Brian Freeman - Thief River Falls

But that was foolish. Her brother wasn’t here, and her brother wasn’t going to help her. She could only help herself. And the way to do that was to keep her promise. She had to find Purdue.

She had to rescue him, even if it meant giving up her own life in the process.

Lisa got off the bed and wiped the tears from her face. She went back downstairs, sure of herself, sure of what she needed to do. She grabbed Madeleine’s coat and went out of the house into the snow, not even bothering to close the door behind her. The Camaro waited for her, already shrouded by white again as the snow kept falling.

Tell me where you are, Purdue.

But she knew. A thriller writer always knew where the plot would take her next. If Garrett and Stoll had carried the boy out of her house, they wouldn’t have taken him back to the cemetery. That plan was dead. No, they had to come up with another plan, and that meant going to the man in charge.

They would take Purdue to Denis Farrell.

She’d find the boy there. At his house.

Lisa hiked through the snowy front yard to the car, but before she got inside, she went to the trunk of the Camaro and opened it up. What she needed was right there, a gift from Shyla.

A fully loaded Glock.

Lisa took the pistol and caressed it in her hands. Then she shoved it into her coat pocket and steeled herself for war.

Noah, I need help.

He heard those words in his head as clear as a church bell. His sister was reaching out to him. Part of him was glad, but another part of him feared that Lisa had to be in the darkest of holes to turn to him for support. He knew what that was like. He knew how far down a soul could go, and he hated to think of Lisa — who’d always been the stronger one between them — suffering what he’d been through.

Noah emptied every other thought from his mind until it was as wide open as the flat nighttime fields bordering the highway. Then he concentrated on sending his sister a message. I’m coming to you, Lis.

He didn’t expect an answer.

The rural roads around him were deserted. The night was pure black, with only his headlights to illuminate the highway ahead of him. Snow chased from one side to the other like a ghost. Up here, Canada inhaled and then blew its icy breath across the northern plains. Noah pushed the accelerator down, driving faster. The car was silent. No radio. Nothing to distract him. He needed to hear, to listen, to let Lisa in.

Where was she? What was she going to do?

One thing he knew about his sister. She would always sacrifice herself for someone else, no matter the cost. Noah remembered the last drive he’d taken with Danny, when they drove five hours to the Minneapolis airport for his flight to California. He knew Lisa wanted Danny to stay, but he also knew she wouldn’t say a thing to change his mind. She had the power. She could have made him stay with two words, but she put his needs ahead of her own.

In the car, he’d asked Danny, “What if Lisa told you, ‘Don’t go’?”

Danny didn’t hesitate. “I’d stay.”

But Lisa didn’t ask. Noah could have made him stay, too. He could have turned the car around and taken Danny home, and everything would have been different. Later, he wished he had, but it wasn’t his place to say anything. Later, when they were crying together after the news came, he’d asked his sister, “Why didn’t you make him stay?”

She said, “Because he needed to go.”

That was what he felt from Lisa right now. She needed to go. Wherever she was heading, it was a dangerous place, and he was afraid that Lisa would end up just like Danny. Never coming home.

Ahead of him, Noah saw the next crossroad.

It was nothing special, two lonely roads meeting in a lonely place. He turned, feeling the tires skid. There was a road sign just ahead of him, counting off the distance to the next major town.

Thief River Falls.

Twenty-five miles.

Lisa stood near the riverbank behind Denis Farrell’s house.

From where she was, she saw no lights or movement inside, but she knew Purdue was here. It was like a mother’s sixth sense, part of the connection between them. She knew he was still alive. They hadn’t killed him yet. She could feel his presence in the air and feel his consciousness in her heart.

She reached out to him: I’m here for you, my sweet. I’m going to rescue you .

Lisa bent down and picked up a heavy rock from the garden. Cocking her arm, she hurled it into the very center of the floor-to-ceiling window that faced the water. The tall pane of glass shattered. She stepped forward and punched out the remaining shards until the hole was big enough for her to climb through. Inside, she stood in the center of the living room carpet, with the fire hissing as white snowflakes drifted through the broken window.

All these years, and the house had changed very little. She’d been here only the one time as a teenager, when she swore at Denis in his office. Denis had never invited her again, and she’d had no interest in going. This was the enemy camp.

The chambered walnut door to Denis’s office opened immediately. The man himself came through and closed the door behind him. The noise of the breaking glass had alerted him that she was here, but he didn’t look alarmed. He said nothing to her as he came into the room, assisted by his cane. He was dressed in a suit and tie, as he always was, but he’d grown bent and old. She wasn’t sure he’d ever been young, but the ravages of his life wore badly on him, especially those half moons under his eyes. A map of wrinkles was carved into his face. His wavy, pushed-back hair had grayed and thinned. Only his blue eyes were as alert as ever. Danny’s eyes. That was the only thing the two of them had in common.

“Hello, Lisa,” Denis said. He surveyed the wreckage of his patio window with a sour frown. “You could have just knocked, you know.”

“Don’t be cute. You know why I’m here.”

“You’re right. Laurel — Dr. March — already called and told me you might come.”

Lisa shook her head. “Of course she did. You control her, too. Is there anyone other than me in this town that you don’t control? I trusted Laurel, but that was a mistake. I told her everything. I opened my whole heart to her. Has she fed you all of my secrets for the past two years?”

“Not at all. Actually, she’s much more loyal to you than you give her credit for.”

“I suppose that’s why she sent her husband as a spy to deliver me right into your hands.”

“Why don’t I call Laurel and ask her to join us?” Denis said. “She can explain everything to you, much better than I can.”

“Don’t bother. I already saw her at the hospital. I know she sent the police to my house. Do you think that’s the end of it? Do you think I’m going to walk away and let you win? I won’t do that.”

Denis said nothing for a while. He just stared at her, as if he were looking for a way to get inside her head. Then he went over to a wet bar on the other side of the room. “Would you like a drink, Lisa?”

“No.”

“I’m afraid I need one,” he said, then removed a bottle of bourbon and poured a large quantity into a lowball glass. He retrieved ice cubes from the freezer, which he plinked one by one into the liquid, causing little splashes. “Are you sure I can’t get you something? You look like you could use it.”

“No,” she repeated.

“As you wish. Gillian’s drinking again, by the way. Grief will do that to you. She’s taking the loss extremely hard, as you would expect.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Well, I suppose I should get all the alcohol out of the house, but what’s the point? She’s clever. She’ll find a way no matter what I do. And frankly, I’m drinking my way through it, just like her. This has been devastating for me, too. You may not believe that. You probably think I have no emotions at all. But believe me, you couldn’t be more wrong.”