Chapter 39
Thirty-Nine
Kaely, Noah, and Nick sat in the kitchen, waiting to hear something from the police or the sheriff’s department. The minutes felt like hours. Finally, Nick’s phone rang. He answered and then listened for a while. Then he said, “Okay, good. What’s the plan?”
Kaely listened intently, praying silently.
She realized suddenly that she’d stood to her feet.
She didn’t remember doing it. She loved Erin and felt partially to blame for what had happened.
She was supposed to be a talented profiler.
How had Shannon been able to fool her so completely?
Maybe someone had pressured her to take Erin from the house?
The more she asked herself that question, the more convinced she became that Shannon was the only person behind Erin’s abduction.
She’d only been here for six months. Not long before the first murder.
She could see now that the first meeting at the coffee shop was manipulated, not coincidental.
She went back to the profiling session she’d had with Erin, and suddenly one of her comments about the items found at the crime scenes played in her head as if she’d never heard it before.
Then she remembered the novel Shannon had written.
How could she have been so stupid? She grabbed Noah’s arm.
“I know who Shannon is,” she said, “and why she kidnapped Erin.”
“Hold on,” Nick said. “This could be important. I’m going to put you on speakerphone.” He nodded at Kaely. “I’ve got Detective Munoz from the police department on the line. He’s overseeing the search for Erin.”
Kaely stepped a little closer to the phone.
“Detective, it’s clear to me now that Shannon Burke is really Courtney Delaney, Erin’s sister.
She left the family when Erin was ten. Erin said her sister didn’t like her, but I never realized until now, just how much she actually hated her.
I believe Erin’s success as an author drew Courtney out.
This woman is a psychopath and a narcissist, Detective.
Her only goal is to kill her sister. She murdered all the other women simply as a way to disguise her true intent.
She was playing a game. She’s incredibly dangerous.
If you confront her, reason won’t work. She has no compassion, no remorse. ”
“I understand,” the detective said. “Do you think Ms. Delaney is still alive?”
“I think it’s possible. Erin understands how the mind of a psychopath works. She’ll do everything she can to stall her. She’ll appeal to her ego and try to buy enough time for you to find her.”
“We know approximately where they are,” he said. “We have a BOLO out for the car. Hopefully, we’ll find it soon.”
“Listen, Detective,” Kaely said. “This is really important. When you figure out where Erin’s being held, no lights and sirens. If Courtney hears anything suspicious, she won’t hesitate to kill Erin. Remember that’s her ultimate goal. Nothing is more important to her than that.”
“Okay. I understand.” He sighed. “I just hope we have enough time.”
Nick picked up the phone again. “If you could keep us updated, we’d appreciate it,” he said.
“We’d like to be there for Erin once this is over.
” He glanced at Kaely. She was aware that he’d asked to be contacted when everything was over because if it went wrong, he didn’t want Kaely to be there.
But she couldn’t let that possible outcome into her mind.
God would protect her. Erin had just gotten saved.
She had a new life and should be able to live it.
When Nick disconnected the call, Kaely sat down and held out her hands toward Noah. “We need to pray, Noah. We need to pray hard for Erin.”
As he sat down next to his wife, Kaely took his hands and began to appeal to heaven for her dearest friend.
“I hope you’re not trying to stall, sis,” Courtney said. “No one’s coming to your rescue. Your phone’s back at the house, so no GPS help for you there. And there’s no GPS in my car. I read your books. I made sure there’s no way for anyone to track us.”
Erin’s eyes had started to adjust to the dark room.
She tried to look it over without Courtney realizing what she was doing.
The mower, the backhoe. There were chairs.
Lots of chairs. And a couple of large wooden boxes at the back of the large shed.
Next to them were large metal containers.
They reminded her of something. What was it?
It was then that a memory from her parents’ funerals popped into her mind.
“This is . . . This is a—”
“Are you trying to say ‘this is a cemetery,’ little sister?” Courtney said. “Good job. You finally figured it out. The perfect place for you to die, huh? I mean, it’s so, so convenient.”
“Pat is buried here? But how . . . ?”
“How did I pull it off?” Courtney took a flashlight out of her pocket and shone it at a corner of the shed.
Erin gasped. There was a body propped up against the wall, covered with plastic.
“Meet my friend Oscar. He dug the hole for your friend Patricia. People will do almost anything for money. I offered him a lot of it to help me. But in the end, once he’d stopped being useful, I decided not to pay him. He was unhappy about it, but it is what it is.”
“But . . . what did you bury her in?”
Courtney sighed loudly. “So many questions. Okay, but this is the last one. We really need to get on with the reason you’re here, little sister.
Your friend Pat’s inside what they call a burial vault.
Most are made of metal or concrete. They keep the ground from collapsing onto the casket.
They used to be made of wood, but they don’t hold up as well.
Thankfully, this place still had a few of them. ”
If Courtney had buried Pat in a vault, and used a tube for air, Pat could still be alive.
Erin was determined to save her. She had to believe that help was on the way.
By now, Kaely and Noah knew it was Courtney—or Shannon—who took her.
Their cameras would have recorded it. And the police would have checked traffic cameras.
They knew the area. If Kaely could just put it all together .
. . The problem was that no one knew Courtney had used the plot from Cry to kill Patricia. Only she could tell them that.
“Before I die, I want to apologize to you, Courtney,” Erin said.
She needed to keep saying her sister’s name.
Hopefully, it made this situation more personal.
She prayed it would make it harder for her sister to kill her.
She was certain it wouldn’t ultimately change her mind, but it might give Erin enough time.
Although she was trying to postpone her own demise as well as Patricia’s, she was telling the truth.
She really did feel the need to apologize.
Once she’d realized what Christ had actually done for her—how much He’d suffered for her freedom—she felt true compassion for her sister.
How could she hold hate in her heart when He had died for Courtney too?
Courtney chortled. “How dumb do you think I am? I’m not falling for that.”
“Listen, Courtney. I’m serious about this.
If I’m going to die, I need you to know something.
I . . . I did blame you for Mom and Dad’s deaths.
Not directly, really. But I believed it was your drug use that led them to try to reach you at the hospital that night.
But it wasn’t that, Court. I know that now.
It was love. They got out on those icy roads because they loved you.
And you . . . you were sick. You needed help and understanding, not judgment.
If I made you feel as if it was your fault they died, I’m sorry.
I was wrong. It’s true that I was only ten years old, and I was mourning my mother and my father, but if I did anything to make you think you were responsible for their deaths .
. . It’s just not true. You didn’t want that to happen. ”
“You know what Karen said to me after the funeral? She said she wished I’d never been born.” Courtney shrugged. “So I obliged her. Courtney Delaney disappeared, and Shannon Burke was born.” She looked away and for just an instant, Erin thought she saw a glimpse of anguish on her face.
“I truly had no idea Aunt Karen said that to you.” Karen had never told her about that.
They were awful words to say to a teenager who was grieving.
“I’m so sorry, Court,” Erin said. “I know she didn’t mean it.
She loved her brother, and she was grieving.
But it was a cruel thing to say. You didn’t deserve that. ”
“Doesn’t matter anymore. Everyone loved you. And hated me.”
“You know that’s not true. Mom and Dad loved you, Court.
There wasn’t any difference in how they cared for us.
” Erin was seeing small signs that Courtney still had feelings.
She could still be touched emotionally. But how did that make sense with all the cold-blooded murders she’d committed?
It was a deviation from the normal profile of a psychopath. It gave her a spark of hope.
Courtney shook her head. “No. You were their little princess, and I was nothing more than their responsibility. Their messed-up, druggie daughter.”
“Courtney, you’re wrong,” Erin said. “They loved you so much. That’s why they spent so much time trying to help you.
Taking you to doctors, attempting to get you the support you needed.
You were so angry. So out of control. But they never gave up.
Why do you think they went out that night?
Why they drove to the hospital when the roads were so bad? They could have easily stayed home.”
Courtney sneered at her. “Because they were so perfect. They couldn’t be seen as not caring about me. It would have messed with their perfect image.”
“No, Court. They didn’t care about what people thought. They would have done anything for you.”
Her face twisted with fury, Courtney got up and slapped Erin across the face, almost knocking her chair over.
“You don’t get to tell me I’m wrong. Never, you hear me?
” She pointed down. “I saw your lovely tattoo, by the way. Mom and Dad. After I kill you, I’m going to carve my name above theirs.
Because the day they died, I died too. You’ll go to your grave with my name carved on your body. How do you like that?”
Erin could taste blood in her mouth, but she didn’t care.
“I got that tattoo after I moved out of Aunt Karen’s.
I didn’t add your name because I always hoped you were still alive.
That I’d see you again someday.” She tried to take a deep breath, but it was difficult.
“If I have to die today, I’m okay with it.
But first I have to tell you something. This is more important than anything I could ever say to you.
” Her voice caught in her throat. “Kaely. Kaely told me about God, Court. I . . . I never believed in Him, even though Mom and Dad did.”
“Are you talking about how they found religion a few months before they died?” She made a noise that almost sounded like a growl.
“It was ridiculous. Are you trying to tell me that you’ve fallen for that nonsense?
” Again, she got up in Erin’s face. She was so close, Erin could feel her breath on her face.
“If you think trying to save me so I won’t kill you is gonna work, you’re nuttier than I think you are.
Donna Penrod took me to her church when I was nine.
I didn’t fall for it then, and I didn’t fall for it when our mother and father tried to manipulate me with religion. You can forget it, little sister.”
Erin thought she heard something from outside. It wasn’t loud. Could be anything, but just in case time was running out, she had to try to save her sister.
“Listen Court. God’s real. I know that now.
I’ve wasted so many years rejecting the idea .
. . If only I’d listened. If you’d listened.
I know who Jesus is now. I know that He suffered unimaginable pain and rejection so He could pay the price for everything we’ve done wrong.
Everything, Court. Listen, when I die, I know where I’m going.
And believe it or not, I’m not afraid now.
I want to live, believe me, but if I don’t .
. . You have to know this. All you have to do is tell Him .
. . tell Jesus . . . that you’re willing to accept the sacrifice He made for you.
That you’ll let Him pay the price for everything you’ve done, Court. ”
“You’re saying that God thinks so little of His creation that I can just walk away free and clear after all the people I’ve killed?
” She glared at Erin. “Your God doesn’t sound like someone who cares very much about the human beings He supposedly created.
In fact, I don’t think He cares enough about you to save you either, sis. Too bad.”
Once again, Erin was certain she’d heard something. Had Courtney noticed? She was so intent on her target, it seemed as if she’d blocked everything else out.
“Please, Courtney. Just remember what I said. What Mom and Dad said. No matter what happens . . .”
Courtney suddenly drew back as if she was the one who’d been slapped.
Her expression was one of incredulity. “You think this God of yours is going to save you, don’t you?
” She stared into Erin’s eyes. “I’ll make you a deal.
If this great God of yours, who cares so little for the lives I’ve taken, magically saves you, I’ll call out for this Jesus who loves me so much.
But if God lets you die, then I’ll gladly spend an eternity in hell.
It will be worth it to watch you get what you deserve.
” She stepped around behind Erin and put her hands on the garrote that had been tied behind her back.
“Hey, God! If you love my sister, then do something to save her. If you don’t, she dies now! ”
As Courtney tightened the garrote, Erin gasped, trying to suck in air, but finally she couldn’t breathe at all. Just before her world turned dark, she heard an odd sound, but it was too late.
She couldn’t save herself, and now she couldn’t save Patricia.