She stayed east, with the sun setting behind her.
By the time she reached her destination, it was almost dark. Following her tracks back out wouldn’t be a problem. She had her trusty flashlight.
She adjusted her binoculars and scoped out the house. The lights were blazing inside. Perfect.
Her phone vibrated.
Ignoring it crossed her mind, but if another girl had gone missing, she needed to know. She pulled out her phone, checked the screen. Blocked call.
Her shrink had never stooped to that level. Neither had her editor.
She accepted the call. “Newton.”
A moment of silence elapsed.
“Newton,” she repeated, annoyed.
“Sarah Newton,” the voice said.
Male, she decided, though it was distorted, almost garbled.
“That’s me, asshole. What’s up?”
“You’re a fraud.”
The dead air that followed the statement told her the call had ended even before she checked the screen.
She shoved the phone back into her pocket. She’d been called worse. Just in case, she felt her other pocket to ensure the pepper spray was there.
Focusing back on the house, she spotted Jerri Lynn on the sofa watching television. As Sarah watched, Lynda entered the room and asked her daughter something.
The two argued. Big gestures. Lots of agitation.
“Hmmm.”
Obviously neither of them had been her caller. The Infiniti was back in the driveway. So, where was Jerald?
Snow crunched.
She froze.
A split second before she reached for the pepper spray, a hand went over her mouth and nose. An arm banded around her waist. She kicked.Punched. Thrashed. The hand pressed harder against her face. There was a cloth in his palm.
Fight!
But her struggles were futile. Her arms grew too heavy to fling. Her legs too leaden to propel.
That was when she noticed the strange smell ... and then she noticed nothing at all.
40
9:00 p.m.
Kale said his goodnights to his folks and headed home. Polly was back, and a celebratory dinner had been in order.
The only thing that could have possibly made the evening better would have been if Sarah had come. He’d called her repeatedly and gotten her voicemail. She’d obviously needed some alone time.
As hard as he tried, he couldn’t keep her off his mind.
