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Investigating the surrounding ranches and farms near both bridges made sense to all four moms and Penny. If they kept their distance, kept an eye out for the mystery van, and kept their heads, they might crack the case without tossing themselves into the fray. Minimum risk and maxim coverage. At least for the time being.
They couldn’t head to Willis Bridge. The police would be all over the area. After splitting into teams of two, Kat, Ivy, Lydia, and Penny would head to LittleLove Bridge. Kat and Ivy would take the direct route, hopefully saving Lydia the stress of facing the bridge alone. Lydia and Penny would take a longer drive around the back of Honey Pot and look for the van. No one was going to get out of their cars. No one was going to face down a suspect. Their trip was strictly for information and surveillance.
Flora stayed behind with the kiddos. She trusted Eloise with Enoch during short outings but not indefinite adventures. Waiting at her kitchen window, cell phone at the ready, she watched as the morning drizzle turned to rain.
Kat wisely installed a walkie talkie app on her phone and had the other women do the same. With the walkie app, the lines of communication were always open. Though silent at the moment, with the push of a button, all three parties could reconnect. No one was left out. Flora appreciated the ability to stay warm and in the know at the same time.
Over the phone, just as Flora had hoped, the first call came only ten minutes after the groups left. “This is Ivy,” the caller said. “I just got a news alert about Serene.”
“Tell us.” Lydia’s voice crackled.
“Her neck was broken.” Stillness followed.
Flora whispered into her device. She didn’t want her kids to overhear. “By accident?”
“The feed didn’t say. It’s an unofficial report on the community board.”
Flora frowned. It wasn’t the most reliable place to get news. But it was great at sieving for clues. “Anything else?” she asked.
Ivy’s voice came through. “There are a few videos of Penny retreating from 3 Alarm. Saying she’s the only witness to both crimes.”
Driving, eyes on the road, Lydia could feel Penny’s tension at Ivy’s finding. “I’m sure it’s okay,” she told the nervous barista, seconds before Kat’s voice overtook Ivy’s on the phone.
“That’s stupid! What if the attacker is watching those boards? He’ll know Penny spotted him.”
Penny’s breathing was rapid. Lydia pulled her smart car over. She put a hand on Penny’s. The girl was shaking uncontrollably.
“Things like this keep happening. Trouble follows me around,” Penny said between gasps of air.
“We’re not certain he saw anything. If he does live up in the mountains, he probably doesn’t get reception. He won’t know,” Lydia said.
Penny began to hyperventilate. Her throat tightened. It was too thick to get a full swallow of air. Penny struggled to calm her mind and quiet her lungs. It wasn't working. Her vision started to fuzz and fade.
Penny heard Lydia talking but couldn’t make out the words. She only heard her heartbeat thudding thick and deep in her ears. It pulsed in her temples until it enveloped her.
Lydia fought to obtain Penny’s attention. The girl was going to pass out. Lydia searched around her tiny car until she found her purse. Cracking the passenger window an inch let in the cold November air. Lydia hoped the chill would revive Penny. She scrounged out her emergency bottle of water and poured a teeny bit into the cap. If it didn’t do the trick, she’d need to drag Penny out of the car, lay her on her back, and lift her legs above her head.
She hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Lydia shut off her car, just in case. As she was about to flick some water at the unconscious Penny, a gentle rapping bounced off her car window.
Turning, Lydia faced the stomach of a man just outside her car. He knelt down and peered inside the vehicle. “You ladies need help?” he asked. Gentleness and compassion carried in his voice. But so did something else. A familiar lisp.
Lydia could not control her trembling hands. The capful of water splashed around the car interior. The man met her eye through the car door. The cheer in his eyes sank back, replaced with distress. His teeth clenched as he tried to open Lydia’s door.
Frantically, Lydia reached for her phone. Penny had been holding it. It wasn’t on the girl’s lap. Lydia guessed it was on the floorboard. She bent as best she could in the confined space, trying to reach it. The press of one button and Kat would come, Flora would call Ethan, and the story would end happily. Hopefully, they were hearing her right then. From the floorboard, she could hear Kat’s far away voice interrupted by static.
Taking a fleeting moment to glance to her window, she saw the man was gone. Before she uttered a prayer of thanks, his thick fingers reached in through Penny’s window and began forcing it down.