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.I tried to warn you that there was something wrong with Caleb, but you wouldn’t listen.You almost paid for that mistake with your life.You’re just lucky we got to the motel before it was too late.”He sounded so reasonable, so concerned.She wanted so much to believe him.“Come home, Rachel,” he pleaded.“We’ll go see Maggie Bannister together.If I know her she’ll have the entire police force out looking for Sophie, and she won’t stop till she finds her.Come home, sweetheart.Don’t try to go through this alone.You just need to talk to me.”“Where’s Sophie?” she said, her voice raw.“Darling, I don’t know.Hiding out from me if she’s believed any of Caleb’s lies.Unless…”“Unless what?”“Maybe Caleb found her.Maybe she’s up at his house right now, tied up, helpless.” His voice had settled into a soft croon.“That’s what he wanted all the time, you know.He wanted her, not you.He thought you might make him whole, but you can’t do that, can you, Rachel? You’re too wild, too loud.You couldn’t be what he needed, and so he had to kill again.”She stood there, shivering, numb, as his awful words sank into her brain.The cracks were showing, sooner than she’d expected.“I’m so sorry,” she said helplessly.“You know that won’t do any good, Rachel.She’s up there, waiting for you.He wants you to come up there, Rachel.He needs you to complete the circle.” His voice was eerie, calm, and she could almost believe he was talking about Caleb, not about himself.“I don’t have a car,” she said, trying to keep her panic under control.“You can take the BMW.”Her laugh bordered on hysteria.“You never let me drive the BMW.”“I didn’t know Caleb was going to sabotage your car, now did I?” His voice was sweet.“The keys are on the counter.You’d better hurry.It’s going to get dark soon, and Sophie will be frightened.” There was a moment of silence.“I love you, Rachel.”Without thinking she threw the phone away from her, and it smashed against the concrete sidewalk.She wanted to sink to her knees and sob in terror.She’d put her daughter in mortal danger because she hadn’t had the brains to leave this awful place.She’d fucked up, and she wasn’t the one who was going to pay.Sophie was.Not if she could help it.She had no idea if David was home or not.All she knew was that she had to get to Sophie.And he’d told her where she was.Up at Caleb’s house.Could she believe a word he said? If Caleb had been released then he’d be after David as well.He’d never let Sophie be taken.Unless he’d been released too late.Maybe he was already dead.Maybe Sophie was.She had to get up there before it was too late.She looked around her, trying to control her breathing.There were three houses on the cul-de-sac, nearly half a mile from the house she’d shared with David.She ran up to the first one, ringing the bell, banging on the door, the only answer being a very angry dog.The second one was the same.The third was double locked, but no dogs.She went around the back, picked up an ornamental planter and smashed it through the sliding-glass door.No sound of burglar alarms, dammit.Alarms would bring the police, the only people she needed right then.People were just too damned trusting in this town.She reached past the broken glass and opened it, flipped on the nearest light switch.She could see the phone on the wall, and she grabbed it, almost sobbing at the blessed dial tone.They put her on hold.The fucking police department put her on hold, with a Muzak version of “I Am, I Said” in the background.Neil Diamond again.She slammed it down into the cradle, wanting to scream.She headed for the attached garage, and finally her luck had changed.Whoever lived in this spotless house had a classic 1967 Mustang, in pristine condition, parked in one of the three bays.No key, of course, but with a car like that she didn’t need a key.She’d learned to hot-wire engines years ago, and it was like riding a bike.You never forgot.She gunned the engine, searching for an automatic garage-door opener.It must have been in one of the other cars, and she got out again, frantic, looking for a button of some sort.She was too panicky to find it.The Mustang was a muscle car, the house was a new McMansion with shoddy construction.She got back in, put the car in Reverse and floored it.The garage door splintered as she sailed through, and a moment later she was tearing down the road, heading toward the only place she needed to be.He had her daughter up at Caleb’s place.She didn’t know how or why, but after his veiled conversation she was absolutely certain of it.It couldn’t be too late—she was somehow part of the equation.She was going to get there in time, and then she was going to kill David Middleton.Not for making a fool out of her.Not for making her sleep with a psychopath.But for even threatening to hurt her child.She was going to slice him to ribbons.David surveyed his handiwork, pleased with himself.He’d been forced into this, and there was always the possibility that he wouldn’t succeed, but he had faith that everything would come out the way it ought to [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]