Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
They’d just started eating when Kaely’s phone rang. She picked it up and looked at the screen. “It’s Noah.” She answered and listened for a few seconds. “Are you all right?” she asked. Another pause. “Okay, just tell me where you are.”
When she hung up, Erin asked, “Is something wrong?”
Kaely took a couple big bites of her taco and stood up.
“Noah’s car stalled. He and some guy pushed it to the side of the road, and he called a tow truck, but in this weather, they’re backed up for hours.
He arranged for someone to tow it to the repair shop when they can, but he doesn’t want to wait.
I’m going to pick him up.” She shook her head.
“Strange that he’s having trouble with that car.
We just had it checked out a couple of weeks ago. ”
“I know you’re concerned about me, but I’d rather stay here,” Erin said. “Unless you need me.”
“No, it’s okay. But take precautions. Set the alarm, and—”
“I know, get my gun. At least I shouldn’t have to worry about that reporter. I doubt he’s out in this.”
“Probably not,” Kaely said. “The roads are full of water.”
Erin frowned. “Maybe you shouldn’t be going out in this either.”
Kaely smiled at her. “Part of my FBI training was driving in dangerous conditions.” She shrugged. “Of course, I think that was geared more to if someone was shooting at me, but I’m still pretty good at driving in the rain.”
Erin laughed. “I guess it would be worse if someone was trying to shoot you.” No matter what Kaely said, Erin was still a little worried about her. But the truth was, she didn’t relish going out in this weather and was happy to stay inside. “Call me when you’ve got him?” she said.
“I will.” Kaely grabbed her purse and opened a closet in the living room, where she removed a raincoat and an umbrella. “I’ll be better prepared this time. Don’t eat all the tacos,” she said with a smile. “I’m still hungry, and I know Noah will want some.”
“No promises, but I’ll do my best.” Chester, who was sitting next to her, watching her eat, whined. She picked up some cheese and gave it to him.
“If you give him table food, he’ll get used to it and always want some,” Kaely said as she walked through the kitchen and headed toward the door that led to the garage.
“I know,” Erin said with a sigh. “But I’m afraid it’s too late.”
Kaely laughed and left through the door.
Seconds later, Erin heard the garage door open and Kaely backing out.
The lights from the car lit up the living room until Kaely pulled out into the street.
Then she heard the garage door close. Herrington’s words drifted into her mind.
Until we catch this guy, please be careful.
And keep that gun of yours close by. Erin got up and reset the alarm.
She’d go upstairs in a minute and get her gun, but she wanted to finish eating first. She went back to the kitchen and sat down at the table again.
The sound of the rain on the roof made her think of Pat.
Where was she? Was she out in this? Was her body exposed to the elements?
Was evidence being washed away? She so wanted Pat to be found alive, but that result was getting less and less likely.
Erin finished her taco and then cleaned up the table. She put the taco meat into a bowl, covered it with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge. After putting the cheese, sour cream, and salsa away, she fed Chester and Mr. Hoover.
“Boy, you’re going to hate going outside in this,” she told Chester when he was finished.
She went into the pantry and grabbed his leash from a hook.
She was just getting ready to put it on him when someone knocked on the front door.
It startled her. Kaely wouldn’t knock. Maybe it was a delivery or something.
At that moment, she wished she’d gotten her gun the way she’d planned.
When she looked through the peephole, she was relieved to see Shannon standing there.
She turned off the alarm and opened the door.
She greeted Shannon cheerfully, but then she saw her expression. Something was wrong.
“Erin, I was on my way back from the store when I passed a bad wreck. It was Kaely’s car.
I tried to talk to the police on the scene, but they wouldn’t speak to me.
Wouldn’t allow anyone near. One officer told me that the injured were on their way to the hospital.
I called Noah, and he told me to pick you up and drive you to the hospital. ”
Erin was so shocked she couldn’t speak. She just stood in the doorway.
“I . . . I need to get my purse,” she said breathlessly. “Wait here.”
She ran down the hall to her bedroom and grabbed her purse from the top of the dresser.
She had just picked it up when she felt something sting her neck.
At first, she was confused. Was there a bee in the bedroom?
But as she began to lose consciousness, she realized that she’d just made a very serious mistake. One that might cost her life.
Erin was floating down a stream in a small boat.
She felt incredibly relaxed until she realized that she’d lost the oars.
Where the water had been calm only moments before, it suddenly began to churn.
A feeling of panic set in. The boat was headed toward even choppier water, and it began to rock back and forth.
She clung onto the sides, trying not to be thrown into the water.
Fear clutched at her. Somehow, she knew the stream was leading to the edge of a cliff and that she would be catapulted to her death.
She tried to call out for help, but she couldn’t see anyone on the shore.
There was no one to save her. She stared down into the water and saw dead faces staring back at her.
Scott, Sarah, Pat, her parents . . . Was she responsible for all their deaths?
Although her heart told her it couldn’t be true, her mind condemned her.
She began to call out to God. He would save her.
Right before she reached the cliff, her eyes fluttered open.
She felt confused. Where was she? She’d been at Kaely’s house.
And then . . . She tried to get up, but she couldn’t move.
Her arms were tied behind her and her feet were bound together.
She gazed around her. She was in a large building.
It looked like some kind of large storage shed.
In one corner, there was a riding mower.
Next to it was a backhoe. There were also rakes, brooms . . . What was this?
“You’re awake.”
Erin turned her head to find Shannon standing a few feet away. “What . . . ?” Her throat was dry, and she felt dizzy. Disoriented. “Why . . . ?”
“Why what?” Shannon asked. “Why are you here? Why do you deserve to die?”
“I don’t understand . . .”
Shannon pulled up a chair and sat a few feet away from her. “I left you clues. The victims’ hair color. Their family status. The toys. You should have been able to figure it out, Erin. I guess you’re not as smart as you think you are.”
Erin fought to clear her mind, but it was difficult.
Why would Kaely’s friend do this? It didn’t make any sense.
She realized suddenly that there was something around her neck.
She wanted to reach up and touch it, but she couldn’t since her hands were bound behind her.
As she stared at Shannon, she was suddenly struck with an awful awareness. “My neck. What’s around my neck?”
Shannon’s smile was so cold, her expression so full of hate that she was certain her instinct was right. But how could that be? She hadn’t even turned in her manuscript to her publisher yet.
“It’s Dark Secrets. But how . . . ?”
“Easy. You left your laptop open while I was in the house. When I said I was going to the bathroom, I downloaded your newest creation. It gave me exactly what I needed.”
“You . . . you’re working with Christine Dell?”
“The woman who tried to extort money from your publisher?” Shannon shook her head and laughed like Erin had just said something truly humorous. “Of course not. That woman and her little friends are buffoons. No wonder they were caught.” Shannon sighed and leaned back in her chair.
“How . . . ?”
“How do I know about that?” Shannon leaned closer to her. “Nick and I are friends. Wasn’t hard to get him to tell me about it.”
“Do you . . . do you want money? I have some. Not as much as you might think.”
“I’m not looking for money, Erin. Nor do I care about your book. Except to say that you don’t deserve to make money writing. You’re not a good writer. You’re a hack.”
Erin couldn’t care less about this woman’s opinion of her writing.
She was in a fight for her life, and as her mind cleared, she began to strategize.
How could she get out of this? Did anyone know she was here?
If her phone was still in her pocket, could Kaely and Noah track her? Did they even know she was in trouble?
“Was it . . . was it you? Did you kill all those women?”
Shannon’s self-satisfied expression answered Erin’s question. Everyone had assumed the Novel Killer was a man. How could they have been so wrong?
She focused on clearing her head. Focus. Of one thing she was certain. Erin had to keep Shannon talking. The longer Erin could distract her, the more time someone had to find her. If Shannon was a psychopath, she was very narcissistic. She’d want to hear how smart she was.
“How were you able to pull this off?” Erin asked, trying to ignore the pressure of what she now knew was a garrote around her neck.
“Kaely is an extremely talented profiler. Why didn’t she see through you?
” She tried to clear her throat, but the garrote made it difficult.
The cord cut into her neck. “We . . . we were sure you were a man.”