Page 8

SEVEN

Tears froze on Ellie’s cheeks. She didn’t know the little girls, but her heart broke for them.

She guessed their age to be around eight. Poor little darlings.

Exhaustion blended with sorrow, weighing her down. Her clothes were wet, stiffening with the freezing temperature, and she could barely feel her hands or feet. She wanted to move the girls out of the elements, but she could barely stand herself. And there was no way she could carry both of them the two-mile trek back to the cabin.

Besides, she knew better than to disturb a crime scene. Moving the twins might destroy any evidence the killer had left behind.

With the snow inches deep, she was unable to see footsteps or a trail of blood to indicate which way the killer had come from or gone.

She dug in her pocket for her phone, but the icy water must have killed the battery.

Another gust of wind and she shuddered with the cold. Her head spun and her body was trembling uncontrollably. The snow was blinding now, her eyelids heavy. Dammit, she needed to get back to the inn and get help. An ERT and medics and the ME and…

But the dizziness overtook her and she felt herself slipping to the ground. Then exhaustion and cold dragged her into the darkness.