The Silent Dolls: An absolutely gripping mystery thriller (Detective Ellie Reeves Book 1)

by Rita Herron

  Crossing the room, her heart plummeted when she opened the closet door.

  Not dolls, thank God.

  But there was a dollhouse. A big pretty two-story dollhouse with pink shutters and a string of lights on top.

  An empty dollhouse without any dolls inside it.

  77.

  The blistering wind hurled snow around Ellie as she rushed from her Jeep to the hospital entrance. Angelica was waiting, with Stan and Sue Matthews and Chrissy’s mother hovering beside her.

  “Is it true your father has something do with our girls going missing?” Stan shouted.

  “Tell us the truth,” Mrs. Larkin said.

  “Please.” Susan’s voice was a raw whisper. “Does he know where they are?”

  “Are they still alive?” Stan stepped toward her, but suddenly Bryce appeared, sliding deftly between them.

  “Detective Reeves is doing her job,” Bryce said in a calming tone. “Please stay calm and let her continue. I promise you we’re getting closer to finding the girls.”

  Angelica’s cameraman captured the entire scene. Bryce ushered the couple and Chrissy’s mother beneath the awning then inside. “Come on, let’s get coffee,” he urged.

  Stan started toward her again, but Bryce caught his arm firmly. “I wouldn’t do that, Stan.” The man glared at Ellie but conceded, and Bryce escorted them inside the hospital and down the hall toward the cafeteria.

  Wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck, Angelica gripped her microphone with gloved hands.

  “Do you still want to do this, Detective?”

  “More than ever,” Ellie said, the parents’ pain becoming her own.

  Angelica adjusted the microphone, the cameraman counted down from three, and Ellie gave a nod of confirmation that she was ready for the interview.

  “This is Angelica Gomez live here with Detective Ellie Reeves, who has been leading the search for two missing children in Bluff County.” She gestured toward Ellie. “Detective?”

  Ellie stared straight into the camera. “This evening, I’d like to direct my comment to the man who the press has now dubbed the Ghost. I know how many children you’ve taken and how many families you’ve destroyed.” She held the tiny wooden doll from the latest box in front of the camera for a close up. “I know you were at my house and that you left this for me.” Deep-seated anger simmered below the surface of her calm. “Now, it’s time to stop with the games.” She paused for effect, and to control her voice, which was starting to shake. “Please don’t hurt Penny Matthews or Chrissy Larkin. They’re innocent children. If you want someone to tell your story, stop hiding in the shadows like a coward and come after me.”

  Angelica’s eyes widened, but Ellie continued.

  “Tell me where and I’ll meet you. Alone.”

  Leaving Angelica stunned and speechless, Ellie turned and darted through the hospital entrance. Inside the waiting room, her face appeared on the news segment as the interview aired.

  Her mother gaped at her from the corner where she stood. “What in the world has gotten into you?” Vera gasped. “Have you lost your mind, Ellie?”

  Ellie steeled herself against her mother’s disapproval. “I’m trying to find two missing children and get justice for the other victims. Maybe if you and Dad had talked, I wouldn’t have been forced to speak to him.”

  Vera staggered back, as if she’d been punched.

  “Are you ready to talk?” Ellie asked.

  Sinking down into the chair, Vera dropped her head into her hands and began to pray.

  Ellie balled her hands into fists to control her temper. If Penny or Chrissy died because Vera and her father were protecting a killer, no amount of prayer would help them.

  Her phone vibrated on her hip. Captain Hale. Knowing he wouldn’t be happy with her, she let it go to voicemail and hurried back to the nurses’ station.

  While she waited on the nurse to come back to the desk, she listened to his message.

  “Are you crazy, Ellie? Mayor Waters and I just saw that blasted interview. You just baited a goddammed killer.”

  Ellie ignored the message.

  Better the killer come after her than any more children. She couldn’t live with that.

  The nurse returned, looking at her warily. “You’re going to have to wait to see your father. I already fended off that FBI agent.”

  Ellie headed to the opposite side of the waiting room, as far away from her mother as she could get.

  She’d sit vigil until her father woke up. And she wouldn’t leave until he told her everything.

  78.

  Somewhere on the AT

  Chrissy hugged the little wooden doll to her chest as she curled on her side in the dark. The ratty blanket he’d wrapped around her after he’d snatched her and thrown her in the trunk of his car smelled yucky and was scratchy.

  But it was so cold in this dark hole that she burrowed into it.

  With the back of her hand, she wiped at her tears. Why had she been so stupid to follow him? Mommy said not to talk to strangers. But she’d just finished getting the shooting star painted on her face when she’d seen the doll on the ground by the booth with the other homemade toys.

  A bright purple doll bed was there in the booth, and she’d thought the doll went in the bed. And purple was her favorite color. But when she’d stooped down to pick it up, he’d swooped in. Said he’d build a big dollhouse if she wanted to look at it.

  Like a dummy, she’d followed him to the edge of the booth. It was dark then and cold, and she’d suddenly gotten that funny, odd feeling that something was wrong. Just like she did when that meanie Marty pushed her off the swing in kindergarten and stole her lunch.

  The sound of his footsteps close by made her stomach hurt. He was singing that lullaby again, the one about the mockingbird. But his voice didn’t sound sweet like Mommy’s. It sounded evil, just like the look in his eyes was when he’d pulled her from the car trunk and thrown her over his shoulder.

  She’d beat his chest and kicked him and screamed for him to let her go, but no one had heard her because they were somewhere in the woods. The fun sounds of the festival were gone. Instead she heard the wind swishing the trees.

  Terrified, she turned the little doll up and tried to look at its face, but it was so dark, she couldn’t see. She ran her finger over the wood and felt the arms and legs, then the head.

  Maybe if she played with the dolls and was nice, he’d let her go.

  Why did a big man like him have dolls anyway?

  Shivering, she hugged her knees to her chest. The sound of water dripping pinged in the silence. Then nothing. Where was he now? Was he coming back?

  He’d told her not to cry, but she couldn’t help it. She’d heard some grown-ups talking about a man taking another little girl. They said they hadn’t found her.

  Someone said she might be dead.

  She gulped to keep from crying, but she began to sob into her hands anyway. The dumb doll wouldn’t bend or do anything, just lay there stiff and cold in her hand. She didn’t want to play with it.

  She didn’t want to be dead like the other little girls either.

  79.

  Near Atlanta, Georgia

  Dread gnawed at Derrick as he knocked on his mother’s door. Two hours of anticipation as he’d driven to her condo outside Atlanta had made his stomach curl. But he’d nixed the idea of a phone call, knowing she deserved to hear the news from him in person.

  The minute she opened the door, her face fell. But she led him to the living room in silence, and waited until she’d poured him a scotch and made herself a vodka tonic before she turned to him.

  Grief clouded her eyes, but her voice was calm. Resigned. “I saw the news. You found her, didn’t you?”

  Pain and regret nearly choked him, and he nodded. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

  He’d half expected her to fall apart. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him. “Thank you for finding her, son. I… know it hasn’t been eas
y.”

  Tears choked him, and suddenly he was a little boy again, watching Kim run across the yard chasing frogs and squealing as she ran through the sprinkler.

  “It was my fault, Mom. I’d give anything if I could go back and change things.”

  “Shh.” She cupped his face between her hands. “Stop blaming yourself, honey. We’ve both lived a lifetime of regret and sorrow. Now we can give Kim a proper burial and you can finally move on.”

  He didn’t know how to do that. Except to finish the case. Find Kim’s killer.

  Make him suffer.

  The need for revenge festered inside him like a cancer that could only be cured by the bastard’s death.

  Swallowing back his rage, he squeezed her into a hug. “I have to go back. Find the man who took her and the others.”

  “I know, Derrick,” she said softly. “I saw Detective Reeves on the news a few minutes ago. It sounded like you’re setting up a trap for him.”

  Ellie had been on the news? “What do you mean?”

  “She dared the killer to meet her.” A frown pinched his mother’s face. “Didn’t you know?”

  “No.” A knot seized Derrick’s stomach. What the hell was she thinking? And if she’d dared the unsub to come after her, she must not believe that her father was guilty.

  An image of Ellie facing this mass murderer alone made his chest clench with panic. “I have to go.” He hesitated before starting for the door. “Are you all right, Mom? Should I call someone to come and stay with you?”

  Courage flickered in her eyes, and she lifted her chin. “I’m okay, honey. Just go. Find this man and put him away so he can’t hurt anyone else.”

  Derrick gave her another hug, then rushed to the front door. As soon as he started the engine, he phoned Ellie.

  Her cell rang and rang, and she didn’t answer. Fuck. What if he was too late and she’d gone off alone to face this psychopath?

  80.

  Day 5 Missing

  March 5, 8:00 a.m., Stony Gap

  The scent of ammonia, medicine and sick people assaulted Ellie as she stirred awake in the waiting room. Then voices from the nurses’ station and the hall.

  An incoming text from Heath dinged on her phone.

  Maude Hazelnut claims she saw a tall, bulky man in a dark worn coat and black ski cap standing beneath a tree watching children at the kids’ corner, then at the face-painting booth.

  Ellie’s pulse jumped. That man could be the kidnapper. He’d been there stalking Chrissy, hunting for his next victim right in town.

  She sent a return text: Anything else?

  No details. She didn’t see his face. I have a couple more folks to interview. No street cams. Keep you posted.

  Neither Stony Gap nor Crooked Creek had security cameras, something she wanted to rectify. The mountain towns were quaint, usually not much crime. No need to spend money on security cameras, the town council had said.

  Maybe now they’d change their mind.

  She had several messages from Derrick, a blistering one about not going off alone to chase the unsub, but she ignored it. She didn’t want to talk to him right now. Just to get him off her back, she texted him that she was at the hospital.

  A voice on the intercom jolted her. “Code blue. Requesting Dr. Henry to room 310. Code Blue. Dr. Henry please report to room 310.”

  Relieved it wasn’t her father’s room, Ellie stretched her arms above her head and rolled her shoulders to work out the kinks in her neck. Voices echoed from down the hall. Two women talked in hushed whispers by the coffee machine. Someone was crying.

  The nurse walked over and gestured that she could visit her father. “Just a few minutes though,” she cautioned.

  Ellie followed her through the double doors to the ICU. Machines beeped and medicine carts clanged in the neighboring hallway.

  At the sight of her father still tethered to the machines, her stomach twisted. His skin was still so pale he looked like he had one foot in the grave and was barely hanging on to life. The handcuff on his wrist made her feel sick inside.

  A nurse who was checking his vitals offered Ellie a sympathetic smile as she crossed the room. Ellie waited until she left before she scooted into the chair by his bed.

  For a moment, she watched him sleep, the memories of their camping trips together washing over her and causing a fresh wave of pain. He’d patiently taught her how to pitch a tent and start a fire without matches. How to recognize poisonous plants and which mushrooms and berries she could eat. So many adventures, so many times she’d followed him around, idolized him.

  Had he been hiding a sinister side all those years? Loving her and teaching her how to survive in the wilderness while he kidnapped and murdered other innocent little girls?

  That thought sobered her. “Dad, can you hear me?”

  His breathing grew ragged, then his eyes twitched. “Dad, please wake up and talk to me. I need to know the truth.”

  He moaned, reaching for her hand. For a brief second, she stared at it. Didn’t know if she could touch him. Not if he’d used those hands to kill children.

  Get him to talk, Ellie. Do your job. Penny and Chrissy are depending on you.

  Stiffening her spine, she inhaled, then clasped his hand. “Dad, I’m here.” Slowly he opened his eyes, then blinked. Still foggy from pain and the medications, a glazed expression colored his eyes.

  “It’s Ellie,” she said softly. “Do you remember what happened?”

  He searched her face for a moment, then turmoil darkened his eyes. “Shot?”

  “Yes, you’re in the hospital in ICU.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Your mother?”

  “Mom’s in the waiting room. She’s been here all night.”

  The angular lines of his face softened. He was so devoted to Vera it was touching.

  Another memory tickled her conscious—one Christmas when she was seven. She’d snuck into the living room and caught him dressed like Santa Claus as he was putting together her bike.

  She had to be wrong about him. She had to be.

  “Penny Matthews is still missing, and now a girl called Chrissy Larkin has disappeared,” she said softly. “Special Agent Fox thinks you had something to do with it. Either that or you’re covering for the killer.”

  His lips parted as he struggled to breathe, and sweat beaded on his forehead. She had the urge to wipe it away with a cool cloth but restrained herself.

  “If you know where the girls are, Dad, or who kidnapped them, please tell me. Their parents are worried sick.” Her voice was thick with fear and determination. “Don’t let them die.”

  His hand jerked again, then he mumbled something she couldn’t understand before he broke into a cough. She offered him his water cup with the straw and waited while he sipped. When he finished, he choked out a word. “H-Hiram.”

  Hiram? The name teetered on the edge of her memory.

  Her father groaned. “Hiram. Folder… my office, desk.”

  Recognition hit her. Hiram was one of the Shadow People her father had warned her about. He was dangerous, unstable. If you see Hiram, run from him and tell me.

  She studied his face. “Did Hiram abduct Penny?”

  “I told you not to upset your father,” Ellie’s mother shrieked from the doorway. “Get out now, Ellie. You’ve done enough harm already!”

  Her father gasped for a breath, and the heart monitor beeped. Her mother raced into the room and shoved Ellie aside. “Leave him alone. You’re killing him.”

  Ellie backed out the door, her gaze locking with her father’s. Regret flared in his eyes, and a tear rolled down his cheek. Then he mouthed the word Go.

  81.

  The fact that the killer hadn’t contacted her after her plea worried Ellie. Although he could be off the grid without access to TV or the news and hadn’t even seen her interview.

  She pulled into a parking space in front of Stony Gap’s sheriff’s office, shifted the SUV into park, jumped out and t
rudged through the snow to the entrance. Bryce’s squad car was parked to the side. Dammit. She didn’t intend to let him stand in her way.

  Her phone buzzed as she shoved open the front door. A quick glance told her it was Derrick again. But she ignored it. She had work to do.

  Quickly bypassing Bryce, who was on the phone by the coffee counter, she darted into her father’s office. Papers were stacked on his desk. She quickly raked across the files. Nothing pertinent to the missing girls—just routine investigations, traffic reports, county ordinances and permitting.

  Sinking into her father’s desk chair, she attempted to open the file drawer, but it was locked, so she rummaged in the top drawer for the key and snagged it.

  “What are you doing?” Bryce barked from the doorway.

  Ellie shot him an irritated look. She didn’t have time to argue with him. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

  Bryce’s boots banged against the floor as he crossed the room to her. “You can’t search your father’s files without a warrant. There’s confidential material in there.”

  “Dad told me to come, Bryce. There’s something in here about the missing girls.” She unlocked the drawer, then yanked it open.

  Bryce grabbed her arm. “You’re treating your father like a criminal.”

  “I’m trying to find a serial killer,” Ellie said through gritted teeth. “Now get out of my way, or I’ll tell your friend Angelica you refused to help. How will that look for your campaign?”

  He jerked his head back as if she’d bitten him. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you’re acting like a crazy woman.”