“Why so many?” I asked.
Laura covered her mouth.
“Because Rick always finds things.”
She knew about the plan.
She had helped them make the first recording after he threatened them at the cabin.
But she had not wanted the children involved.
Mia refused to stop.
“If he controls your phone and the house,” she told her mother, “we need to put the truth where he doesn’t know to look.”
The drives were hidden with neighbors the children believed were kind.
People who waved.
People who brought cookies.
People whose houses had visible doorbell cameras.
My compliment to Laura about her thoughtful children had terrified her because she thought I had discovered the plan.
That was why she gave me the strange smile.
“Where is Rick?” Detective Vasquez asked.
Laura looked toward the road.
“He said he was taking them to breakfast.”
My stomach turned.
“He has them?”
“He must.”
