Almost without their taking notice, he’d excused himself to call Alice. “If Emory contacts anyone, it will be her,” he’d told them. But Alice’s astonishment had doused that faint hope.
“About half an hour ago, she split. We believe she went with that man from the now-famous cabin. His name finally came to light. Hayes Bannock.”
“Oh, Jeff.”
Her soulful groan set his teeth on edge. People were saying the dumbest, most unhelpful things to him tonight. “You don’t know the half of it. She and this man were accomplices in a crime.” He told her about the burglary.
“I can’t believe that of Emory!”
“I wouldn’t have either if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“Did they charge her?”
“No. They figure she was coerced to participate, though I’m not convinced coercion was necessary. There was this girl.” He went on to tell her about the family of Floyds and how they factored in.
“This is all so bizarre,” Alice murmured.
“Even more bizarre is where these people live, although subsist would be a more accurate word.” In disparaging terms he described the state road by which they’d reached Bannock’s cabin. “Backwoods is an understatement of how rustic it is. The Floyds are his nearest neighbors and that isn’t by happenstance. Apparently Bannock already had the brothers in his sights over some past grievance. God knows what. Some tawdry mess, I’m sure. Connell said—”
“Who is Connell?”
“Oh, that’s the best part. He’s the effing FBI.”
“How did the FBI become involved?”
“Hayes Bannock has been eluding Connell for years. Something to do with a mass shooting.”
“You’re not serious.”
“I’m afraid so. His fingerprint was lifted in the cabin. Connell was notified. He rushed right down. Twenty minutes after meeting him and telling him about her mountain adventure, Emory bolted, almost surely with Bannock, and, as we speak, their trail is being obscured by snow.” He paused and took a breath. “I think that’s everything.”
His recitation was followed by a lengthy and teeming silence. Then Alice drew a shaky breath. “Jeff, this is a tragic turn of events.”
“You think?”
“Don’t get smart with me.”
“Then say something less banal.”
“Very well.” After a beat, she said, “It’s obvious to me that Emory has lost her grasp on reality.”
He sensed a ponderous footnote left unspoken. “Alice? Dear? Do you know something I don’t?”
“I’m not sure it’s relevant.”
“Tell me and let me decide its relevance.”
“I can’t betray Emory’s confidence.”
“Your loyalty to her is admirable, but if you keep something from me and the authorities, you’re fostering her bizarre behavior. She’s sacrificing her reputation and jeopardizing the future of the clinic. Her career—as well as mine, yours, and Neal’s—are at stake. Not only that, her life could be in danger. This man she’s with is a violent criminal. My God, Alice, screw confidentiality and tell me what you know!”
She inhaled a deep breath. “She called me from the hospital las
t night. Actually early this morning. She seemed on the verge of hysteria. She was breathing erratically, like she was having a panic attack.”
“What brought it on?”
“Her sunglasses. She asked me if I remembered her mentioning at some point during the day that they’d been broken.”