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It was a hard thing to think you were completely in charge of your life and then have your feet swept out from under you. “We are kindred spirits now. I think we can be on a first-name basis,” Macy said.
“Macy. I feel like I was kicked by a mule.”
Macy removed her notepad and pen from her backpack and flipped to a clean sheet. “You’ve been through a lot.”
Bennett swallowed and drew in a breath. “I’m starting to remember. Where’s Matt?”
“He’s with your mother and Mr. Greene. They’ll be here soon.”
Bennett nodded. “Thank God he’s safe.”
“You know the drill, Brooke. I have some questions to ask.”
Her lips flattened with grim determination. “Sure, don’t hold back.”
“Did you see his face? Do you know who did this to you?”
Bennett glanced toward Nevada, and then closed her eyes as she shook her head. “I didn’t see his face. I was so focused on staying alive.”
“He never took his mask off?” Nevada asked.
“No.” She paused and swallowed. “He likes the fear.”
Macy picked up a cup from the side table and filled it with water from a pitcher. She grabbed a straw and placed it in the cup, holding it up to Bennett’s mouth.
Bennett drank, but immediately cringed as the cool liquid skimmed over her bruised throat. She took a second sip and then nodded her thanks. “Did they get any DNA from under my fingernails?”
“They were scraped and sent in for testing along with collected skin cells,” Macy said.
She shook her head. “Macy, I thought he was going to kill me that second time. He was so angry. I’m not sure what set him off.”
“I set him off.” Macy stared at the woman’s battered body, and the weight of her actions rested heavily on her. “I gave an impromptu news conference and called him out. I’m so sorry. I thought I could smoke him out and get him to come after me. But I almost got you killed.”
“No, that was well played,” Bennett said. “It was a matter of time before he was going to kill me.”
“Maybe I could have spared you more pain if I’d just been more patient.”
“After he strangled me the first time, I was out for a while. When I woke up, I heard him outside my door, but he didn’t come into the room. I tried the doorknob and was shocked to discover it wasn’t locked any longer. He must have forgotten to lock it because he had a visitor. I heard two men arguing. One I know was Bruce Shaw, but I couldn’t identify the second man.”
“The second voice wasn’t familiar to you?” She needed Bennett’s testimony to unfold without any prompting.
“No. It was muffled and it was all I could do to stand. Then I heard a gunshot.”
“Gunshot?” Macy asked.
“Yes. I’m certain of that. Then I heard what sounded like a body being dragged. But I was more focused on getting to the woods.”
“But you didn’t make it.”
“No. He grabbed me from behind and dragged me back into the house.”
“Did you see his face this time?”
“No. He wore his mask.” She rubbed her breastbone. “And he was so enraged and he wanted me dead. You might have made him angry, but I also egged him on toward the end. I knew he was angry, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t going to die without telling him what I thought about him. I should have been thinking about Matt, but I wanted that monster to know I thought he was weak.”
“But I set him off.”
“Don’t play the blame game. There are no winners.”
Macy laid her hand on Bennett’s. She shared an odd bond with the woman, who, like her, had nearly been murdered.
Bennett gripped the sheets, pushed herself up a little, and tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed. “Don’t tell Matt about what happened to me.”
“I’m not saying a word,” Macy said. “That’s for you if you want to discuss later.”
“I took a cheek swab from my son,” Bennett said, almost in a whisper.
“Matt told me. I also did the same. His DNA has been sent off for testing.”
Tears glistened in Bennett’s eyes. “I did my best to forget about the rape. What little I remembered, I tried to block out.”
“You lived and thrived.”
She swallowed, winced, and turned her face toward Nevada. “If I had spoken up, maybe Tobi would be alive.”
“A wise woman just told me the blame game has no winners.” Macy gripped Bennett’s fingers.
“He can’t get away.” Bennett’s gaze was tired, but determined.
“He won’t.”
“Where did you find me?”
“A property owned by Bruce Shaw,” Macy said.
“Shaw gave me his DNA.”
“We didn’t find it,” Macy said.
“Mom!”
They turned to see Matt and his grandmother standing in the door. The boy stood back for a moment, terrified at the sight of his mother’s bruised neck and face.
“It’s okay, Matt.” Smiling, Bennett pushed the button on her bed, allowing her to sit up more. She held out her hands.
Matt stepped toward her, hesitating as if he were still afraid to touch her. “Mom, what happened?”
Bennett took his hand in hers and pulled him toward her. She wrapped her arms around him, and he relaxed against her, sobbing softly. “Just a few scrapes and bruises, baby.”
The boy tightened his hug, causing Bennett to wince.
Matt drew back. “Did I hurt you?”
“Nope,” she said as she smoothed his hair out of his eyes. “It’s just what I needed.”
He stood outside the back entrance to the hospital, a cigarette in hand. He had showered in a cheap motel room that only required cash and no identification and had changed into scrubs that he had stolen from the assi
sted living facility. Anyone who saw him now would think he was staff taking a smoke break. All he had to do was wait for the back entrance to open and slip inside.
He knew Macy and Nevada were there with Brooke. It wouldn’t be easy to grab Macy, but he had the element of surprise. People let down their guards in hospitals, assuming with all the nurses and doctors that they were perfectly safe.
The side door swung open, and he tossed down his cigarette and sauntered up to the door, holding it for a maintenance worker pushing out a trash can.
“Thanks, man,” the worker said.
“No problem.”
Stepping inside, he let the door close behind him. He moved to the staircase, where there would be less risk.
It had been less than twelve hours since they’d brought Bennett here, so she was likely still on the third floor. All he had to do was lure Macy near the stairwell or an empty room. He wasn’t interested in playing this time. This time, he had one simple goal.
To kill Macy Crow.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Friday, November 22, 9:00 a.m.
As Macy and Nevada walked toward the front doors of the hospital, she was anxious to leave. To be out in the fresh air and away from the buzz of fluorescent lights, the rattle of wheelchairs, and the hurt and sickness.
Just as the automatic doors swung out and Nevada stepped through, Macy’s phone rang. She stopped and glanced at the unknown number. “Agent Macy Crow.”
“This is Dr. Myers,” he said. “I’m one of Brooke Bennett’s doctors. She asked if she could speak to you alone for a moment.”
“Alone?” Macy asked, glancing at Nevada. “She was with her son.”
“He’s about to leave, and she would like to see you about something that she remembered.”
“Sure, I’ll be right back in.” She glanced toward Nevada and smiled. “Let me see what this is about, and I’ll join you out front in a few minutes.”
Nevada frowned. “What’s going on?”
