Gingerbread Man

is where I found the road again. Before that, I'd wandered through—" lifting her head, she looked at the trees off the right "—woods."
    "You came through the woods? Here, are you sure?"
    She nodded, and plunged into the wetness of the trees with barely any hesitation. "Yes. Yes, this way. Look, the trail is still here."
    Holly shone her light ahead, saw the one area through the woods that was clear of brush and trees. Even the weeds on the three-foot-wide strip were trimmed low. There was a yellow pole with black stripes sticking up out of the ground. "It's where the natural gas line runs through, underground," Holly said. "They keep the brush trimmed off it, so they can get to it to dig it up for maintenance. Local kids use it as a shortcut to town. I use it myself."
    "It seemed like a trail to me." Amanda hurried onto the path and began walking at a brisk pace along the cleared section. Holly tried to keep up. She was freezing. Her hands were cold and wet, and she dearly wished she had grabbed a pair of gloves. She thought belatedly that they should have called Vince from the house, told him what they were doing. But Amanda didn't trust Vince right now. And Holly couldn't really say she blamed her after he'd convinced her to reveal her scar to the federal agent, knowing it would implicate Reggie.
    "This trail cuts through the woods, right along the south edge of the lake, and comes out at the edge of town, near the cabins," she explained to Amanda. "Does any of that sound familiar to you?"
    Amanda shook her head. "No, not town. There were no cabins." Her steps were slowing, until finally she stopped, and stood still, head tipped back to the rain, eyes closed. "There were more woods. Woods with no path. I came ... I came ..." She tugged off her hood, and let the rain pour onto her head until it darkened her hair. She turned in a slow circle. "I came from the woods. I came through the woods a little ways before I found the path. And when I found it I thought it was put there to help me. Like when Snow White ran through the woods to escape the wicked queen. I thought the animals—" She stopped there, turning to face Holly, her eyes wide. "I remember that! There was a deer—a deer—standing right on the path, that's how I found it. I went toward the deer. It ran off, but not until I had found the path."
    Holly moved closer, gently touching Amanda's arm. "That's good. It's good, Amanda, it's coming back to you now." She studied Amanda's wet face, reached out to tug her hood back up. Then she fastened the snap at her neck to keep it there. "Are you okay?"
    Amanda nodded, spinning away, jogging a few more yards along the path. Then she stopped again, looking around. "This way." She pointed.
    "Are you sure, Amanda? I mean, town is only another hundred yards or so that way. The cabins are less. The only thing up this way is ... Amanda? Wait up."
    Amanda was already hiking off the trail, angling away from it.
    And then lights shone through the trees, and she went faster. Holly tried to stop her, but she couldn't catch her as Amanda moved faster and faster. Then the trees ended at the edge of a nicely manicured lawn. And Amanda stopped, and stared at the red house with the white shutters.
    "Here," she said. "I came from here." Her eyes closed tight, Amanda pressed a hand to her head as if in great pain.
    "But, Amanda, that doesn't make any sense. This is my uncle Marty's house."
    * * *
    THE NURSES ON Doris Newman's floor hadn't seen Holly or Amanda. They were not in Doris's room. Mrs. Stevens was sleeping, though restlessly, thanks to the sedatives she'd been given. Reggie's guard said he'd had no visitors, and the doctor had searched the entire hospital.
    Vince, Jerry, Agent Selkirk, and Chief Mallory stood in the parking lot outside the hospital, in the rain, and Mallory said, "It's not here. Amanda D'Voe's car was parked out here earlier, right there." He pointed to an empty space. "She pulled in right behind me."
    "Still think she's an innocent in all of this, O'Mally?" Selkirk crossed his arms over his chest. "Panic attacks my ass. The bitch needs to be interrogated, and when we find her, you can bet I'll be the one doing it."
    "She's a victim, Frank," Vince snapped. He swiped a hand across his face to wipe away the rain that was running from his hair.
    "She
was
a victim. Now she's an accessory. And if the Newman woman is helping her evade questioning, then so is she."
    "That's bull and you know it," Chief Mallory