ahead, the roads a winding maze through the sharp peaks and ridges. A semi barreled around the corner and Ellie had to ride the shoulder to avoid being hit head on. Derrick grabbed the dash to steady himself and they fell silent.

She had to focus on the road right now.

The shadowed areas were still slick with black ice. She careened around another curve, disappeared down a long road that threaded its way through a sea of trees, their long, twisted branches entwined above, making it even darker.

Shadows plagued every corner, making the road ahead appear as if it ended in the forest. She plowed through and climbed the mountain until they reached Modelle’s farm.

The house and outbuildings looked just as eerie as they had the first time they’d been here. She cut the lights as she approached then pulled the Jeep beneath an overhang of trees and killed the engine. She paused to send Cord a text:

We’re here. Modelle?

Cord: In the woods. A mile east on the trail .

Ellie: Stay put. Headed your way now.

She and Derrick pulled their weapons as they crept into the woods. She followed her compass, stepping carefully so as not to alert Modelle they were coming. Three-quarters of a mile in, she heard the sound of a shovel hitting ground.

The wind swirled wet leaves around them and the soggy ground sucked at her boots. As they grew nearer, loud breathing and grunting filled the air.

A tiny movement to the right made her twist her head. Cord.

Modelle must have heard the brush parting and suddenly spun around, raised his shotgun and fired in Cord’s direction. The brush shifted again, and she thought he’d been hit as he dropped to the ground.

Ellie’s pulse jumped and Derrick aimed his weapon. She searched for Cord but didn’t see him. Modelle started toward Cord, and she pointed her weapon toward the bastard.

“Police, stop! Drop the weapon,” she shouted.

Instead, he swung around and fired in her direction. Ellie released a bullet and Derrick darted through the bushes to approach Modelle from behind.

“It’s over, Modelle,” Ellie shouted. “I said drop it.”

Modelle fired another shot at her, but she dodged it and ducked behind a tree. Seconds later, she spotted Cord sneaking toward Modelle from the right. Modelle pivoted toward him and fired at Cord, but Derrick attacked Modelle from behind and knocked him down. Modelle’s gun slid from his hand, and she ran and kicked it aside while Modelle fought Derrick.

“Cord, are you hit?” Ellie yelled.

Cord stood slowly, holding his arm awkwardly. “Just a graze,” he growled.

Derrick punched Modelle who was fighting like a wild man, but Ellie pointed her gun at the man and stepped closer. Taylor and Heidi’s little faces flashed behind her eyes. Their young lives snuffed out.

She wanted to kill the bastard who’d murdered them. Wanted to watch him bleed out.

Modelle managed to knock Derrick’s gun from his hand, flipped him over and straddled him. Ellie took another step closer, jammed the barrel of her gun at the back of Modelle’s head.

“Go ahead, give me a reason,” she snarled.

Modelle went totally still, heaving for a breath.

“Do it,” she snapped, her temper red hot.

She felt Cord suddenly behind her, his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t, El. He’s not worth it.”

But he was a cruel, heartless child abuser and killer.

Still, a second of rationale stormed her. If she killed him, she might never know where Mazie and Ivy were.

And saving them was her priority.