"I'm not authorized to let you through here, Ma'am."

"Ma'am? Who's Ma'am? What the hell, Jason?"

"Ashley. Whatever. You can't pass through here." He was obviously still hung over, but this wasn't stopping him from acting like an ass-hole cop now that he was on duty. "Vehicles can't come or go until the search is over. Why are you even here? Why aren't you at home?"

"I'm trying to go home," I said. "Just let me out."

"Can't. Can't let anyone in or out. We still haven't caught those guys yet."

"What guys?"

"Are you kidding me?" Jason leaned casually against my car and folded his arms. This enraged me even further. "The guys who attacked that girl. Where have you been?"

Immediately my thoughts leapt to Haley. "What girl?"

"I don't know." Jason shrugged. "Some girl. Some kid. It was two guys who did it. We're still looking for them. We're combing the fairgrounds. It'll take a little time. The whole place is locked down. Here and the high school both. How do you not know about all this? Everyone was supposed to be out by two-thirty last night. They were announcing it for hours." Now he grinned that stupid smug grin of his. "Where were you?" He laughed. "You were hammered last night! Having a little too much fun?" With this he gave a few rabbit-like thrusts of his pelvis.

I was too worried about Haley to care.

"Who was the girl, Jason? Just tell me who the girl was."

"I told you I don't know, Ashley. Maybe if you weren't so drunk last night you could have found out for yourself."

In the briefest of moments I thought about the gun under Ian's hoodie. But I wasn't stupid.

I had to focus on getting home as soon as possible, then calling Danielle on the landline. All I cared about right now was making sure that Haley was okay. I tried to remind myself that there were probably hundreds of little girls at the fair last night. But if something had happened to Haley after she'd begged me to take her to the carnival, and I wasn't there, I'd have to kill myself.

I had to stay calm. I had to. I couldn't afford anything else.

"Look," I said to Jason, trying to control my voice. "You know me. I'm obviously not a suspect. All you have to do is move that roadblock and let me through."

Jason didn't stop leaning against my car.

He grinned. Again.

"What's the rush?" he said. "I mean, I can't let you out. I told you that. And, hell, I sure could use some company." Now he leaned in closer and lowered his voice. "Here I am, stuck out here all alone on a chilly evening. What's the hurry?" He winked. "It'd be just like old times."

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