Chapter 82
I sit in stunned silence as the implication of what she’s just said sinks in. “You sent me that text message.”
Jennifer nods. “I thought I could do this. I thought I could kill again, but I was wrong. I tried to tell myself that it would be okay, but after we spent the evening together the other night drinking wine, I realized that it isn’t the answer. I don’t want to be a murderer.”
Too late, lady, you already are, I think to myself.
But that’s not what I say, because it appears that Jennifer is on my side, at least for the moment.
A faint glimmer of hope that I might get out of this alive breaks through the despair.
“Why didn’t you just tell me what was going on—or better yet, go to the police? ”
“I changed my mind about killing you, but I didn’t want to end up in jail for what I’ve already done.
I figured that if you saw the apartment, all that blood, it would scare you enough to leave and not come back.
Or maybe you’d be too afraid to live here alone, and you’d figure it out with Sam.
They wouldn’t be able to do anything with him around. ”
“I didn’t know that Dawn and Jamie were dangerous,” I say, because I had no reason to suspect that they meant me harm. As far as I was concerned, we were friends. “I thought they would help me.”
“That’s what you were meant to think. Catherine wanted someone on the outside. Someone who could befriend you and steer you in the right direction if you got offtrack. Who better to do that than her own daughter?”
“And Luna’s sister.” Dawn certainly fooled me. She suggested I kick Sam out and I fell for it, leaving me alone at the Glendale and putting myself at the mercy of these people.
“Yes.” Jennifer lays the gun down on the couch. “The others will be back soon. I’m supposed to let them know when you wake up so they can finish this. We don’t have long.”
I look at the gun, calculating my odds of lunging forward and grabbing it, but Jennifer’s hand is still right there, resting on the couch next to it.
She might be old, but I suspect that she’ll still be quick enough to pick it back up and shoot me before I’m halfway there.
Besides, I want to see where this is going.
But then she surprises me by standing up and leaving the gun where it is. “My throat is dry, so I’m going to fetch a glass of water. If you have any sense, you’ll be gone when I get back.”
“What about you?” I want to escape this place more than anything, but I can’t do it at the expense of Jennifer’s safety, even if she is a murderer. That isn’t me. “They’ll know you let me go.”
Jennifer smiles. “I’m an old woman, and I don’t think clearly sometimes.
I went to get a glass of water, absentmindedly leaving the gun on the couch, believing you were still out cold from the drugs Dr. Burgess administered.
When I came back, you held me at gunpoint until I showed you how to get out of the apartment.
Obviously, I’ll have to raise the alarm to make it look real, so you won’t have long.
I suggest you move quickly. Avoid the elevator.
It’s too noisy. Take the stairs to the lobby, get outside, and don’t look back. ”
“How?” Jennifer already told me that my apartment door is locked, and I won’t be able to open it.
“There’s another way out. When this place was renovated, they built secret passages in the walls between the apartments.
The built-in bookcase on the right side of the fireplace is a door.
There’s a passageway that leads to another door that opens into our apartment. From there you can get to the stairs.”
“What about Frank?” He isn’t here, and I don’t want to run into him in the apartment next door.
“He’s up in the top-floor penthouse apartment along with the others, waiting for me to tell them that you woke up.
They have this ritual. Every time we do this, right before the kill, they share a drink from a bottle of whisky that Catherine’s daughter bought for Ron on his birthday a few months before she died. That’s what they’re doing right now.”
“But not you.”
“No. I’ve never liked the ritual. It cheapens what we do. That’s why I always volunteer to stay with the target until they wake up. Now, for goodness’ sake, hurry and get out of here.”
“Okay. I’m going.” I jump to my feet and head toward the fireplace.
On the way past the sofa, I hesitate, then reach down and pick up the gun.
If Jennifer is wrong and they aren’t up in the penthouse, it might be the only way I’ll get out of this building alive, even if I have to kill one of them to do it.
But when I get to the bookcase, it occurs to me that I don’t know how to open the concealed door.
Jennifer anticipates my question before I even ask. “The ornamental block molding on the top right of the bookcase. Press it in and hold it. You’ll hear a click, and then you can swing the bookcase open.”
I follow her instructions, and a moment later, the bookcase swings wide to reveal a short, narrow corridor barely wide enough for a person to pass through, with another door at the far end.
It has unfinished walls with exposed studs and a rough wood plank floor.
There’s a light switch to my left, which I turn on.
A bare bulb mounted in the ceiling comes on and fills the space with weak light.
“I’ll close it behind you,” Jennifer says. “Good luck.”
“You know I’ll go straight to the police when I get out of here, right?”
Jennifer nods. “I figured you would. Maybe it’s for the best. But please, do me one favor.”
“What?” I’m done with talking. I want to get the hell out of here.
“If you use that gun, please don’t kill Frank. He’s all I’ve got left.”
“I’ll do my best,” I tell her, even though I intend to shoot anyone who gets in my way, even if it is Frank. Then I slip past the bookcase and into the cramped space beyond.