nodded.
I was completely sober. Not an ounce of my pain medicine remained in my system and that was a good thing. I would not be taking anything stronger than Tylenol until I had Ava back home again.
“They had a way to find her location, using the cell phone I had.”
Of course they did. Of course, I knew nothing of this person who was sitting in front of me crying.
“Do you know where she is now?”
“Not exactly.”
“Come on. Get in my truck. We’re leaving.” I had the sheriff’s car, but I didn’t want to advertise that we were coming. Once we were on the road, I glanced at her again.
“What’s your name? And how do you know Ava?” I wracked my brain. Ava had never mentioned a young woman from Chicago.
The girl fidgeted, twisting her hands together. She rocked back and forth, and I noticed she hadn’t bothered to buckle up. “My name’s Jenny.”
Ava definitely hadn’t mentioned her. “Put your seatbelt on.”
She blinked at me with wide eyes, then did as I said.
“Are you high?” I asked.
She shifted again, crossing and uncrossing her legs. “Are you going to arrest me?”
“No. I need your help to find Ava. If you need addiction help, I’ll find you a rehab.”
She hung her head. “Yeah, I’m high.”
“On what?”
“Heroin.”
“Did Carl give it to you?”
“Yeah.”
Fuck. “Now tell me how you know Ava.”
“She was on the street with me.”
Ah. So she was part of Ava’s deception to break into the gambling ring. Now it made sense. I assumed I’d have figured all this out sooner if it wasn’t for the throbbing pain in my side. “Tell me where you were last. If you can’t remember, I have someone who can use a satellite to trace where your phone’s been.”
“No. I think I know. I tried to pay attention.”
She kept pointing, and she led me to Magnolia street. “I got out of the car here and ran.”
“How did you get to my house?”
“A taxi.”
Good Lord. We didn’t even have regular taxi service here. I doubted that had even happened. She’d probably paid someone for a ride. I couldn’t imagine any of the residents would let her hitchhike, or that they’d bring her to my house.
But none of that mattered. Finding Ava was what mattered, and if this poor girl helped with that, then she’d have my appreciation for the rest of her life.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Ava
The screech of metal rang in my ears for several long seconds.
I dared to open my eyes. I’d rammed my BMW into Carl’s sedan, and I was still alive. I took a second to touch my stomach as I unbuckled my seatbelt. By some miracle, the seatbelt had tightened right where I’d positioned it -- over my hip bones, and so it hadn’t put any pressure on my stomach.
I’d also managed to avoid detonating the airbag, which was another huge bonus.
Where the hell was Carl? Had he managed to drive away?
No. Oh shit. I had knocked him into the ditch. His black sedan lay on its side. From inside my car, I couldn't see him. With any luck, he’d been knocked out, and I could get away. I wasn’t exactly comfortable with killing him, but I would do whatever was necessary to protect my baby.
I shoved my way out of the car. I’d hit him with the left side of my car, trying to knock him off the road, so the driver’s side door was undamaged.
With one hand holding onto the hood of the car, I stumbled my way toward the ditch. I could see movement inside his car. So he was alive.
A muffled shout came from the car. Dammit. He was awake. He pounded on the glass, trying to get out, but he hadn’t gotten the door open yet.
I couldn’t shake the feeling of being disoriented. My stomach rolled. I needed to vomit, but there was no time. I took off running. Thankfully, down here in the south, there was no snow on the ground yet, and it was about forty-five degrees. I could easily survive outside if I could keep moving.
I was not exactly able to sprint, but Carl seemed to be in worse shape than I was.
Assuming he made it out of the car, I wasn’t going to lead him into town. I jumped over the muddy part of the ditch, and made it into the woods.
This was a real wilderness compared to the city streets. I’d been on the occasional hiking trip as a child, especially on field trips, but they were