Darcy pulls Hunter into her arms. He spins away and slams his fist against the wall. Fissures crawl through the plaster.
“I’ll kill them. Aaron and Sam are dead when I get back to Genoa Cove.”
Before Darcy can grab him, Hunter wheels around and rushes for the exit. Tipton steps down the hallway with his fingertips brushing the holstered gun.
“Let him go,” Darcy says to Tipton. “Hunter won’t hurt anybody. You heard what he said about his girlfriend, so surely you understand why he’s reacting like this.”
Tipton nods to Filmore.
“Bring that boy inside. I want eyes on him until I’m certain he isn’t a danger to himself or anybody around him.” Recognizing the protest forming on Darcy’s lips, Tipton raises his hand. “He’s not under arrest. But I’ll be damned if I’ll let him storm through downtown after he threatened to kill two people.”
Deputy Filmore hurries down the hallway. Darcy’s pulse thrums with the possibility Hunter will resist.
“Go with the deputy,” Darcy tells Laurie, who nods and runs to make up ground on Filmore.
Tipton and Hensel follow behind. When Darcy joins the chase, Hensel shakes his head, a warning not to get involved. After the fight, Darcy’s presence will only make things worse.
She feels thankful Hensel is with Tipton, because the sheriff’s hand remains uncomfortably close to his gun. Almost as if he’s looking for an excuse to shoot her son. Holding her breath, Darcy watches Filmore and Laurie round on Hunter in the parking lot. Laurie’s calming effect on Hunter is immediate, and the tension drains out of Filmore after Hunter calms down. Though she can’t read their lips, Darcy can tell they’re getting through to Hunter. Laurie leans forward and levels her eyes with Hunter, then she looks toward Darcy. Hunter’s eyes follow Laurie’s, and guilt sags the boy’s face before he lowers his head.
Another minute passes, then Hunter follows Laurie and the deputy into the building. Tipton’s hands relax, and Hensel gives Hunter a gentle slap on the shoulder as he passes.
Laurie offers Darcy a tight-lipped smile. The instant her cousin breaks into tears, Darcy pulls Laurie into a hug and rubs her back.
“Whatever you said to Hunter, thank you.”
“I can’t believe this is happening. I keep thinking I’ll wake up, that this is just a crazy nightmare.”
Over Laurie’s shoulder, Hensel hangs back and gives Darcy and her cousin space. Darcy waits until Laurie stops crying. When she’s finished, Darcy grips her by the shoulders.
“This isn’t your fault or mine. We both need to stop blaming ourselves, okay?” Laurie nods. “Right now, I need you to be Hunter’s favorite cousin again and keep him company while I speak to Agent Hensel. Can you do that?”
“I’ve got this.”
After the door clicks shut behind Laurie, Hensel sighs and drapes his arm over Darcy’s shoulder.
“Let’s get you a bite to eat before you drop.”
Darcy leans on Hensel as he walks her to the break room. Tipton waits inside, arms crossed. Deputy Grasser microwaves a sandwich and does a hot foot dance when he burns his fingers on his lunch. Grasser’s face turns weary as Tipton impatiently waits for the deputy to clear the room.
Darcy collapses onto a plastic chair and rests her head against the wall. When Hensel hands her a bagel, she breaks into a thin, forced smile that inspires little confidence that she’ll finish the food. She takes a bite and chews. It slides down her throat like wet cardboard as if her taste buds withered and flaked off.
Tipton pulls out a chair and flips it around. He sits backwards on the chair, arms resting on the seat back.
“You want to tell me about Aaron and Sam?”
Darcy swallows and sets the bagel down.
“I’m sure you read the Genoa Cove PD files. Aaron Torres and Sam Tatum are two of the boys who attacked Hunter.”
“The night you and Agent Hensel shot Richard Chaney.” Darcy gives him a blank nod. “Bethany was the girl who last called Jennifer’s phone. What’s this about a rape?”
Darcy, reeling from Hunter’s revelation, pieces the story together for Tipton.
“Christ,” Tipton says. He sets his hat on the table and rubs the exhaustion off his face. “If I was in your son’s shoes, I’d react the same way. But I’m uncomfortable letting him out of our sight, at least for the rest of the day.”
“I’ll worry about keeping my son in line. Find my daughter.”
Tipton convenes with the FBI inside his office, shutting Darcy out. Through the window, she spies a topographic map on the wall of Scarlet River, Millport, and the surrounding county. Two little flags mark where the girls disappeared. Agent Reinhold takes over the meeting. She’s passing out sheets of paper containing the latest profile updates. Darcy would love to be inside the room, partly because she isn’t confident the young profiler has the requisite skills to find Jennifer and Sandy.
When Darcy’s phone rings, she sees Margaret’s name on the screen. Walking toward a quiet spot in the hallway, she answers the call.
“Agent Gellar? Nina was here again. Not over two minutes ago.”
Darcy glances into Tipton’s office. They’re debating the profile now.
“Are you sure it was her?”
“It was the same girl as the other times. She tried to break into a truck. The owner chased her off.”
Eyeing her car in the parking lot, Darcy pulls the keys from her pocket and angles toward the door, the others too preoccupied to notice.
“Tell me you still see her, Margaret. I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“No, she got scared and ran off. But I took another picture.”
“She couldn’t have gone far on foot. Keep your eyes peeled. I’m on the way.”
The dashboard GPS displays a network of roads converging on Maury’s Diner on the border of Scarlet River. Most of the roads are rural and farm-to-market, a good choice to walk along if you don’t wish anyone to see. Darcy crisscrosses the roads, improving the odds she’ll pass Nina. But she finds nothing but open countryside and farmers’ fields gone to winter.
Darcy slaps her hand against the dash as she pulls into Maury’s parking lot. Standing out front with her arms clasped against the chill, Margaret notices the Prius and takes an uncertain step toward the car.
“I’m sure it was her this time,” Margaret says, holding the phone screen aloft while Darcy climbs out of the car. “I did my best, but we had so many customers, and I had three tables.”
“Don’t apologize. Your job is with the diner, not tracking Nina Steyer.”
“I zoomed in close.” Margaret hands Darcy the phone and pulls out a copy of the poster. “Now look at the eyes. They’re the same, right? I mean the hair is different, and her complexion is so pale compared to the girl in the poster, but that has to be her.”
Darcy studies the two pictures. Though Nina is in the act of turning, Margaret’s photograph captures the girl in full profile. Neither Tipton nor Hensel can deny this girl is Nina Steyer.
Margaret touches her mouth.
“That new kidnapped girl. Her name is Gellar. Is that—”
Darcy glances up.
“Margaret?”
“Agent Gellar, is that your daughter? I’m so sorry. I should have put two and two together. With two girls kidnapped in less than a week, everyone is too scared to think straight.”
I’ll find my daughter, Margaret, and I’ll find Nina.”
“Nina has something to do with the kidnappings. That’s why you want to find her, and I lost her again.”
Margaret’s assessment is correct. Nina’s appearances are related to the abductions. When Darcy figures out the connection, she’ll find Jennifer and Sandy Young.