The slap across the face from her father was so hard her head jerked backward and a stinging fire shot up her cheek.
“Get out, Beth Ann, and don’t come back,” her father shouted.
“I guess you just answered my question.” Hate seized her as she stormed through the hall to the door. She slammed it andclimbed in her car, sobs escaping her as she barreled down the mountain.
Why didn’t you tell me, Minnie? I would have helped you.
Only now it was too late…
TWENTY-TWO
Crooked Creek Police Station
Forty-five minutes later, Ellie finally found a birth certificate for Iris Ann Benton. It listed her delivery as a home birth and she’d been delivered by a midwife. The date was eighteen months ago, which indicated she was three months pregnant when she left home. Iris was not born in a hospital or clinic, but a place called Sanctuary House.
Ellie needed to research the place, then pay a visit and ask about Iris. Maybe Minnie had left the little girl there. Her phone buzzed and she snatched it and connected.
“Ellie, it’s Laney,” Dr. Whitefeather said. “We were right to be suspicious. Those bruises on Minnie’s shoulders were definitely fresh hand imprints and forceful ones. Also the other bruises on her body were recent and indicated she’d been beaten, maybe even kicked in her abdomen and legs, perhaps even stomped on.”
Ellie shuddered. “Oh, my God, how brutal.”
“I’m afraid so,” Laney said, her voice catching. “The dirt and tiny slivers of minerals suggest that at some point she clawed at the rocks in an attempt to save herself. Also, there were tinyfibers, dirt particles and stick fragments beneath her fingers indicating she fought her attacker. I also identified leaf particles and minute slivers of pine bark from that tree McClain pointed out with the broken branches that support the theory that she was trying to escape.”
“Poor girl,” Ellie muttered. “Who and why would someone push her off the ridge?”
Laney clicked her pen in the background. “I may have some insight into that, too.”
Judging from the wary sound of Laney’s voice, Ellie sensed she wasn’t going to like it. “Go on,” she said grimly.
“There were definite signs of childbirth from a vaginal birth, but also signs of past vaginal tearing and bruising not caused by childbirth but consistent with repeated sexual assault.”
Ellie closed her eyes against the images that bombarded her. Abuse from Iris’s father? Or… perhaps Minnie’s own?
The horrid possibility that one of those men had also killed Iris taunted Ellie.
Other dire possibilities sprang to mind. Human trafficking and selling babies on the black market were both abhorrent but lucrative for kidnappers and sometimes impossible to track down.
“I’ll have Cord dispatch more search teams for the mountains. Our unsub could have left Iris’s body or buried her somewhere in those woods. Then I’ll call in Special Agent Fox. If this case involves selling or trafficking children, we'll need his help and resources.”
She returned to her office and phoned Cord.
“Benji and I are on it, El. If Iris is in those woods, we’ll find her.”
“Thanks, Cord. Be careful.”
She ended the call then pressed Derrick’s number. He answered on the second ring. “Hey, Derrick. I caught a new case.”
“I know. I saw the press conference. You obviously suspect foul play.”
“Yes, I just talked to Laney. Murder, possible prior sexual assault, and a kidnapped little girl,” Ellie said, her tone worried. “We need your help.”
“I’ll be there first thing in the morning.”
TWENTY-THREE
Hazel and Clara clutched each other’s hands as they entered the police station. After that news story about Minnie, they’d both sat shaken and shocked. Then the tears had come, flowing like a flooded river spilling onto the ground during a bad rainstorm.
It had taken everything Hazel possessed to pull herself together and drive here. But she’d promised to do everything possible to support Minnie. Right now that meant helping find Iris if possible, and getting justice for Minnie. Lord help her up, she didn’t know exactly how she could help but she had to try.
