Chosen To Die (Alvarez & Pescoli)
Page 56
“Everyone says that, but I saw her Jeep. It was all messed up. Wrecked. Being pulled out of the canyon up on the ridge.”
“She wasn’t in it, if that’s what you’re asking.”
The deputy was still walking along the path, his frown hard-edged.
“Then where was she?”
“We don’t know. That’s why we’re here.”
“She’s not here!”
“You’re right.”
“She was in her Jeep. On her way to see my step dad, and then she wrecked.”
“Appears that way.”
“So what? Is she dead?” he demanded, fear
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pounding in his temples, his stomach churning. His dad had died; Jeremy knew all about losing a parent. He thought he might pass out.
“As I said, we don’t know.”
“But she wouldn’t loan the county vehicle to anyone. She never even let me drive it,” Jeremy said, so frustrated and scared he was sweating. Mom had to be okay. She just had to. “So she was in her Jeep. And if she wasn’t when you found her, then she’s hurt somewhere or in a hospital or oh, God, dead . . . or . . .” The horrible thought that had been lurking just beneath the surface of his consciousness reared its evil head. His stomach turned instantly sour. His mouth was filled with saliva. “You’re not telling me that . . . that what? That the damned killer who’s been around here . . . I mean, they caught him in Spokane . . .” No, that wasn’t right. He’d heard on the news that the killer they’d arrested in Washington probably wasn’t responsible for all the deaths around here. “No way.” He was shaking his head, glaring up at the cop, who looked like he belonged in an NBA uniform rather than county-issued jacket and slacks.
“As I said, Jeremy, we don’t know anything yet. Now, what’re you doing here? Looking for your mom?”
“Yeah, and getting my truck.”
Rule glanced toward the lane down which McAllister’s SUV had vanished. “I guess that’s okay.”
“Damned straight. It’s my truck.”
He didn’t say it, but Jeremy had been around his mom long enough to read the guy’s thoughts, that this, his house, his mom and Bianca’s home, could be a crime scene.
That evil fear, the one that had lifted its head, 168
Lisa Jackson
loomed larger. Dark and sinister, it bit into his heart. “I . . . I need to go inside.”
Rule hesitated, then shook his head. “Why don’t you wait on that?”
“Do I have to?”
“We’re trying like hell to find your mother, Jeremy, and we don’t want to do anything that might compromise evidence. Take the truck and go back to your friend’s house or maybe your stepdad’s. You’ve got a little sister, don’t you?”
Jeremy didn’t answer.
“You might want to look after her.”
Jeremy didn’t want to show the guy just how scared he was. “Fine,” he said with all the intent of coming back here as soon as the cop left. His stomach was threatening to lurch again, so he spat the extra saliva into the snow and walked to his truck. He climbed behind the wheel, flicked on the engine, and heard it sputter and cough before catching. Once he’d revved it a couple of times, he turned on the defrost, then grabbed his scraper and went to work on the snow and ice that had built up in the past few days.
His cell phone chirped and he checked it. A text from Heidi. His heart did a stupid little leap.