“EVERYBODY, STAY SEATED!” Frank shouted. The children stopped laughing. Through the rain-streaked windshield, Frank could see water pouring across the road near the bend. The pavement beneath the
Sophie stared at the camera screen. In the photograph, Victoria was standing beside the wedding dress, which had been hanging near the dressing-room window. One hand held Sophie’s
“GET THE DRIVER’S ATTENTION!” Rachel screamed. On the live monitor, the school bus had stopped beneath the enormous advertising sign. Its doors were beginning to open. Children were
“What appeared?” Victor demanded. The teenager stepped closer and turned his phone toward the crowd. Before the painting fell into the fountain, he’d been recording Emma explaining her
The concrete crumbled beneath Emily’s fingertips. For one terrifying moment, she felt herself sliding backward into the rushing water. “EMILY! DON’T LET GO!” Sarah was kneeling beside the
“DON’T MOVE! THERE’S SOMETHING RIGHT UNDER YOU!” Daniel froze. From the wrecked vehicle below, the injured driver shouted again. “The road! It’s hollow underneath!” Daniel looked down. A
“SHUT IT DOWN!” the bulldozer operator shouted. The engine stopped. Walter grabbed Jasper’s halter and led him several steps away from the machine. For the first time all
“Your mother disappeared?” Michael asked. Oliver nodded, staring at the soaked cake box. “Three days ago. She promised she’d come home for my birthday.” Michael carefully lifted the
“They’re inside my house.” Martha kept the telephone pressed to her ear. Victor lunged forward, but she raised her voice. “Three men. One black SUV. I’m at the
“Where did you get that collar?” he demanded. “That belonged to a woman who disappeared twenty-six years ago!” The old farmer stared at him. And what the stranger
Walter stared at the folded letter. “What night, sweetheart?” Emily pointed toward the photograph. “The night my mommy stopped playing piano.” Walter’s knees weakened. The young woman in
At the front stood a gray-bearded biker holding an old photograph of her husband. He removed his helmet, looked at Margaret, and whispered, “Ma’am… we need to tell