Two small heads peered from one side of the boulders.

“Do those dogs bite?”

“No, they don’t bite,” Ben said. “They barked to tell me how happy they are to have found you.” He signaled to the dogs and sent them running after the floppy Frisbees he had brought as their play reward.

Apparently it wasn’t the dogs that scared the boys, though. They eyed us warily. Caleb was anxiously looking around for some sign of his sister, but to his credit, did his best to stay calm otherwise.

“You’re Troy, aren’t you?” I said to the boy who had spoken.

He nodded. “And this is my brother, Aaron. Would you please call the police? We aren’t allowed to let you take us with you. We have to tell you we need the police.”

Caleb pulled his cell phone out. “That’s smart. We don’t want to scare you. I’m Caleb, and I’m calling the police right now. That’s Ben. And this is Irene.”

“Irene?” they said in unison, staring at me.

“What’s your last name?” Troy asked.

“Kelly.”

“Do you live at the Las Piernas News Express at Six Hundred Broadway in Las Piernas, California?”

I couldn’t hide my surprise. “Yes, I work there.”

“Genie said you’re our friend,” Aaron said. They came out from behind the rocks. “What are the dogs’ names?”

Caleb introduced them, then said, “Ben, is your phone working up here? I’m not getting a signal.”

Ben came back with the dogs and took his phone out. “Not much of one, and I don’t have much battery left.”

I checked mine-like Caleb, I didn’t have a signal.

Ben made the call. They answered. He said, “This is Ben Sheridan-,” moved slightly, and the phone made a beeping sound as it disconnected.

Troy was studying me. “Genie said you know where our sister Carrie is. Do you?”

“Yes, and after the police know that everyone is okay, I’ll make sure she gets a chance to talk to you.”

“Our mom is on vacation,” Aaron volunteered.

“Really?” I said, a little faintly. “You mentioned Genie. Where is she?”

Troy said, “She went back to save Daddy from Cousin Cleo.”

Caleb went pale. “Oh, no…”

“Troy,” Aaron said, “give her the note, remember?”

Troy fished in his jacket pocket, then handed me a piece of notebook paper. Caleb read over my shoulder.

Ben tried to call the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department again. He connected, but before he could give more than his name, he was transferred.

“What?” Ben shouted into the phone a moment later. “She’s not part of any authorized search team… No dogs? Arrest her… I don’t know what charges, but she’s up to something. She’s connected to the”-he glanced at the boys-“the family. No, we broke up. But I’m not calling about Anna.”

I extended the note toward him, and he reached for it, causing him to lose the connection again. He made a hissing sound of exasperation and, as he hit redial, told me, “Anna’s up here. One of the guys in the SBSD saw her picking up a map from a real-estate office while he was on patrol.”

He got through and gave the SBSD his attention again. “Listen,” he said, “forget Anna. This is far more important, and my phone’s not going to last. I’m on Cold Creek, and we’ve found the boys. Yes, Troy and Aaron. They seem to be okay, but their sister and Roy Fletcher-” A series of ominous beeps sounded from the phone. Only the presence of small children kept us from saying what ran through our minds.

Ben took a calming breath. “They heard me say we found the boys, I named this road, and they’ll have my number on caller ID. The cell phone company may be able to tell them exactly where.”

I asked the boys if anyone else was at the house.

“Just Dad, Genie, and Cleo,” Troy said. “Cleo is really mean. And weird.”

“You have mail there,” Aaron told me. “I raised the flag on the mailbox.”

“Mail?”

“A camera with pictures of us in it,” Troy said. “And our snowman.”

“But not our snowboy,” Aaron added.

“I’m going up there,” Caleb said.

“I’ll go with you. Ben?”

“I’ll stay here with Aaron and Troy and the dogs. I suppose it’s useless to tell you not to approach until the sheriff’s department arrives?”

“Useless,” Caleb agreed. “We’ll be careful.”

“Better be,” Troy warned us. “Cleo hurts people.”

“Take the dogs to protect you,” Aaron advised.

“They don’t bite,” Troy reminded him. “So they aren’t guard dogs.”

“The dogs will stay here with us, waiting for the sheriff’s department,” Ben said. He added sternly, “Irene and Caleb are not going to do anything but make sure that Cleo doesn’t take Genie and your dad away from the cabin. Right?”

“Right,” I agreed, although Caleb was already back in the Jeep and didn’t hear him.

“Oh!” Troy said. “Don’t drive up the road, because Cleo can see your car on the curve. You have to hide in the trees or she might catch you.”

I tossed my keys to Ben. “We’d better approach on foot.”

I motioned to Caleb. A minute later we were running up the road.

CHAPTER 56

Wednesday, May 3

3:15 P.M.

SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS

GENIE got back to the cabin after seeing the boys on their way and let herself back in as quietly as possible. Upstairs, she could hear Cleo pacing around, yelling at Dad. As usual, Dad was just letting her yell.

Genie took off her gloves and hat. She took the knife out of her jacket pocket.

Now what?

She decided that she would hide in the linen closet near the top of the stairs. When Cleo came by, she would stab her and push her down the stairs so she would die, just like Mom died.

She made it to the closet under the cover of Cleo’s shouting. It was dark inside the closet, but she kept the door open the barest crack to watch for Cleo, and after a little while, her eyes adjusted to the low light. Cleo’s yelling took more breaks now. Once in a while Genie could hear the creaking of the bed. It wasn’t hard to figure out what had made her mad. She was calling Dad a liar, saying he had tricked her. She used a whole lot of bad words. She said that no one had the right to mess with her. She knew the kids were gone. She was saying she was going to be gone, too, and leave him here to explain everything. She laughed at that, but soon she was yelling again. She said she had loved him and saved him and his miserable kids, and this was how he repaid her.

Genie tuned out most of what she was saying, but kept thinking that maybe she wouldn’t have to stab Cleo. She was angry with her, but if Cleo left, then maybe they could all be safe. She would just wait for Cleo to go out of the house, then let Dad know she was here.

She heard the bedroom door open, then Cleo slammed it shut. She came marching by the closet, carrying two large duffel bags. She paused, doubled back to stand in front of the closet door. Genie held her breath. Cleo shouldered the door all the way shut with a bang, saying, “Damned kids made a mess of this place.”

She went down the stairs.

Genie waited until she heard the front door open, eased the closet door open again, and peered around it, half-expecting Cleo to be waiting for her.

She heard the garage door open, heard the sound the SUV’s alarm made when you pressed the remote on the keychain to disarm it and unlock all the doors. She put the knife back in her pocket, then hurried down the hall and opened the bedroom door.

She suddenly understood why Dad hadn’t argued back. He was tied to the bed with duct tape, and there were strips of duct tape across his eyes and mouth. There was a sheet on top of his stomach and legs, but he didn’t have any clothes on.

She hurried up to him, whispering, “Daddy, it’s me, Genie. Don’t worry, I’ll help you. I’m going to take the tape off your mouth, but please don’t say anything, even if it hurts.”

Below, she heard the sound of the SUV starting up, backing out of the garage.