You Can't Hide Theresa Sneed (top 10 non fiction books of all time .TXT) 📖

and wisps of smoke curled around the floor boards in the ceiling.

“Fire!” Karen yelled, pointing to it. From the hole, the sky loomed bright orange. Thick black smoke clouds billowed across it. “Dig!”

With the shovel, Todd hacked at the wood, breaking off a big chunk. That part of the door could no longer support the heavy dirt above it, and it collapsed into the cellar. They dropped to their knees pulling dirt out of the way with their bare hands.

Elle pushed Sally up through the opening and crawled out after her. Karen and Todd came close behind. She stumbled toward the car.

Todd grabbed her arm. “No car,” he whispered. “Let them think we’re dead, until forensics says otherwise.” They stared at the cabin in full flames. Soon, parts of it fell, collapsing in on itself. “This way!” Todd pointed them toward the forest. “Hurry!” Elle picked up Sally and followed Karen and Todd into the thick trees.

They moved without stopping, getting farther and farther away from the fire, but staying as close to the woods road as they could to guide them along their way. Shortly, sirens and flashing lights lit the sky, as firetrucks passed by. But they didn’t rush out and stayed hidden from the world.

Sitting Sally down, Elle grasped her hand and walked swiftly beside her. Another firetruck approached. “Are you sure we shouldn’t stop them? I mean, they can save us.”

“But, for how long? How long before that lunatic finds someone to come after you and Sally again?” Todd slowed down to a walk. “Listen, we need to get help, that’s true, but not from these locals. We need help from someone who can give you and Sally a new identity. Someone who can get you a new life where Merrick and his henchmen can’t find you.”

Elle thought on that. She groaned. How could she do that to her parents again? To her brother, Jack? To Sam? “I . . . can’t.”

“Just until Marvin is caught,” he said softly.

“Marvin?”

Karen made a face. “Oh, come on Elle. Of course it was Marvin.”

She was probably right, but what a horrible thing. What kind of a person tries to kill their own grandchild? She shuddered.

“I don’t think Merrick is part of a big crime organization. He can’t keep you away from your family, forever, Elle.”

“No?”

“No. He’s on death row. After a while, he’s going to the electric chair, or what’s that they do now? Lethal injection? Anyhow, your disappearance won’t be for life.”

That was true. “No, I guess not.”

“And Sam,” Karen said cautiously, “his death would be easy to stage.”

Shocked, Elle glanced over at her. “What?”

Karen made a face. “He’s already in the ICU, isn’t he?”

That made Elle the saddest of all. Sam was a college professor. How could he ever give that up? After a while, she stopped walking and leaned back against a tree. “There’s something else you haven’t thought of.” She studied her friend’s eyes. “He thinks you’re dead, too.”

They worked their way through the trees, until they came to a gas station. Elle touched Todd on the arm. “You go, there’s a better chance of you not being recognized.” She pulled a dime from her pocket. “Call the FBI. I’m sure they know about Sally’s abduction. Tell them where we are and to come get us.”

Thirteen

Homecoming

In an undisclosed location, Elle gathered together with Karen, Todd, and little Sally—Sam would join them later, once his death had been staged. Elle hated that no one would know that they hadn’t really died in the fire, but no one was to know, not until Merrick was executed, and Marvin was behind bars.

“Would you follow me?” an agent from the FBI said. “We have some news.” He led her into a different room, pointed to a chair, and had her sit. “They found a body in the rubble.”

Elle jump up from her seat. “What?”

“He’s been identified as Marvin Snyder.”

Her hands flew to her throat. How had that happened? She thought he’d caused the fire, not been trapped in it.

“Sorry to have to tell you this, but his death might not have been an accident.”

She drew in a quick breath. “What do you mean?”

“He had quite a gash on his head. We can’t be sure if he fell into the stove and was unconscious when the flames consumed the cabin, or if someone murdered him and then dumped his body there.”

Another agent stuck his head in the doorway. “Channel 7,” he said, pointing to the television set.

Flipping it on, a newscast played.

. . . an investigation is underway. Marvin Snyder, father to the notorious Merrick Snyder, was found dead at a family cabin in Tennessee, along with the bodies of Elizabeth Heard; Snyder’s biological granddaughter, Sally Snyder; and two unidentified bodies. Three days earlier, Sally had been abducted from . . .

The news rattled on. Elle went numb, seeing her picture and Sally’s flash across the screen. A sob caught in her throat. “I need to be alone. Just give me a minute.” She went into the next room and closed the door. She had been sure that Marvin tried to murder them and was still out there somewhere. But now, with this new evidence, what had really happened? She bit on the end of her finger and stared out the window, hoping that Marvin had tripped into the stove and not that someone else was out there—someone they had no clue about.

A surge of hope gripped her mind. If they knew for sure, then they wouldn’t have to go into hiding. She worked her way back to the FBI agent. “Do you think Marvin died accidently, or do you think he was murdered?”

He seemed to get what she was alluding to. “I can’t say for sure, Miss Heard, and that’s why I strongly recommend you continue with this protection plan.”

“But, what if it’s really over? What if Marvin was the only one trying to kill us?”

He looked her straight in the eye. “And what if