Hour of Need (Scarlet Falls #1)(21)

Her hopes dimmed. The air bag would deploy in her face and immobilize her. She’d still be helpless.

What did he want? Was he going to kill her? She wanted to open the door and run, to take her chances in the parking lot, where she had at least a chance of getting away. Once he took her somewhere else, he could do anything he wanted to her. But there was no way she could get out of the van fast enough.

She turned left onto First Street. Under her coat, sweat soaked through her silk blouse, and her snow boots seemed bulky and awkward on the van’s pedals. Cruising at twenty-five miles an hour, she stopped at an intersection.

“W-where do you want me to go?” she asked.

“Make a left.” He ground the gun into her back as he answered in the same hoarse whisper.

She drove past the elementary school, now empty and dark. He levered his upper body higher to look out the window. “Pull into the parking lot of the thrift store.”

Two blocks later, she turned at a lighted sign. St. Paul’s Thrift Shop closed at four. Ellie had been there many times. She’d bought most of Julia’s baby clothes secondhand. Gravel and ice crunched under her tires as she drove past the converted brick bungalow that housed the used clothing shop. Inside, the building was dark. A single light by the rear door cast a yellow glow across the pavement. He could kill her right here, and there was no one close enough to hear the shot. The lot was empty, except for one car parked in the very back. Light reflected off the windshield. Was there anyone inside?

Fresh terror sent sweat rivering down her back. She could smell her own fear, amplified under the heavy wool of her coat.

“Stop,” he said.

She braked and waited, her hands clenching the steering wheel like a life buoy.

“Put the van in park and raise your hands.”

Ellie followed the instructions. She was alone. He might have reinforcements. She fought to keep her breathing under control. Freaking out would not help. Think! She had to get away, but shock paralyzed her brain. Escape seemed impossible.

He tossed something over the seat into her lap. She flinched.

“Take a good look.”

Ellie dropped her gaze. An eight-by-ten envelope. She opened it and slid out two photos. She picked one up, her pulse stammering as she recognized Julia walking up the driveway after school, her full backpack dangling from one shoulder. The second photo was her grandmother stooping to pick up the paper in the driveway in front of their house.

“I know where you live. I know who you love. You will do exactly as I say or your daughter and your grandmother will suffer. Do you understand?”

Ellie’s head bobbed as if her neck had no muscles.

“You’re going to find the Hamilton file and give it to me.”

Shock swamped Ellie. This was about the Hamilton case? “I don’t know where it is—”

“I don’t give a f*ck. Find it or I pick one of them to hurt.” Reaching forward, he collected the pictures and envelope, tucking them inside his jacket. He pulled the gun away from her back, opened the sliding van door, and got out. Baggy black pants disguised his body, and a black hooded jacket shadowed his eyes. A scarf covered the lower portion of his face. Dressed differently, she could pass him on the street with no recognition. He’d whispered their entire conversation. She couldn’t even identify his voice. In fact, since he’d taken his pictures with him, she had no proof the event even occurred.

Hoodie Man leaned back inside. “Tell no one about this meeting. If you call the police, I will kill your daughter. You can’t hide from me. I’m watching.”

“How do I contact you?”

“You don’t. You’ll hear from me. If you find the file, I’ll know.” He closed the car door and walked toward the headlights.

Ellie’s reflexes short-circuited. She sat frozen for a few seconds before she startled into action. She needed to get the hell out of that parking lot. She jerked the gearshift into drive and pulled out onto the road. Keeping an eye on her rearview mirror, she made several turns until she was sure no one had followed her. Twenty minutes later she pulled into her driveway. The grocery store would have to wait. She had to see Julia and Nan. Now.

She got out of the car and scanned her street. Widely spaced streetlights gleamed on the snow. At least a dozen cars lined the curb on her block alone. How would she know if someone was sitting inside one of them, watching her? She squinted in each vehicle as she drove past, but black windshields gave nothing away. At the corner fifty yards away, Ellie could just make out the shape of someone walking two dogs. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The window of the house next door glowed, and Grant’s rental car was parked in the driveway of the Barretts’ house. Could Grant help? In a way, they were in this together. If her extortion was tied to one of Lee’s cases, the murders could likely be linked as well. Grant would focus on finding the man who’d killed his family members. Ellie wanted to keep hers alive.

Did that make them allies or adversaries?

She resisted the pull. She couldn’t trust a man she barely knew. Guilt burrowed in her belly as she started up the walk. Hoodie Man must be Kate and Lee’s killer. Ellie shouldn’t help him conceal his crime, but her family’s safety had to come first. She would do anything to protect her grandmother and daughter.

Anything.

At the base of her porch steps, she paused, glancing over her shoulder. Wind gusted, sweeping snow from the roof and onto Ellie’s head. She shivered, her body shifting from nervous heat to cold as her adrenaline ebbed. Her gaze lingered on each car parked along the curb. Could someone be sitting in one of those vehicles?