Piece of My Heart (Under Suspicion #7) - Mary Higgins Clark Page 0,97

out where to meet her.”

“Miller? Who’s that?”

Laurie knew from her father’s grimace that he shared her sudden panic. “A Detective Eddie Miller apparently called Marcy, said he worked with you, and told her where to meet the FBI.”

“No, that wasn’t us,” Langland said. “There’s no Eddie Miller in our department.”

Laurie called Andrew as quickly as she could.

“Hey, Laurie. You and Leo landed, I assume?”

“We’re almost to Lewes. We were planning to meet Marcy, but she’s not picking up.” She kept her voice calm, not wanting to alarm Andrew until they were certain. “Someone called her and gave her an address to meet the FBI.”

“Yeah, she called from there.”

“So you know for sure she arrived? She’s with the FBI?” Laurie’s fears began to subside.

“She was still a few minutes away when she called. I tried her a couple of minutes ago for an update, but she didn’t answer. I assume she’s talking to the FBI agents.”

Next to her, Leo was shaking his head, obviously worried.

“But you have the address?” Laurie asked.

“I couldn’t write it down while I was driving, but she shares her location with me, so I can find her that way.”

“That’s great. Can you check now?”

“I’m only about five miles from the turnoff. I’ll call you back—”

“Andrew, this is Leo. Can you pull over to the side of the road safely?”

“Right now?” Andrew asked, his voice suddenly filled with fear.

“Yes,” Leo said calmly.

“Okay, hold on.… Yeah, okay, I’m pulled over now. What’s wrong?”

“Whoever gave Marcy that address wasn’t law enforcement,” Leo said. “We think it was Daniel Turner. We need to find her right now.”

Chapter 68

Marcy winced from the sting of a thorn branch slicing the side of her ankle as she traversed the unlevel wooded terrain. She reached toward the pain on instinct and lost her balance, catching herself before her face hit a nearby tree.

She leaned against the tree for support as she checked the cut on her leg. She was bleeding, but she was more worried about her head. She had no way of inspecting the wound, but when she reached back and touched the tender spot at the base of her skull, the blood on her palm looked fresh. She took the time to pull off her cotton sweater and use it to apply pressure. The tank top layered beneath it would do little to protect her from thorns and tree branches, but she needed to stop the bleeding.

Her capri pants and ballet flats were yet another disadvantage against Daniel Turner, who was armed with a gun and presumably knew his way around these woods. She had run so blindly and frantically that she had lost any sense of direction. She felt an urgency to keep moving to get away from him, but was terrified that she might end up running toward him instead of furthering the distance between them.

She sucked in her breath as a loud, deep shriek broke the silence. It was short and staccato. She replayed it in her head and decided it was only a bird. As she took another step, she heard the chirp again—but this one was slightly higher pitched. Then she heard both sounds at once. Not birds, and not a chirp. More of a bray. Sheep. No… goats. The miniature goats she had seen by the side of the road. The woman by the fence.

She closed her eyes, trying to internalize the direction of the sounds, and then began to move toward them. Focused now, she allowed herself to continue moving, but forced herself to slow her pace. Fast steps were louder. And every time she lost her footing, she was certain that the resulting noise would give her location away.

This time, she wouldn’t let herself get turned around.

She felt herself getting closer to the ongoing braying, when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps in the leaves to her right. Searching for the largest nearby tree, she ducked behind it and turned sideways, trying to make herself as small as possible. It was never going to work. If Daniel Turner stepped within six feet of this tree, he would see her for sure.

The crinkling of the leaves continued. Spotting a softball-sized rock on the ground, she slowly crouched and reached for it with her right hand.

The footsteps moved closer.

She’d only have one shot at surprising him. She would need all of her strength and a lot of luck. Knowing it would probably be her final decision before she was killed, she sprang into a standing position