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THIRTEEN

BLUFF COUNTY HOSPITAL

Friday, November 27

Early morning sunlight woke Ellie from a fitful sleep, bringing back reality with a bang. The storm. The dead girls. A killer on the loose.

Dammit, she’d lost a night in the hospital. Cord sat in a recliner beside the bed, his head lolled back in sleep.

For once, he almost looked at peace, not at war with himself. Maybe he was dreaming about the baby he and Lola were going to have.

She shifted, pushed her tangled hair from her face and buzzed for the nurse. A young peppy brunette popped in a minute later.

“What do you need, Ms. Reeves?”

“To get out of here.” She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. “Get a doctor to sign me out.”

“But—”

“Don’t bother to argue with her,” Cord said, snapping awake. “If you don’t do it, she’ll crawl out of here if she has to.”

The nurse’s eyes widened at that suggestion and she disappeared from the room.

Ellie forced a weak smile. “Thanks. I really wasn’t up for an argument. At least not with the staff.” She’d fight hell or high water though to find out who killed those precious little children.

A rap on the door and she looked up to see Derrick in the doorway. He cut his eyes toward Cord then back to her. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” she said. “Ready to go home. Now tell me about the girls.”

“No time of death yet. Dr. Whitefeather said she’d get to the autopsy as soon as possible.”

Ellie shuddered. “Dammit, if I’d hiked earlier in the day, maybe I could have found them sooner and caught the monster who killed them.”

“And you could have been killed, too,” Cord grumbled.

She shot him an irritated look. “My job is to protect people and catch killers, Cord. If I start living in fear, I might as well hang up my badge.”

He clamped his lips together but that protective gleam flared in his eyes. Still, he held his tongue. “I’ll get a team and search the area. If the killer had just left the crime scene, he might have gotten caught in the storm and taken cover somewhere.”

“True,” Ellie agreed. “Look for cabins or AT shelters. If the girls were kidnapped, the parents might have been injured or killed in the abduction.”

“Good point,” Derrick agreed. “Could be the reason a missing person’s report hasn’t been filed yet.”

Cord stood. “I’ll get right on it after I drive you home.”

“I’ll drive,” Derrick said. “Then Ellie and I can work on the case, and I can watch Ellie. Make sure she’s not being released too early.”

Ellie gritted her teeth. Men! “I’m right here and I don’t need to be watched,” Ellie snapped. Their macho protectiveness was bullshit.

Cord and Derrick traded a tense look, then Cord dug his hands in his pockets. “Call me if you need anything.”

“What I need is for us to find the bastard who did this,” Ellie said.

“Copy.” He strode to the door and walked out, the door swinging shut behind him.

Ellie ignored the tension rattling in the air and tried to focus. “Did ERT find anything?”

Derrick shook his head. “The blizzard made it impossible to do a thorough search. But the snow’s let up and they’re going back this morning.”

“Good.”

Derrick scrubbed his hand down his chin. “It’s bugging me about there being no missing person’s report on file.”

“The more remote areas, cell towers and phone lines may be out,” Ellie pointed out. “Hopefully they’ll be restored today.”

“I guess that could explain it,” Derrick agreed.

“We need time of death pinned down.” Ellie rubbed her temple. “And the girls’ identities. Maybe Dr. Whitefeather can fill in the blanks.”

“Hopefully the girls’ clothing will reveal DNA,” Derrick said.

Ellie just prayed they found the parents. But she had to consider the fact they hadn’t reported the girls as missing because they were involved.