he killed Shondra.”
Anger flashed across his chiseled face. “You found her?”
“No, but he sent me this.” She showed him the photograph and saw him grimace.
“I’m sorry, El. Really.”
She nodded. The fact that Cord was in lockup when she’d received the picture should prove his innocence––unless Derrick continued to push Cord and Finton working as accomplices. “I can’t leave her outside all alone in the elements.”
They both knew that animals would ravage her body if they didn’t recover her soon.
“I think I recognize those cypress trees,” she said, pointing to the foliage on the hill where Shondra lay. “Do you know where they are?”
His brows creased. “You have your trail map with you?”
“Always,” Ellie replied, reaching inside her jacket pocket.
Within seconds, Cord pinpointed an area for her to search. “The area is called Prayer Point. It’s at Cypress Hill. That’s the area where all the cypresses grow.”
Prayer Point was also considered a reverent place, where people went to pray for others.
Friday’s child is loving and giving. The location fit, but the perp’s twisted sense of irony was way off. Shondra was loving and giving. “I have to go find her,” Ellie said.
Cord caught her hand. “It’s dangerous, Ellie. He may be waiting to ambush you.”
Ellie hesitated. If it was up to her, she’d release Cord, but Bryce would have a fit.
She didn’t give a damn though. She’d deal with the sheriff later. Besides, she could argue the fact that she’d received the text while Cord was in a cell. Even if Bryce argued that Finton had sent it, that the two were working together, she didn’t believe it. Right now, Cord could lead her to the location faster than she could find it on her own. That was what mattered.
Decision made, she rushed to the front and snagged the keys to the cell.
“What are you doing?” the receptionist called after them.
“I need Ranger McClain’s help. Tell the sheriff he’s in my custody.”
One Hundred Sixteen
Cypress Hill
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Cord asked, a half hour later, as she parked at the Approach Trail to hike up to the hill.
“No, but we don’t have time to waste and who gives a flying fuck what Bryce thinks?”
Her comment earned a smile from Cord.
Despite her bravado, she was pretty sure Bryce would push for her suspension, and Derrick would believe she was covering for Cord. They’d order her not to set off into the woods with bad weather on the way. But she didn’t have time to worry about their opinions. The ranger was her best bet at finding Shondra. That was what counted, she reassured herself as the trees shook violently in the wind, the threat of a tornado becoming more and more real.
“Why would he leave her in the midst of cypress trees?” Ellie asked.
“The dark green leaves of the cypress represent resurrection and immortality. The elongated form gives the appearance of—”
“Fingers pointing towards heaven,” Ellie finished. “My father brought me here when one of the kids at high school died suddenly. I was so angry because she’d been hit by a drunk driver, but Dad said we had to pray for everyone.”
What little sun had trickled through the cloud disappeared into the distance. Shadows flickered through the narrow paths between the endless rows of pines, oaks, and cypresses in the woods.
With the storm coming, the temperature felt colder here, the air danker, the sounds of the wild more prominent. Eyes peeled for trouble, they made their way into the woods in silence, picking up the pace as the swirling storm clouds gathered above the sharp ridges. The sound of falling rock echoed ahead, and water trickled down the side of the mountain wall.
They stopped briefly to check the map and note identifying markers along the way, Ellie using a compass to guide her.
Four miles in, Cord led her onto a shortcut heading west. They crossed an overflowing part of the creek that had demolished the foliage on the bank. The cloying scent of rotting vegetation filled the air, and the ground was slippery underfoot.
“Don’t look down,” Cord muttered as they reached a flimsy swinging bridge made of rope and board. Carefully, Ellie eased onto it, testing the fraying rope and carefully stepping over missing boards. She held her breath as she crept across it, and she didn’t have to look down to know that if she fell, she’d plunge headfirst into a rocky ravine.
The bridge swayed back and forth, making her dizzy, and she clutched the ropes to steady