When Ellie arrived at her bungalow, the wind had turned frigid and the temperature was dropping rapidly. She hoped to God that Ava was inside some place warm, not left out on the trail.
As she climbed out of her car and glanced at her front door, she shuddered. Someone had spray-painted her front door with a message in blood red.
Ellie Reeves doesn’t protect our children.
Tears immediately rushed to her eyes. The box of children’s things she’d brought from her mother’s house mocked her as they dropped to the ground. People in town didn’t realize how much it hurt her to lose a victim, much less a young one. Or how much the guilt ate at her.
For a moment, she considered issuing a statement in her defense but dismissed the idea immediately. People were going to think what they would. If she came out with verbal guns drawn, she’d only fuel their anger. Besides, she didn’t have time for that.
She had to keep her head down and do her job. She had to save Ava.
Instincts alert, she scanned the property. The front lawn, driveway and sides of the house were clear. Pulling her gun, she walked up to the door. The door was still locked, windows as well. No sign of a break-in and her security system would have alerted her if it had been breached. Walking around the side, she checked all the windows and then climbed the steps to the back deck which overlooked the river. The room was empty and just as she’d left it.
Breathing out a sigh of relief, she headed back around the front just as Derrick pulled up. He wore a disapproving scowl as he climbed out.
“Dammit to hell, Ellie. People in this town sure can be judgmental.”
“With all the crime that’s happened the last couple of years and now another missing child, who can blame them? They want their children to feel safe.”
He gestured toward the door. “Do you have extra paint? I’ll fix that.”
“I can do it,” Ellie said. “I picked up some of my childhood things to put in the house to make it look homey, as if we’re prepared to adopt a child immediately.”
“We have an online appointment in an hour and a half,” Derrick said. “You set up the interior and I’ll work on covering the door. I also want to put a fake number up in case these people track down where the house is.”
Ellie hadn’t thought of that. “Thanks. There’s an extra can of blue paint in the garage and some brushes there, too.”
Derrick nodded and she opened the garage, hurrying to retrieve the box of items she’d brought from her mother’s house. Setting the box inside the foyer, she quickly surveyed her den and was pleased it looked cozy. Then she cleared a shelf and displayed some of her favorite childhood books. Next, she added three board games and stacked them so they would be visible. Her fuzzy bean bag chair went in the corner and she draped it with a kid’s blanket boasting cartoon characters.
In her kitchen, she set out superhero plates and colorful plastic cups on the breakfast bar. Satisfied with the main living area, she moved to the guest room, pulled off the dark blue comforter and spread out the one Vera had bought her when she was ten—a pink comforter with white kitty cats. Pink had never been Ellie’s color, but Vera loved it.
She added her favorite fuzzy pillow, a stuffed bear, and a doll that Vera had bought but she’d never played with.
In the adjoining bath, she set a basket with a hairbrush, bows and barrettes. On the tub, she put kids’ bubble bath and shampoo and hung colorful towels on the rack.
A tiny seed of longing hit her as she surveyed the space. It looked like it was ready for a child.
Her heart squeezed. One she would probably never have.
One she’d never thought she wanted.