Abbott grabbed her by the throat. “You will not”—he shook her harder, squeezed her throat harder with every word—“tell her. If you do—”
Shelley ripped away from him, raced out the still-open door.
Abbott went after her.
A half minute turned to one and no one reappeared on the screen. The house remained empty. No sound. No nothing.
“Forward search again.” Braddock couldn’t breathe. This couldn’t be what he thought.
He didn’t know how many minutes elapsed. Suddenly Abbott appeared. Alone. He looked around the living room, then walked out of the house and closed the door.
Cooper turned to Braddock. “It was Abbott.”
Braddock grabbed his key fob from his desk and ran for the exit. He’d failed again.
He’d ordered CJ to stay put ... with thekiller.
Chapter Fifty-Eight
904 Williams Avenue, 3:22 a.m.
“I only did what was necessary,” Edward assured CJ.
This couldn’t be happening.
Couldn’t be real.
He couldn’t have . . .
Wait.Stay calm.
CJ had to remember that she was alone with him in his home. The cops outside couldn’t help her if they didn’t know she was in danger. She had to play this out. Stay calm. Try to survive.
She forced air into her lungs. “Sometimes that’s what we have to do.” The words came out far steadier than she’d expected. Images of her sister running through those woods kept flashing in front of her eyes. He couldn’t be saying that he’d killed Shelley.
That wasn’t possible.
“That’s so true.” He smiled. “Unpleasant, but true.”
Think!She needed an excuse to get out of this room.
She glanced at the melting ice cream on the pristine white carpet. “I’m sorry. I’ve made a mess. I should clean it up.”
He caught her by the arm when she tried to move past him. “Don’t trouble yourself. I’ll have it cleaned.”
“All right.” She pushed a smile into place, felt her lips tremble despite her best efforts. “Wine would be good. We can toast the future. And closure on the past.”
He stared into her eyes for a long moment. She prayed with all her heart that he wouldn’t see the fear ... the lie.
“That’s a marvelous idea.”
He kept his fingers wrapped around her arm and led the way to the stairs and then down. Each step sent her heart into a faster, more panicked rhythm. When they reached the entry hall, all she had to do was get away from him and run out the front door.
The police were right outside.
As if he’d sensed her thought, his grip tightened when they reached the entry hall. He held on so tight it hurt. She kept her mouth shut, pretended not to notice.
There was a rear entrance in the kitchen.
