The moment Ruby and the officer's car reached the hidden location Jo had described, the place was dead silent.
Ruby stepped out of her car, her robe catching slightly in the wind. She scanned the abandoned building tattered rope on the ground, scraps of cloth, scattered food containers, and clear signs of a rushed escape.
One of the officers bent down and picked up a broken binding with red threads.
"They were here," he muttered.
Ruby's eyes darkened. Her jaw clenched.
"They ran away," she said under her breath, her voice like steel. Her heart hammered in her chest. They were this close.
She turned on her heel and rushed toward her car. Just as she opened the door, her sharp eyes spotted something—
wheel tracks.
Deep. Uneven. Not from a car but from a wagon.
Her gaze followed the tracks until they curved toward the dense twisted tree-lined slope outside the village path.
Suddenly, a voice came from the shadows. "They went that way."
Ruby turned swiftly.
