Free Slaves to Evil - 11 by Lee Goldberg

together into a larger slick. He never got used to the sheer volume of blood a single body could spill. He spotted the car keys on the ground where Peter had dropped them after pulling one from his own eye. Matt picked up the key ring and took it with him as he headed for the exit, the car alarm still blaring in his ears.
    He felt the wound in his neck. Blood was now oozing rather than spurting. Still, he should probably give himself a few stitches. There might be a bathroom he could use in this garage, but what he needed most right now was distance from the latest battle in a seemingly endless war.

    Thinking back, Matt realized that he hadn’t checked Peter to confirm that the rot on his skin had vanished, as it always did after death. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to see what the teenager he’d killed really looked like. But now it was even worse to imagine the kid lingering near death for however long it took the paramedics to arrive and get his statement about who was responsible. Which had sent Elena on her mission.
    He should check on her again before heading up to Grand Lake. If there really were captive women and evil cops to deal with, he could be gone for a while. Then another new worry occurred to him. What if he didn’t make it back at all? What would happen to Elena? Someone would find her eventually, wouldn’t they? He decided to write a letter to Sheridan, telling him about Elena. When he received it, Matt would be long gone. One way or another.
    But when Matt returned to the building, he discovered that this particular dilemma had already been solved. Elena was gone.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Matt was horrified to find the frayed piece of rope hanging from the doorknob. He didn’t know how she’d done it, but that didn’t matter now. He ran out of the building and scanned the street. Maybe she hadn’t gotten too far. Had he passed her on the road from the downtown area? He didn’t remember seeing her, but he hadn’t been looking. He’d been zipping along in the Mustang, happy to have upgraded from the bicycle. For all he knew, he’d driven right by her. As a matter of fact, he had. Elena hadn’t noticed Matt either, behind the wheel of Sheridan’s car.
    Now he hurried back toward town on foot, knowing it was probably useless to look for her. Elena would have reached help by now. The Breckenridge PD could already be on their way to arrest him. Or maybe she’d gotten hold of another gun somehow, still intent on her revenge. But he kept looking around each building and parked car he passed. He had to find her.

    Few businesses had opened yet when Elena reached downtown Breckenridge. By sheer luck, she saw a policewoman coming out of a coffee shop with a frothy, steaming drink. Elena approached her. “Excuse me, Officer?”
    “Yes?” Ross replied.
    “I was kidnapped three days ago and held captive. I escaped and I need your help.”
    The cop looked at her, evaluating whether the girl seemed crazy or high. “Are you all right?” she asked.
    “I’m fine,” Elena assured her. “The man who took me is Matt Cahill. He also murdered my brother two months ago.”
    “OK,” said Ross. “I’ll take you to the station and you can make a complaint.”
    “Thank you.” Elena smiled, overwhelmed by relief. She’d escaped.

    Matt searched for two hours in the Mustang and couldn’t find her. She was gone. He had to accept the fact and move on.
    But first he needed to check out the house at Grand Lake. There might be nothing up there, he knew, but he just couldn’t ignore the images of those women.
    He had to be sure.
    Then he’d get the hell out of Breckenridge.
    Matt got a local map out of the glove box and looked at the area around the lake. There seemed to be only a few residential streets. He drove the ten miles or so to the small, peaceful lake. Sheridan had been right about most of the homes being empty in November. They were far enough apart that, even in the height of summer, you wouldn’t have to