pulled her into him. Into himâand into the knife.
He didnât have time to think about what had just happened before she rabbited off. The knife still in her back. He chased her. In the dark. Through the vacant lot. And then her feet tangled and she fell.
The brick was in his fist before he was even aware he had picked it up from the ground. And then it came down on the back of her head.
After it was over, he let the brick fall and braced his hands on his knees, gasping. He hadnât meant for any of this to happen. He wasnât even sure how it had happened.
His gorge heaved, but he clamped his lips closed. There must be some way he could fix this.
Some way that didnât end with him strapped to a gurney and a prison doctor injecting him with poison.
Nothing he could do would bring this girl back.
A car went down the street. He froze. Had they seen him? Orâmore importantâhad they seen her? Seen him with her?
He had to get out of here. Right now. But if he left her here, she was in clear sight of the street. He grabbed her under the arms and started to drag her. Then he saw the knife. He was wearing glovesâthank goodness for thatâbut the knife might still be traced back to him. He had to step on her back to wrench it free. Not knowing what else to do with it, he put it back in its sheath.
He started pulling at her again. He lifted heavy boxes all day, but this took every ounce of his strength. When he got to the part where the ground began to slope, he let go. She tumbled, boneless, until she was half hidden by a blackberry bush. She might not even be found for a while.
Shaking, trembling, he had left. Burned his gloves, soaked his knife in bleach, scrubbed his skin raw in the shower. He didnât even know her name. There was nothing to connect them.
Was there?
Â
CHAPTER 19
ALEXIS
MONDAY
HOW A RABBIT FELT
After the people from Team Delta arrived, Mitchell clapped his hands. âOkay, people, line up and count off!â
Alexis was standing between Nick and Ruby, which meant Nick was eleven, she was twelve, and Ruby was thirteen. Jackie, a certified, was number one, so she would guide off the edge of the crime scene tape. Max, number seventeen, was at the other end of the line, wearing the string pack. It was a giant roll of string that buckled in front and rested on the back of his hips. He began tying the string to the street sign. When they made the second pass it would serve as Jackieâs new guideline.
Detective Harriman cleared his throat. âIn addition to the knife, weâre especially interested in footprints. The drag trail seems to have gone over the killerâs footprints, effectively wiping them out. The guy who found her skidded down to where she was, which may have lost us some more prints. The girl was wearing boots with a round heel about two inches across, so thatâs pretty distinctive. Weâre not sure what type of shoe the killer was wearing.â
Mitchell added, âRemember that we are looking for anything God didnât put here. Itâs not your job to decide if something is too old to be connected to what happened here last night, or even if itâs evidence at all. Your job is just to find it.â
Alexis and the others nodded.
âOkay, then.â Mitchell raised his voice and looked in the direction of the TV camera. âTeam forward!â
âTeam forward,â they echoed. Together, they dropped to their hands and knees, so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder.
âOne entering grid!â Jackie called out as she crawled under the yellow tape. Ezra, who was number two, followed a split second later. In a few moments they were all under the tape and creeping forward. The rule was that you never got ahead of the person to your left, so the line they made was slightly diagonal.
Alexisâs breath clouded the air in front of her. Anything in shadow glittered with frost. It was definitely still
He didnât have time to think about what had just happened before she rabbited off. The knife still in her back. He chased her. In the dark. Through the vacant lot. And then her feet tangled and she fell.
The brick was in his fist before he was even aware he had picked it up from the ground. And then it came down on the back of her head.
After it was over, he let the brick fall and braced his hands on his knees, gasping. He hadnât meant for any of this to happen. He wasnât even sure how it had happened.
His gorge heaved, but he clamped his lips closed. There must be some way he could fix this.
Some way that didnât end with him strapped to a gurney and a prison doctor injecting him with poison.
Nothing he could do would bring this girl back.
A car went down the street. He froze. Had they seen him? Orâmore importantâhad they seen her? Seen him with her?
He had to get out of here. Right now. But if he left her here, she was in clear sight of the street. He grabbed her under the arms and started to drag her. Then he saw the knife. He was wearing glovesâthank goodness for thatâbut the knife might still be traced back to him. He had to step on her back to wrench it free. Not knowing what else to do with it, he put it back in its sheath.
He started pulling at her again. He lifted heavy boxes all day, but this took every ounce of his strength. When he got to the part where the ground began to slope, he let go. She tumbled, boneless, until she was half hidden by a blackberry bush. She might not even be found for a while.
Shaking, trembling, he had left. Burned his gloves, soaked his knife in bleach, scrubbed his skin raw in the shower. He didnât even know her name. There was nothing to connect them.
Was there?
Â
CHAPTER 19
ALEXIS
MONDAY
HOW A RABBIT FELT
After the people from Team Delta arrived, Mitchell clapped his hands. âOkay, people, line up and count off!â
Alexis was standing between Nick and Ruby, which meant Nick was eleven, she was twelve, and Ruby was thirteen. Jackie, a certified, was number one, so she would guide off the edge of the crime scene tape. Max, number seventeen, was at the other end of the line, wearing the string pack. It was a giant roll of string that buckled in front and rested on the back of his hips. He began tying the string to the street sign. When they made the second pass it would serve as Jackieâs new guideline.
Detective Harriman cleared his throat. âIn addition to the knife, weâre especially interested in footprints. The drag trail seems to have gone over the killerâs footprints, effectively wiping them out. The guy who found her skidded down to where she was, which may have lost us some more prints. The girl was wearing boots with a round heel about two inches across, so thatâs pretty distinctive. Weâre not sure what type of shoe the killer was wearing.â
Mitchell added, âRemember that we are looking for anything God didnât put here. Itâs not your job to decide if something is too old to be connected to what happened here last night, or even if itâs evidence at all. Your job is just to find it.â
Alexis and the others nodded.
âOkay, then.â Mitchell raised his voice and looked in the direction of the TV camera. âTeam forward!â
âTeam forward,â they echoed. Together, they dropped to their hands and knees, so that they were shoulder-to-shoulder.
âOne entering grid!â Jackie called out as she crawled under the yellow tape. Ezra, who was number two, followed a split second later. In a few moments they were all under the tape and creeping forward. The rule was that you never got ahead of the person to your left, so the line they made was slightly diagonal.
Alexisâs breath clouded the air in front of her. Anything in shadow glittered with frost. It was definitely still
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