All The Pretty Girls

You don’t have them? Did you drop them off somewhere? Oh my God, Jake, where are they?”

She was wailing, ru

The voice on the other end of the phone was so soft, so low, she could barely hear it. Even months later, she’d swear she hadn’t really known what was said.

“Meet me in the clearing. Come see your children die.”

Fifty-Two

Taylor and Baldwin were sifting through Reese Co

Taylor’s cell rang, and she sighed as she stopped, reaching for the phone, clicking it on. Even the most mundane task was exhausting. She wasn’t prepared for what she heard when she answered.

Qui

395

day she and her sister were kidnapped. Taylor remembered from Qui

Taylor and Baldwin were tense and alarmed. Not speaking, each attuned to the other, they got themselves emotionally prepared. When children were involved, sometimes the results could be heartbreakingly bad. They had both seen the tumult that came into play with domestic violence. If what Qui

Taylor recognized the bottle-green classic Jaguar that had been parked in Qui

J.T. Ellison

she wasn’t familiar with, a black soft-top Jeep Wrangler. She radioed in the plates. The car was registered to Reese Co

It was time, then. All the leads, the missteps, the death over the past two weeks would be decided in this last moment. Reese Co

“How do you want to do this?” Taylor asked, eyes adjusting to the darkness. The moon was giving off enough light to help them.

“Let’s take it slow, go through the woods. With any luck, Qui

Taylor’s hand slid the familiar route to her Glock, stationed at the ready on her hip. She unsnapped the holster strap, heard a corresponding snick from Baldwin, two feet to her right. She signaled to him in the shadows, motioning for him to go ahead. She broke out a flashlight, covered the edge with her free hand so they wouldn’t be seen and moved through the gloom into the backyard of the house.

“Through there,” Baldwin whispered, pointing to a small opening in the woods. “That should be the path to the clearing.”

They crept along the path, swatting branches and spiderwebs from their faces. After about fifty yards, the path grew wider. They could see the clearing just ahead. All the Pretty Girls

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Careful to make no noise, Taylor slid from behind the cover of the trees, Baldwin right on her heels. She could already hear sobbing, pleading and the strong voice of the man who’d claimed eight lives.

“Quit blubbering, Qui

Qui

Qui

J.T. Ellison

the moonlight. Reese, though, was out of sight, a disembodied voice ringing out through the night. She couldn’t see the children, either. Shit, it was a blind shot. Not a thing she could do. Not yet.

Qui

“Don’t move another inch, Qui

Qui

Baldwin caught Taylor’s eye. He held up a hand, fingers splayed. Five minutes, he was saying. Give me five minutes to get into place, then we’ll take him. She nodded and watched Baldwin creep away. If Qui

“Reese, please honey, tell me why. Why did you kill all those girls? What made you go crazy like that?”