The car was long gone. It hadn’t been coming up the driveway. It had passed on the road, driving home from some remote cabin somewhere. It was gone, and with it her last hopes. Karen had run herself out. She couldn’t even muster the fear to spur herself on. She plodded along mechanically, one foot in front of the other, walking blindly with no idea why.
The house shocked her back to reality. It was the first one she’d seen, and she’d come a long way. She suddenly realized this was what she had been looking for.
Houses. People. Help.
There was no car out front and no sign of anyone. It was just a cabin, not a house, no one had to live there, but it never occurred to her it might not be occupied. That would be just too cruel.
Karen went up on the porch and knocked. There was no answer, but the door was unlocked. She pushed it open, and called out, “Hello?”
There was no answer. The room was empty.
Karen pushed on into the back room.
The room was empty. The window was open. There was nothing but a mattress on the floor.
There was a rope on the mattress. Another rope hung off a nail on the wall.
Floods of memory washed over Karen. Her knees were suddenly weak. She turned and ran.
The big man stood in the doorway.
The last thing she saw was his fist in her face.
—
HOLLY BARKER CALLED Teddy Fay. “The bill passed.”
“Shit. Call Millie and Quentin. Tell them to speed it up. Don’t search every cabin, skip all but the most likely.”
Teddy broke the connection and tossed the phone on the seat.
A cabin came up on the right. A gray SUV was parked out front. The tailgate was up. A fishing rod leaned against it. Real, or a useful prop? No time to find out.
Teddy gunned the engine and hurtled down the road.