Alyssa backed out of the door, heading instead to Cheyenne Jones’s room. Just as they reached that door, the girl’s mother rushed past them and into the visitor’s restroom, emerging a few minutes later, her eyes bloodshot, her face waxy. The tiny veins on her nose stood out in sharp contrast to the rest of her skin. She skidded to a stop in front of Alyssa and Cord.

‘Cheyenne woke hysterical about an hour ago, and they were forced to give her a sedative.’ Her voice cracked. ‘They wanted to secure her arms and legs because she keeps thrashing so hard, they’re afraid she’ll break the railings and fall off the bed. I refused to allow them to tie her up. Hasn’t she been through enough? And what are you doing to capture these sick, twisted perverts that were on the news this morning? Why aren’t you out there searching for them before they can destroy another girl’s life?’

Alyssa knew the woman’s anger wasn’t really directed at her, and she allowed Mrs. Jones to wear herself down before answering. ‘We do have officers searching for them as we speak. We anticipate several more arrests before this is over.

‘But my partner and I need to talk to the girls, find out what they can tell us. We need every bit of information we can get so we can prevent this from ever happening again.’ She retrieved a card from her pocket and handed it over. ‘This is my number. Would you mind calling or texting when Cheyenne’s awake?’

Mrs. Jones’s fingers toyed with the card, her tears dotting the center. ‘What if she can’t talk about it? What will you do?’

Alyssa’s hand went to Mrs. Jones’s arm. ‘Let us worry about that, okay?’

Mrs. Jones nodded. ‘My husband is in there by himself.’ With that, she walked away.

At the same time, the Otises walked out of Rachel’s room. Where Mrs. Otis continued walking toward the door, Mr. Otis and Nick remained just outside where they conversed, their voices low. Then, after a quick nod and an awkward one-arm embrace, Mr. Otis followed his wife, turning back twice, as if he wasn’t quite ready to leave his daughter’s side.

‘He’ll be back later,’ Nick said, coming up to them. ‘Rachel’s awake if you want to come in. But I’m telling you, if it gets to be too much, I’m going to have to ask you to go. I’m sure you understand.’

Chapter Forty-Four

Sunday, May 26

Desperate to stop pretending, Rachel was relieved to see her parents, especially her mother, leave her room. Though her father had remained quiet throughout the visit, the way his hands had shaken as they’d clasped hers, his eyes shimmering with tears, she knew his concern for her was genuine. However, it didn’t matter how large a smile she pasted on, her mother wanted to be anywhere but in a hospital room with her only daughter. Rachel tried to tell her heart it didn’t matter. Even if it did.