The Girl In The Woods Book Three

By Edith Depew

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF THE GIRL IN THE WOODS – BOOK THREE.

When Abby woke the next morning she realized that her nightmares had once again become her reality. She laid there replaying events of the day before and then months before. There had been no warning signs and yet she knew her past had returned to haunt her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 25, 2023
• ISBN: 9798369406120

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Copyright © 2023 by Edith Depew.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 08/23/2023

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

CHAPTER

ONE

A bby could feel her twins nursing –

One on one side and one on the other. When she opened her eyes she let out a silent scream realizing she was having another nightmare. Her twins, Mallen and Earline were gone. They had been snatched away at one year of age.

Abby didn’t know how she could go on after her twins disappeared. There had already been so much trauma and heartache in her life.

Abby and her family had lived in Willis, Kentucky in a ramshackle secluded old house that sat not far from the mouth of a sprawling vast beautiful forest. That forest had been the kids’ sanctuary when things at home were bleak.

At the tender age of ten years old, Abby’s whole family had been murdered at the hands of the local drug dealer Gnarley Barnes and his two helpers, Jessie Hahns and Lonnie Mason. She was the only one who had survived that night. Abby had hidden under a pile of clothing and was able to escape when the men moved through to the front of the old house. Abby had escaped through a window and ran in to the woods to hide. If Gnarley and his uncle the sheriff of Willis, Kentucky had had their way, Abby wouldn’t have lived either! There wasn’t a day that had gone by that Abby hadn’t thought of her little blonde-haired blue-eyed sister of six-years old Chrissy, her three-year-old brother Grady, her sweet mother Julia and her father Robert.

The day Abby escaped to the woods; she ran to the only person who had ever been nice to them. His name was Juno Owens, a retired marine. He owned a big German shepherd named Sam. Juno gave up his life in Willis, Kentucky to save Abby. Juno knew the Sheriff was an evil and corrupt man and that Abby would never be safe if she stayed in Willis, KY.

Juno took Abby to Eden, Florida to live with his friend Casey, his wife Tamara, and granddaughter Ruby. For the next ten years, Abby lived a great life and she enjoyed a loving family with Casey and Tamara and their granddaughter Ruby.

Abby met and married a man named Allen Pickens, who died of a tragic accident the morning after their wedding night. Two months later, Abby found out that she was pregnant with twins - a boy and a girl. Now, one year after their births, both Mallen and Earline were gone. Abby felt like she could die of grief. She had had so much trauma in her short life but with her babies gone the pain was unbearable.

The morning after her babies disappeared, Abby felt desperate to have some answers. As she was running things through in her head, she started putting some of the pieces together. Her best friend Janie had been engaged to a man by the name of Jeremy Hobbs. Abby new he looked familiar, but could not place him until now. It finally hit her that Jeremy was Gnarley’s younger brother! She then started thinking about the nanny she had hired for her twin babies, Ruth Bowlen. Ruth was the only person other than herself that had full access to her twins and her home and had not been seen since they disappeared the day before. In her mind, Abby tried to picture Ruth without her blonde hair. She looked like Orson Calley, the Sherriff from Willis, Kentucky. Then it all became clear. Ruth Bowlen was really Mandy Calley – the daughter of Sherriff Calley. Abby felt tormented by the fact that she had hired a woman who was obviously involved in stealing her babies! How could she have been so blind?! Her mind kicked into overdrive as she started putting all of the pieces together. When Jeremy proposed to Janie, he apparently had no intention of marrying her, it was all a ploy to get to Abby and make her suffer for the so-called injustice that Abby had brought on Gnarley and Orson Calley. They had plotted the perfect revenge against Abby for putting their family and friends away for their drug business and the murders of her family.

Abby knew now that they must have had their plan in motion for a while. They had thought of the most revengeful and painful payback that anyone could ever have imagined. They stole her infant babies and killed her two dogs that she had rescued from their abusive hands after the murder of her family took place. Poor Thor and Lucy, at-least they had enjoyed a few good years in her care. They had only known cruelty for the first part of their lives with Gnarley and his men.

CHAPTER

TWO

J im knowles an agent with the federal bureau of Investigations was scheduled to meet with Abby at her home later that morning. Casey and Tamara had insisted that they be included in the initial meeting.

Agent Knowles and his crew pulled into Abby’s property later that morning. They were impressed with the beautiful expansive forest that lined the road to her home and as they pulled into Abby’s yard, they were equally impressed by the well-manicured property with all of the different shrubs and flowers. A big willow tree was on one side of Abby’s porch which was built out with a deck and surrounded by fence railing. Even though the house did not appear large by any standards, it appeared very well taken care of. Jim could envision kids running around and playing there even though Abby’s babies were still very young.

Abby felt like she couldn’t shed any more tears but they still flowed freely. Casey and Tamara had stayed with Abby overnight so that she would not be left alone. When Abby finally appeared out of her bedroom, Casey and Tamara both enclosed her with a hug at the same time.

When the knock came at the door, Casey let the agent in. He shook hands with Casey and Tamara and introduced himself. My name is James Knowles. I have been an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigations for the past eleven years. I specialize in missing and exploited children. I need to know anything and everything you can tell me about the abduction and kidnapping of these two children.

We will try to help out in any way we can. We are all very devastated by what has happened Casey said. They led Agent Knowles into the living room to introduce him to Abby.

Abby was wrapped up in a blanket sitting on her gold velour couch when Agent Knowles was escorted in. Casey motioned for him to sit in the matching recliner next to her. Before taking a seat, Agent Knowles took Abby’s hand in his own. Abby, I am James Knowles with the F.B.I., please call me Jim. My team and I will do everything we can to find out what has happened to your children and get them back to you safe and sound. Jim felt drawn to Abby from the moment he saw her.

Abby felt strength and warmth in that quick handshake. She stole a quick look at him as he sat down in the recliner next to her on the sofa. He had a raw clean smell to him. She noticed his black ebony colored hair and his emerald-colored eyes with very long dark lashes. He wore a pristine white shirt with a tie that matched the color of his eyes. His shoes were polished to a high shine and he wore a beautiful watch on his olive-colored wrist. He had high cheekbones and a was very tall. Under different circumstances, Abby may have let her mind wander with thoughts of her immediate attraction to him but she quickly chided herself to not think like that at a time like this.

Abby didn’t realize it but Jim was taking her in too. What a beauty she is he thought.

Tamara asked if she could get anyone some water, tea or coffee but no one wanted any.

It had become second nature for Jim to take in and notice everything around him especially working for the F.B.I. Casey and Tamara were a striking couple he thought. Both of them were very tall. Tamara wore a full white dress with brown sandals and a silver belt around her slim waist. Casey was dressed in black slacks and a pull over blue golf shirt. Jim could tell Casey and Tamera were very protective over Abby.

Well, I know this isn’t easy but I need to get as much information about what happened as I can Jim said. Abby, if you are up to it I need you to tell me what you think may have happened to your twins Mallen and Earline. That is their names right?

Abby felt numb but she knew she had to get her thoughts straight and share as much detailed information as she could. I am still in shock and this feels like I am living in a nightmare that I cannot wake up from.

Tamara moved over to the sofa to hug Abby.

Please don’t be intimidated by me. I may ask questions you don’t understand me asking, but it is part of the process and what I have been trained to do. Every detail is important at this point. Jim said.

"I really don’t care what you ask,