Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57502 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 288(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“I only arrived two days before the killer struck.”
“Well, our number one priority is rescuing Cartier. Right Conrad?” she asked.
“One priority,” he echoed.
No wonder Jane had agreed to marry him. Or proposed. Whatever. “I don’t think Jacob was the nabber. I didn’t notice any cat supplies at his home or hair on his clothing.” Didn’t mean he hadn’t taken the feline, though. He could’ve kept the sweetie at a remote location. Which meant Cartier needed to be found ASAP. Who was feeding her?
Lucy pulled a stack of those folders closer and rifled through the contents. One by one, she tossed photos and printed papers across the table for Jane and Conrad to examine. The images showed the bank assistant’s beautiful calico cat—Rolex’s first girlfriend—dirty, with matted fur, locked in a crate.
Horror bombarded Jane. The papers showcased messages from the killer, too. She focused on the worst one.
DO WHAT I SAY OR THE CAT DIES
Beau rapped his knuckles over a section of the wall, stating, “You could’ve sent that threat to yourself.”
He wasn’t even at the table. How had he read the note?
“As if she would ever willingly allow Cartier to reach this condition,” Jane said at the same time Lucy spat, “How dare you!”
Conrad canted his head. “How were these messages delivered?”
Lucy hiccuped. “I received texts, which I printed out to create a transcript of our interactions for easier reading, but I’ll show you the originals too.” She reached in her pocket, withdrew her phone, and handed it to Conrad before sliding over a folder with more printouts. “I was told to attend Hannah’s memorial and inform Jane about the paperwork Maggie might have. I don’t know if it’s real or not.”
“It is.” Maggie had basically confirmed it. Abigail would’ve known. Christopher and probably Jacob, too.
“The next set of instructions, which I received this morning, directed me to print and mail chapter three of a manuscript titled Grave Actually to Jane. Which I did. I had to go to that office center in Willowbrook to avoid detection.”
Wait. “This morning?”
Jane met Conrad’s gaze. Jacob had been too dead to make contact with Lucy. Could Abigail or even Maggie herself have the cat? One of the firemen? Mason?
“I made two copies and kept one for myself.” The loan officer pushed another folder Conrad’s way, but Jane snatched it up. As the writer of the group, she should read it first.
She skimmed paragraphs, her muscles growing stiffer and stiffer. When she got to the last line, she glanced at her beloved, distressed. “You die. In this chapter, the haggard detective dies and clues about the killer’s identity are planted at his funeral.” Fear punched her. Did the killer plan to strike again? Was the medication that nearly felled Conrad a warning shot?
Tremors plagued her as she handed him the chapter.
“I tried to help you guys as much as I could,” Lucy said. “I spied on Maggie, since that’s who the killer implicated, which led me to Abigail and Jacob, but other than clocking the three of them together at Maggie’s house, I found nothing.”
All easily explained by being members of the writing club and co-authors. “What about Christopher Wellington and Donnie Eggerson?”
“I overheard Donnie ask Chris if he wanted to play a video game, which made me think of the game in the killer’s manuscript, but other than that, zilch.”
As the lawman read the chapter, Jane decided it was time to go back to the beginning.
“Is what you shared about my attacker being tall and lean true, or something you were told to say?” she asked Lucy.
“True. He demanded I lay low, but I decided to take a chance, hoping you’d get further in the investigation than me.”
Beau joined them at the table. “No cameras. One hidden doorway, which is the entrance and exit to the outside she mentioned. Soundproof walls.”
Conrad nodded, then started reading again. As soon as they received Abigail’s laptop from Mason, they could do a comparison of stories and writing styles.
“Do you have any idea who’s behind the murders?” Lucy asked, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Yes and no.” Did Jane believe everything the woman had said? She, well, kind of… did. Which either meant she was growing as a person, or she’d lost her edge and wasn’t suspicious enough. Hopefully this trust wouldn’t come back to bite her a second time. “There must be a way to draw the killer out into the open, protect Conrad and save Cartier. If the original murderer is still alive and playing games.” The recently deceased Jacob Thacker remained uncrossed off her list.
An idea peeked from the mire of her thoughts, swirling inside her head, and her jaw slackened. Oh, wow. It was an amazing, wild, dangerous, magnificent plan. A mouse trap with a smorgasbord of cheese. But she would need the cooperation of all her friends. If anything went wrong…