In the center of a cement room thick with cobwebs and dirt, K.C.’s gaged and bound to an antique chair. Blood smears her face, running down her neck. Her head hangs limp, along with the rest of her body.

  Please don’t be dead, I think with pain spreading through my chest.

  “K.C.,” I whisper. “We’re here, K.C. Theo’s upstairs. Can you hear me?”

  I release a slow, quiet breath when her head finally lulls from side to side. Then her chin drags upward and her eyelids lift with great difficulty. A low moan rips from her throat, absorbed by the rag stuffed inside her mouth.

  Either she’s been drugged or badly injured. Maybe both.

  “It’s going to be okay,” I promise, starting for her.

  From somewhere in the shadows behind her, a deep voice sniggers. “That’s where you’re wrong. Again.”

  A blow to the back of my head sends me spiraling into darkness.

  I come back around with the sound of male voices arguing. Everything’s muffled like I’m hearing them through a thick wall, and there’s a high-pitched ringing vibrating against my eardrums.

  “Who in the hell is that girl? How does she know so much?”

  “Far as I can tell she’s just some kid who moved here from California to work for Human Services. She’s the daughter of April Marie, the actress. I haven’t a clue how she knows things except she’s been hanging around this other one, asking questions and digging into the past.”

  “Great. So if she goes missing, her rich bitch of a mother will come here and raise a fuss, attracting the attention of the entire nation? Why exactly did you bring these two women here?”

  “They were too close to the truth. I thought it was necessary to shut them up before you ended up serving the rest of your life in prison. She’d spotted you following her around and reported it to that incompetent chief.”

  “Wouldn’t just be me going down, you know. You may not have been equally involved in the beginning, but you were the one who orchestrated things with the Thompson and Tanner girls.”

  “That’s exactly why I came back! Someone had to ensure the past stayed buried!”

  “Everything fell apart the moment you nabbed the wrong Tanner sister. The older one would’ve been much easier to control. Once you got our ol’ pal, Dicky, to start selling drugs to their mom, Diane was ripe for the taking. She was too afraid to speak out. We could’ve kept going if you hadn’t taken that mouthy little brat instead. There’s no way I was going to take another girl after she nearly exposed us.”

  “I’m not the one who grew up dissecting family pets as a favorite pastime. I was perfectly content with not doing it again.”

  “Don’t lie to yourself. You got off on getting away with taking those girls just as much as I did. I recall you being the one who volunteered to dig their graves out back.”

  “That’s only because I’d witnessed the piss-poor job you’d done after your first kill in high school. If I hadn’t coached you, you would’ve been locked away before your balls dropped.”

  Vomit blazes up from my stomach, creating a sour taste in my throat.

  The two men are confessing to murdering Jackie and the others—maybe even more.

  Every bone in my body aches as I flex my limbs against the concrete floor. At least nothing feels broken.

  My head throbs as I attempt to lift it and clear the groggy cloud from my thoughts. From the musty smell that fills my lungs when I attempt a deep breath, I decide I must still be in the farmhouse basement even though I’m unable to see anything.

  Goosebumps ripple over my skin as I remember finding K.C. tied to a chair.

  Someone struck me.

  With a start, I remember Theo was with me upstairs.

  Is he the one who knocked me out from behind?

  “No,” I whimper with tears burning behind my closed eyelids. I refuse to believe the man I love is one of the men speaking in the other room. “No!”

  “Did you hear that?” one of the men snaps.

  “I didn’t hear anything.”

  “She’s already awake! Now we have three bodies to contend with in addition to the girl. What a disaster! What are you planning to do now?”

  “Keep a close eye on that door and make sure it stays locked,” the other one commands. “I’m going upstairs to make sure my son’s still heavily sedated. We’ll figure out what to do when I get back.”

  Theodore, Sr.

  This time there’s no holding back the hot tears that rush down my cheeks. Thank God. Theo’s still alive and blissfully unaware of everything I’ve heard. But he’ll be devastated when he learns of his father’s involvement.

  What are they planning to do to Theo? To all of us?

  “Lady, you have to be quiet,” a young girl’s voice snaps somewhere beside me.

  My heart slips into my throat. “Abigail?” I ask, sucking in a gasp.

  “Play dead and they’ll leave you alone,” she tells me in a hushed tone. “At least one of them will. He likes it when you fight back.”

  “I’m going to get you out of here,” I promise, praying that K.C. and Theo are still okay. “I won’t let them hurt you.”

  With the sound of a squeaking door hinge, I remain perfectly still and close my eyes against the pale light.

  Feet shuffle over the concrete by my head. I’ve convinced myself they’re going to be satisfied that I’m still out and leave again just moments before a set of fingers press against my neck beside my windpipe.

  A heavy sigh rustles my hair before the fingers sweep up my skin, stopping to caress my jaw. Then my lips.

  “Beautiful,” a deep voice rasps.

  With a strong bout of nausea, I strike the palm of my hand toward the voice, satisfied when it lands beneath a jaw as intended. In the faint light I’m able to see a man writhing on the ground in pain.

  “Come on, Abigail,” I say, scanning my gaze across the dark room. “Let’s get the hell out of here."

  “Behind you!” she yells.

  A terrifyingly familiar face fills my vision just moments before the sharp bite of a needle pierces my neck. This time, instead of drifting off into total darkness, I’m launched back to 1986.

  27

  JACKIE - 1986

  My muscles ache from shivering. At least my breath provides little bursts of heat every time it soaks into the cloth tied around my mouth.

  Flashes of J.R.’s dad grabbing me in the park and holding something over my mouth until everything went dark makes my eyes burn, but I’ve cried so much already that I’m out of tears.

  Did his dad take J.R., too? Is he somewhere in the darkness along with me?

  What is his dad going to do? Is he punishing me for being friends with his son?

  My hands hurt from where they’re tied together with rope, but my feet are free to move. The ground is as hard as a rock beneath my butt. I must be in a building. But where? How long have I been here? Why is it so cold if I’m inside?

  A faint light shines near my feet with the squeak of a door.

  Footsteps pound against wooden steps.

  I scramble away from the footsteps until my shoulders hit a wall.

  As my eyes take in the tall man with clear-framed glasses heading toward me, my stomach cramps like it does when I have the flu.

  He belongs in the classroom with a piece of chalk in his hand, not in this dark, dirty place.

  What is Mr. Kabe doing here?

  As I stare at my teacher’s face, my fears begin to melt away. He has to be here to save me. After all he’s a teacher.

  His eyes pop wide in shock. “Jackie?”

  “Help!” I cry as best as I can with the cloth wedged between my lips. “Help me!"

  Throwing his fists into the air, Mr. Kabe roars, “No! That imbecile!”

  Fear tightens my stomach as he paces back and forth, mumbling to himself. Why is he mad? Why isn’t he helping me?

  He eventually stops pacing and stares back at me, combing his fingers through his dark hair over and over. “You need to understand this isn’t my fault. It was never supposed to be you, Jackie. I’ve had my eye on your sister for years. I was looking forward to her company.”

  I shake my head, confused.

  “This is a rather sticky conundrum, I’m afraid,” he says. “I can’t exactly let you go free now that you’ve seen both me and Teddy, now can I?”

  The truth behind his words are like a sword cutting through my middle.

  He’s not here to save me.

  He starts pacing again, talking in a voice so quiet I almost can’t hear when he’s saying. “I knew I never should’ve agreed to let him in on this. He was so excited when he realized I’d taken the Myers girl and still taught her classmates every day. I could’ve told him no, but he would’ve sent me to prison and continued taking girls without me. I couldn’t let him get by with that either.”

  He stops in front of me and squats down to my level. “Oh, Jackie. We both know you were never one of my favorite students, but it still pains me to have to do this.”

  When he reaches for me, I draw both of my legs against my chest then shoot them outward like a spring. The heel of my sneaker catches him in the jaw, sending him down on his back with a surprised cry. I jump to my feet and race past him, climbing the stairway with the speed of a rabbit.

  I’m in the kitchen of a really old house.

  I keep moving until I find a front door. I hear Mr. Kabe yelling my name as I burst out the door and into the cold night.

  I run.

  I was never a fast runner, but knowing my teacher wants to hurt me provides me with a sudden boost of speed. It’s still hard with my hands tied together, but I have a sick feeling I might be running for my life.

  A gathering of trees come into view against the dark sky, and I hear the steady pounding of water on rocks. My heart swells with joy.

  I’m by Minneopa!

  The faraway sound of voices and laughter echoes through the air—probably a group of older kids that snuck into the park to drink beer.

  I tug on the cloth around my mouth until it loosens enough to speak. “Help me!” I cry out, my voice sore and scratchy. “He’s going to hurt me!”

  The sounds of their party continue on. My voice is too weak and I’m too far away for them to hear.

  “Over here!” I try a little louder, stumbling toward the glow of a campfire. “I’m here! Please, help!” The tip of my shoe catches on a tree root and I drop to the ground with a sharp pain shooting through my ankle. My heart beats so hard it hurts.

  “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t yell for help again,” Mr. Kabe warns, his voice sharp with danger and way too close by. “Did you really think you could run from me, Jackie?”

  I try to stand, but when I put weight on my injured ankle, I’m sent back down to the ground.

  As I’m dragged away by the monster who’d been hired to teach children, I close my eyes, remembering the first time I’d laid eyes on J.R. on the river bank nearby.

  Thick, sandy brown locks curl around his neck and above his ears, feathering across his forehead. His nose and bottom lip are both a little bigger than the rest of his features, and his cheeks are as round as balloons. Dark eyes beneath thick eyebrows catch the golden hue of the setting sun, making my heart drum a little faster.

  I’ve heard adults talk about love at first sight on TV, and always thought it was something pretend like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. My mom taught me that not everyone gets a happy ending. But the first time I laid eyes on Theodore Davies, Jr., I knew true love was real.

  I remember the carefree way he laughed as we watched TV together at my house, how he held onto me at the skating rink. He was sweet enough to walk me home from school, and stand up against my bullies.

  As a fist is raised into the air above me, I draw strength from the sound of J.R.’s voice, the tilt of his lips that make the dimples pop into his cheeks.

  I may not live long enough to marry my crush like I’ve dreamed so many times, but at least in the short time we were together, we were both really happy. He taught me the meaning of real love. He taught me true friends are something to be cherished. He taught me to be brave in the darkest of times, and embrace the good moments.

  He taught me how to live.

  28

  STERLING - 2018

  “Police!” I hear from somewhere in the depths of the darkness. Like before, the voice is muted to my ears as if it’s coming from another room. “Drop the weapons and put your hands up where I can see them!”

  All at once I remember where I am and bolt upright. “Abigail?” I call out. “Abigail, are you still here?”

  A whirlwind of commotion follows.

  There’s shouting and grunting and sounds of a struggle from the other room.

  Then, the blasts of guns. Dozens of them.

  I cover my ears and cry.

  A few heart-stopping moments pass before an eerie silence follows. Then someone yells, “In here!”

  In the course of a handful of shallow breaths, I’m being gathered into a set of arms.

  I fight with everything I have, thrashing and screaming with inhuman strength.

  I won’t let Elroy Kabe hurt me the way he hurt Jackie.

  I’ll kill him first.

  “Get away from me!” I scream. “Don’t touch me!”

  “It’s okay, sweetheart! It’s me!” Theo yells, gripping my arms and kissing my forehead. “It’s over! My father and Elroy Kabe are dead!”

  I continue fighting and screaming as Theo guides me to my feet and leads me to where the slain bodies of his father and Elroy Kabe lay in the other room. Their blank eyes stare at the ceiling, unblinking. Theo’s father has his hand in a pool of blood, fingers locked around his detective badge. I can smell the bitter scent of grass and feel a roaring in my ears as my hands violently tremble at my sides. My foot rears back and wedges into the corpse’s side with a wet, meaty sound. His head rolls, dead eyes staring at me and I can’t stop screaming. “You bastard!”

  Blood sprays across the toe of my white sneaker. I roar with hatred and anger seizing every inch of my bones. I kick him over and over with my stomach sloshing and tightening in unbearable pain. “You sick, evil, son-of-a-bitch! I hate you!”

  These men destroyed my mom and my sister, broke K.C. and Theo’s hearts. If there was a way to bring Mr. Kabe and Theo’s father back to life only so I could watch them die with my own eyes, I’d do it—without hesitation.

  “Why’d you kill me? Why?” Spittle flies from my lips as I start for Mr. Kabe’s body. “I hate you both!” Anguished cries rip from my throat, so raw and deep that I’m unable to catch my breath. I can’t do anything but fight past the red spots in my vision.

  “Get her outta here!” a gruff voice orders.

  As I’m launched over Theo’s shoulder and carried up the stairway, my screaming rants slow along with my stuttered breaths and become hiccuping sobs. “I hate them,” I repeat with far less force. My heartbeat reduces to a painfully slow beat as I’m struck with the truth. “They killed her…they killed her.”

  Outside, among the confusion of spotlights and a lawn filled with rescue personnel, Theo sets me back down on my feet and takes my face in his hands. “Did they hurt you?”

  Gazing into the depths of his whiskey colored eyes—the same beautiful eyes Jackie envisioned as she took her last breath—I choke out, “Where’s Abigail…K.C.?”

  “They’re over there,” he tells me, pointing to where K.C. watches with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders as an EMT examines Abigail. “They’re both safe.”

  I fling my arms around his neck, sobbing into his chest. “They killed Jackie, Theo! She’s dead!”

  “I know,” he says, gripping my head with one arm. “But it’s over now, sweetheart, and you’re safe. They’ll never hurt anyone else again.”

  Birds chirp their joyous songs and the early fall sunshine beats down onto our shoulders as we stand over the fresh pile of dirt, eyeing the pale pink granite headstone behind Pastor Babel.

  Jackie Ann Tanner

  Beloved friend

  1974-1986

  The grave-side service drew in a larger crowd than we’d expected, creating an emotionally charged environment that turned me into a blubbering mess on Theo’s shoulder with less fortitude than I’d intended. He’s the one who has suffered the most tremendous loss, so I had intended on being his pillar of strength. But seeing those who’d suffered because of Jackie’s unexplained disappearance was overwhelming. And I certainly hadn’t expected my mom and aunt to be among those in attendance.

  Once Jackie’s remains were confirmed by the state’s forensic lab in St. Paul, Theo and I had gone to the nursing home to break the news to Diane. She didn’t remember me, and had asked my name. It was as if the last conversation I’d had with her never happened. I wasn’t surprised considering whatever part of Jackie I’d been carrying with me disappeared the moment we left the farmhouse.

  The most difficult part of the service occurs when Diane wails in agony as Theo places Jackie’s ashes inside the square hole in the ground. I hold her hand and stroke her hair, openly sobbing along. My mom and aunt stand close behind me, each of them grasping one of my shoulders as if transferring some of their strength.

  Pastor Babel spreads his arms wide as he gives his final blessing. Everyone around us responds with a chorus of “amens,” and his round cheeks rise with a bright smile. Although he retired many years ago, he asked if he could say a few words at the private service when Theo and I stopped by to let him know that Jackie had been found. From the twinkle in his eye, I imagine he wanted to lay her to rest for his own peace of mind.

  The minister’s gaze holds mine for a moment before skating over the crowd. “On behalf of Jackie’s friends and family, I’d like to personally thank every last one of you for attending this very special service today. Our community has suffered in silence for too long. From this day forward, may we all live life a little fuller in honor of her memory and the memories of the other three young ladies who have also been laid to rest.”