Page 102 of Three Girls Gone

“Yuck!”

Talking to Zoe was just what she needed to lighten her mood some and ground her emotions.

Trent stood in her cubicle doorway and was waving to get her attention.

“I’ve got to go, sweetie, but enjoy the movie and get to bed on time. School tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

And she was gone. Amanda would have to work with Zoe on her telephone etiquette.

“We have a location,” Trent pushed out.

She popped up and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair. “Where is it?”

“Prince Park.”

“That place is massive. It covers miles of woods and terrain.” The park was also where a killer had buried his victims in a previous investigation.

“It does, and since we don’t expect he’ll just be sitting around in his car, the K-9 unit’s already on the way and so are other officers.”

“Let’s go.” Amanda’s heart was pounding as she headed for the car.

Please, tell me we’re not too late!

FORTY-THREE

Nothing much compared to a manhunt taking place in the dark, and in a wooded area, no less. The weak moon was intermittently suffocated by cloud cover, leaving them reliant on flashlights and headlamps. Amanda kept thinking how terrified Eloise must be if she was out here.

Marshall’s rental car was in one of the parking lots, but there was no sign of him or Eloise. He could have left by other means. But with Eloise? That scenario seemed too risky. If Marshall had abandoned the Kia and called a car service, Amanda feared they’d be finding the girl’s body in the woods.

Uniformed officers were directed by their sergeant to branch out and conduct a search. The K-9 unit had sent five handlers with their trained dogs, and they set out toward the deep woods.

Amanda hoped like hell they weren’t too late for Eloise. Would her body be in a freshly dug grave, or on display somewhere like little Hailey Tanner? She held her breath as images of her laid out in her tutu and slippers struck with vivid clarity. She turned to Trent beside her. “Let’s check out the play area.”

He nodded, and they headed over.

The playground wasn’t far from the parking lot, but it felt farther out at night. Amanda set the beam of her flashlight ahead of her and hurried as fast as she could, hindered by fallen branches and uneven ground.

Trent swept his flashlight over the play equipment, and nothing stood out. No lumps or unexplained shadows. But something about the playground sucked Amanda in. An energy? A hunch?

Amanda took cautious steps and rounded the sandbox. Directing her flashlight on it, she held her breath, but it hadn’t been disturbed. She carried on past the swings to the jungle gym and the slide, illuminating each section as she went along. When the beam hit the top of the slide, she froze, paralyzed in place.

“Trent,” she whispered.

“What is—?” His flashlight beam joined hers. “Shit.”

“Yeah, this can’t be good.” She was going to be sick. “Eloise!” she yelled out as loud as she could. Her throat was throbbing after she pushed out the girl’s name several more times.

It drew some officers over.

“Detective Steele, are you okay? Is everything all right?” Officer Traci Cochran asked.

Amanda felt her walk up next to her but never took her eyes off her discovery. She pointed at the top of the slide.

A stuffed unicorn, Eloise’s favorite toy, was sitting there staring back at them. The beams from their flashlights reflected in the toy’s glass eyes.

“Dear Lord. Does that mean what I think it does?” The whites of Traci’s eyes appeared larger than normal when Amanda turned to her. Trent spoke before she could respond.