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Rachel leaned against the doorway, looking all casual but still keeping a firm hold on that knife. “Basically, because of Meredith’s flare-up of morality, Josh will now feel obligated to come here. Or mess with you. Or do something to you, and I can’t have that.”
Elisa barely heard the words. She was too busy fighting through the darkness that threatened to envelop her and shut down her body. The anxiety flowing through her clouded her vision. Made it hard for her to read clues and think clearly, but she pushed on.
Through the emotional battering and blinding fear, she continued to look around for something that might have a chance against that knife, sneaking glances here and there, all while trying to drag Rachel’s attention to any other topic. “You’re protecting me?”
“Nothing so altruistic, I’m afraid. But I think what you really should be asking is why your cat was in the secret room.”
That was only one of about a million questions floating in and out of Elisa’s brain. “Fine. Answer that.”
“Your snooping started all this.” Rachel let out a harsh laugh. “You just had to dig around in Josh’s closet and find the duffel and create a mess. Until then you were quiet. At home healing and out of my way. Taking your meds and not causing a problem, except for an occasional call to the police to ask about the investigation.”
“You know about that?” That surprised Elisa.
Rachel shrugged. “I studied all of you. Looked at your phones. Called the police and pretended to be you.”
Damn. “What?”
“I figured if I called and was annoying they’d stop taking your calls and leave you in voicemail.” Rachel’s eyebrow lifted as if to say her plan had worked. “But the bag and all those other items? I planted those for the police to find at the end, not you.”
Elisa saw it now. The long-term planning. The checking and double-checking. She didn’t understand why or how, but this was all aimed at Josh and she’d gotten in the way. “The end?”
Rachel droned on as if Elisa hadn’t asked the question. “The sweatshirt. The books. The laptop. All that searching through Abby’s social media to find the right pieces. It took me forever and I only needed one more thing. Something personal, like a nightgown, that I could tear. Show the violence. Plant more doubts about Josh.”
Despite the waves of fear smashing into her, Elisa kept up with her end of the conversation just fine. “Why not buy one?”
“DNA.” Rachel shot Elisa a look that basically saidcome on. “I wanted the obvious hook to Abby, but Josh got rid of all of her things. Then you took what I collected, so I had to hunt it all down. I’ve been coming to your house at night, trying to figure out where you put it all. The secret room made sense.”
Elisa shifted her feet, not making any noise. “You broke in and staged it to look like Meredith.”
“Her stalking made her an easy target. I knew you’d fall for it.”
Elisa picked up on the change in Rachel’s voice. It had taken on a darker, more sarcastic tone. “Right. That sounds like me.”
“I made a copy of Josh’s key. Hell, sometimes I just took his.” Rachel shook her head. “He can be oblivious.”
Desperate to keep Rachel’s attention focused on her, Elisa rushed out a response. “That’s the Josh I know.”
“Stop moving, Elisa. We’re not going to do battle.” Rachel dropped her arm to her side again, no longer holding the knife as if she intended to lunge. “Not the two of us.”
That response didn’t make Elisa feel one bit surer she’d survive whatever came next. Her knees buckled and she grabbed onto the edge of the desk to stay on her feet.
Rachel frowned. “What’s wrong with you?”
“If you want to hurt Josh so much, why try to make me look unhinged?” Elisa asked.
“I needed to make Josh think I believed him.”
It was an all-out assault, coming at her from all sides. That explained why Elisa felt so hunted and overwhelmed. “You worked with him against me.”
She took a mental inventory.Lamp. Desk phone. A few heavy books. She had no qualms about throwing one or all of them at Rachel now.
“I admit I stoked his hatred of you. Told him you were talking about him and talking with the police. Hiring an investigator.” Rachel sighed. “Problem was, you were poking around. Going to his work, following me, checking his story. That attack on Meredith at the school? I didn’t see that coming. Also never thought you’d hire an investigator against your own family.”
Elisa estimated the number of steps she’d need to pounce. “Me either.”
“I couldn’t afford to let you mess up my plan. I’ve been working on this for a year. But you going against Josh, taking a run at him face-to-face did end up helping me, so thankyou.” Rachel smiled, looking like the old supportive Rachel she’d pretended to be. “He was too focused on you to realize I was the one he should be afraid of.”
Elisa fought for breath. Her airways shut down and her lungs ached.
