Tess gasped. “A scarecrow?” Now, why, she thought, did that mere word make her stomach cramp? Had she seen one in the cornfield the day she was taken?

“Yeah,” Gabe said as Vic looked up again. “One Sandy’s mother said had never been in the shop anywhere, though she had ordered some small ones that had not arrived.”

“A scarecrow?” Tess repeated, frowning.

“So?” Gabe prompted.

“Nothing. It just seems weird. Maybe it’s just the word scare I’m reacting to. Even though all this happened to me years ago, and I know I’m safe now, the whole thing still scares me.”

“Let’s get the scarecrow from the forensics lab in the truck and unbag it, get Mike to drive back here,” Vic said. “He’s only been on the road to headquarters about fifteen minutes. I agree the scarecrow’s weird, but so is all of this.”

“I’ll have Ann call Mike,” Gabe said. “He ought to make it back right after the news conference. Tess, you want to wait here for us? There’s a smaller conference room, empty, that might be better next door.”

“Yes, fine. You know, I was afraid I’d be spotted coming in.”

“I’ll have Ann tell Mike not to bring the scarecrow in until you and I are back,” Gabe told Vic as he escorted Tess out.

He walked Tess next door to a much smaller room with a regular door, a narrow table and two chairs facing each other. There was no evidence of the investigation in here.

“An interview room?” she asked.

“Multipurpose, but yes.”

“With all those reporters out there, I feel like it’s my safe room.”

“I don’t want you to feel that way—as if you’re under attack, or we’re grilling you.” He put his arm around her waist as he pulled out a straight-backed chair for her and she sat down. One hand on the table, he bent closer to her. She could tell he’d had pizza or something Italian for lunch, but on his breath, it was enticing. She leaned slightly toward him.

“You really reacted to the mere mention of a scarecrow, Tess. Anything else that comes to mind then?”

“Fear. Something flapping in my face. Maybe being hit—smackings.”

“Smackings? Is that a word your parents used with you?”

“I don’t think so. I can ask my sisters.”

“If not, your using that term would not relate to anything in your own family, like a punishment or spanking paddle.”

“Right. I really don’t think my parents had anything like that.”

“So that could be a memory of your time away that popped out. And once there’s a trickle of memory, there could be a gush of it. Well, I read that in a book somewhere.”

“Oh, Miss Etta gave me some books on childhood trauma I’m going to read.”

“Let me know if something stands out.”

She did think then of hearing that a Hear Ye girl was being spanked for stealing. Should she tell Gabe right now that she was determined to learn all she could about that girl, maybe to help her if she was imprisoned at the compound?

“Gabe, let’s go!” Vic’s voice came from down the hall.

Gabe squeezed her shoulder. When he moved away, his hand brushed through her hair, almost like a caress. But this was no time to imagine things, not about the past or the present. Especially since it seemed Gabe and Ann had something going on. And what did it matter to her? She wanted to sell her house and get out of here just as fast as she could, but if she could help herself or others in the short time she was here, then—

A voice interrupted her agonizing. Ann.

“Gabe said to bring you coffee and a donut,” she said as she put the mug and a powdered sugar donut in front of her. “I’m going out to watch the news conference. My brothers are gone, but Peggy, our night dispatcher’s, out front if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Ann.”

“Think nothing of it. But think about this,” she said, her tone hardening. “Gabe’s obsessed with this case—yours and the others, of course. But if you can’t help him, you should clear out so having you around doesn’t keep reminding him of his father’s failures. You know what I mean. Maybe you should talk to Aaron Kurtz, who owns all those fields around your place. Maybe he’d want to buy your property, demolish the house and garage for more arable land. He’s always trying to expand his holdings. You know, think outside the box to sell your house fast.”

And get away from Gabe fast, was the rest of the message.

“Thanks for the suggestion,” Tess said, gripping the hot mug between her hands.

“Yeah. Sure,” Ann said. She almost ran from the room.

Think outside the box. Someone was still taking little girls, someone local, maybe right under their noses. So she was definitely going to take a closer look at the goings-on at Hear Ye. And maybe she should go talk to Aaron Kurtz, although, obviously, Gabe and Vic had crossed him off their list long ago. Both of those decisions scared her.

But what really churned up long-buried terror was the mere mention of a scarecrow.

11

Time crawled for Tess. One of those big, round schoolroom-type clocks glared down from the opposite wall of the tiny office. Not only did the minutes seem too slow, but the clock hands jerked with a strange sound not quite a ticktock.

Half an hour passed. Wasn’t the press conference in the town square over yet?

She heard footsteps in the hall. Good! Gabe was back, but did he have the scarecrow? Surely it wasn’t just that she’d seen a scarecrow the day she was abducted. No, it was something more than that.

She stood, facing the door, bracing her thighs against the edge of the table. When the door opened, it wasn’t Gabe, but a man she knew even after all these years, though he was heavier than she recalled.

Mayor Reese Owens paused at the door, as if to see if she recognized him.

“Mayor Owens.”

“Nothing amiss, Teresa. Or it’s Tess now, I hear. The sheriff and Agent Reingold are still taking questions at the press conference. I made an opening statement. Ann told me you were in here, and I wanted to both welcome you back and suggest— Just a minute,” he said, holding up a hand. He was out of breath and leaned over to prop his fists on the table. “Suggest you not stay long,” he rushed on as he seemed to get his breath again. “Not stay long in town and the area, I mean. I know that sounds terrible here in friendly Cold Creek, but it’s for your own good as well as the community’s. You showed sound judgment in not attending the press conference. I hear your presence here has already stirred up reporters, and that doesn’t do anyone any good. I’m thinking of you too.”

“Then perhaps you’ve heard I don’t intend to stay long. I only want to spend time with my cousin’s family, sell my house and head back home. If I’m such a liability, you could buy my house and land—take up a community offering—to get me out of here quickly.”

“Now, I know you’ve been through the mill, your family too. But as mayor, I’m charged with protecting the greater good. Sorry I came on so strong.”

He edged around the table toward her. “I knew your father, you see. The day you disappeared he should have been sticking closer to home.”

“He was working that day. Out of town.”

He made a snorting sound. “I don’t want you and Gabe to get so close you start thinking you’re on this case too. Bad enough having Agent Reingold back in everyone’s hair. Just keep clear of the investigation and Gabe. Those who don’t pay attention to history are condemned to repeat it. This is police business and mine too.”

“I see you make it your business to know everyone’s business. And why, if you want this case—cases—solved, don’t you want all the help you can get, Agent Reingold’s, mine, anyone’s?”

“Don’t you go getting snippy with me,” he said, shaking a finger at her. “Like I said, I’m thinking of you too. In other words, don’t you and Gabe go repeating the sins of the parents, if you know what I mean.”