the man go back up the wooden stairs and out the creaky door.
“Abby?”
“Jay!” Abby threw her arms around him and didn’t let go.
“You’re shivering,” he said. “How did you get here?”
“I h-h-hid in the b-b-back of your truck and tried to follow you. But you got t-t-too far ahead of me, and I got lost. He hit me on the head with s-s-something and knocked me out.”
“You okay?”
“My head really hurts. I’m sore. And c-c-cold. But I’m okay. Are you?”
“Yeah.” Jay held her tighter and rubbed her arms. “He snuck up behind me with a rifle and pressed the barrel against my back. I decided not to resist. The creep’s name is Isaiah Tutt.”
“How do you know that?”
“I looked in his mailbox.”
“How did you know it was his mailbox?”
“As I was sifting through the mail, I saw a woman and little girl coming, and ducked behind some trees. I’m sure the girl was Ella. I’m assuming the woman was Mrs. Tutt. I wanted to grab the girl and run, but the missus had a rifle. I didn’t think I could overtake her without Ella running away. So I followed them back here.”
“What kind of woman carries a rifle to the mailbox?” Abby said.
“One who’s expecting trouble or is just plain paranoid. I waited until it got dark to snoop around some more, but Tutt caught me red-handed and brought me here.”
Abby let go of Jay and sat on the earthen floor. “He was out looking for you.”
Jay dropped down next to her and put his arm around her.
Abby relished the warmth and told Jay about her conversation with Isaiah Tutt that led to his hitting her on the head.
“Isaiah wasn’t about to show me Ella’s birth certificate,” Abby said, “because he doesn’t have one. I caught him in a lie, and he didn’t like it.”
“Now that he knows we’re on to him, he’s not letting us go. We’ve got to find a way out of here.”
Abby paused for a moment, then looked up at Jay. “He said something that’s really bugging me. He said that he wasn’t worried you’d tell anyone about Ella as long as you believed you had killed Daddy.”
“I did kill him, Abby. It was a horrible accident. Why would I say it if it wasn’t so? It was the worst day of my life. I’d like to erase it.”
“Why do you suppose he told me that?”
“Beats me. Why would he steal someone’s kid? Why would he throw two teenagers in a hole and threaten to feed them to his pigs? Who knows what drives a man like that? The guy plays by his own set of rules.”
“What are we going to do?” Abby said. “Did you tell anyone you were coming up here?”
“No one. Did you?”
Abby shook her head. “He must’ve taken my cell phone. Did he take yours?”
“Yeah. He took the battery out and tossed it into the woods. The last call I made was to work, telling them I wasn’t coming in tonight. Even if they pull my phone records, it’s not gonna tell them anything.”
“Mine either,” Abby said. “The last time I used my phone was to text you this morning.”
“Of all times for my mom to be gone. She’s not even planning to check in with me until the weekend.”
“But mine will. And she knows we’re together.”
“Abby … unless someone figures out where we are—and fast—Isaiah’s gonna kill us.”
Kate sat on the couch, vaguely aware that her father was sitting in his easy chair, thumbing through a magazine.
“You really oughta get some rest,” he said.
“So should you.” Kate barely had the strength to unfold her hands.
“I’m just turnin’ pages, waitin’ for the phone to ring.”
“Dad, it’s ten thirty—where is she?”
“I wish I knew, honey.”
“Abby’s scheduled to work the morning shift. She’s always in bed by now. She’s too responsible for this.” Kate wiped a tear off her cheek. “Do you think they’ve run off together? Be honest.”
“I don’t know what to think. I didn’t notice any sparks between them. Abby said they were just close friends. I believed her.”
“They both have cell phones.” Kate got up and paced in front of the fireplace. “At least one of them should have called by now. Do you think it’s time to file a missing-person report? We’ve already checked the ER and every place Abby likes to hang out. I don’t know what else to do.”
“It’s your decision, Kate. I’ll support whatever you decide.”
“Tell me what to do. I’m so confused.” Kate flopped on the