She didn’t answer.

“Where did you go?” he screamed. He raised his weapon and aimed at her face.

“C-Chris’s cabin.”

“Show me.”

Two county sheriffs’ vehicles blocked Chris from entering the winding driveway to Gianna’s rental cabin.

“Good,” he said. “They got here first. Becker and Hawes must have gotten word to them to check the cabin.”

Gianna leaned forward in her seat, eyeing the group of deputies next to the vehicles. “Something’s happened.” All heads had turned toward them. One of the men stepped forward, holding up his hand to stop Chris and keeping the other hand on his weapon at his waist. One other deputy moved toward Gianna’s side of the vehicle until he could see her clearly, but stayed back, his hand also on his weapon. His gaze was dead serious.

“They’re on alert,” Chris said quietly. He lowered his window. “What’s going on?” he asked the deputy.

“You need to turn your vehicle around. This area is closed for now.”

Chris gestured toward Gianna. “This is Gianna Trask. Her daughter is Violet Trask, the girl you were alerted about in relation to the black Escalade.” The deputy took a hard look at Gianna, his face clearing as he saw the similarity between her and the girl they’d been told to look for.

“Two of our guys were following up on a possible spotting of the Escalade at this location.” The deputy clamped his mouth shut, his face paling.

Gianna’s heart dropped at the sorrow on his face. “What happened? Where’s Violet?”

“She’s not here, ma’am.”

Her heartbeat returned to normal, but the deputy wasn’t done. “Two of our best men were just murdered. We’ve got every available unit searching for that Escalade and have reached out to OSP and the FBI for support and more boots on the ground.”

Chris’s knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “Were they shot?”

The deputy’s eyes burned with anger. “Yes. We’d been told they believed they’d found the Escalade back in Portland, so when someone spotted one way up here, I don’t think they took the precautions they should have.”

“This was the vehicle they’re looking for,” said Chris.

“No shit.”

“I’m so sorry,” said Gianna, fighting back tears. Where is Violet? Please don’t hurt her.

“Thank you, ma’am. We’ll find your daughter. The state detectives handling her case should be here soon.” His voice returned to a business tone. “You still need to leave the area. If you need a place to go, there’s a ranger station not far from here.”

“Was there anything else unusual at the cabin?” Chris asked. “You know Gianna and Violet were nearly killed when it burned a few days ago.”

Comprehension crossed the deputy’s face. “I didn’t know this was related to that case. Someone has been in the cabin. The warning tape was ripped off and the interior was clearly disturbed, couch cushions on the floor, drawers opened. But that could have happened at any point in the last few days . . . except . . .” He closed his mouth.

“What?” asked Gianna. “Please. It’s my daughter. What did you see inside?”

“I didn’t see it, but I was told there’s fresh blood on some of the couch cushions and floor.”

Gianna’s lungs stopped. “How much?” she croaked.

“Not a lot,” he rushed to assure her.

It was a small thing to cling to.

Chris asked a few more questions, but Gianna’s focus was shattered. What had happened inside? Was it Violet’s blood? The deputy deflected Chris’s questions and suggested again that they go wait at the ranger station. Chris put the SUV in reverse and backed out of the area.

“Are we going to the ranger station?” Gianna asked. “I don’t know if I can go sit there and simply wait for Becker and Hawes to show up.”

“Let’s stop at my place first.”

“He killed those deputies,” Gianna said quietly.

Chris nodded. This wasn’t the hiding-in-the-shadows killer he’d first imagined when the two John Does had turned up. Or even the coward who’d shot Frisco from the cover of the woods. This man had shot Jamie and two cops in broad daylight. And clearly didn’t care who saw him. Either he’d been pushed beyond caring about his own skin or he had been mentally ill to start with. He thought back to Leo’s report. Reid Kruger had had to leave South Africa for his violent ways.

Now he was carving his own violent path through Oregon.

Is Violet still alive?

Beside him Gianna had been silent during the drive to his cabin. He knew her thoughts were on her daughter.

“We’ll get her back,” he said, reaching out to take her hand. It felt like ice.

“He’s a killer,” whispered Gianna. “He kills whoever gets in his way. Frisco. My father, Jamie . . . those deputies. Jamie is so lucky.”

Please let Violet be that lucky.

“I’ve tried calling Detective Hawes,” she said. “I keep getting her voice mail. I left a message saying where we were and what we’d heard from that deputy.”

“Good,” said Chris. “I don’t want to sit and wait either. After we stop at my place, we can drive around and see if we can spot his vehicle and report it. At least we’ll feel like we’re doing something.”