Total pages in book: 127
Estimated words: 129001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 645(@200wpm)___ 516(@250wpm)___ 430(@300wpm)
But I had been in that house, almost constantly, for four days straight. I was for all intents and purposes shut in, if not snowed in, and I could already feel a Shining coming on.
I needed to get on my computer and do it not looking at paint colors and lake house interior Google searches (they were all too light and carefree anyway—that vibe didn’t go with the Blue Velvet/Riverdale one I was searching for).
And I needed not to obsess about that girl who I had seen, at the same time I wasn’t sure I had.
It felt like she was a ghost.
And the fact not one mover noticed her, considering how beautiful she was, exacerbated that feeling.
But my computer could take me away.
I could escape there.
Always.
I’d done just that for twenty years.
Very successfully.
However, there it sat on a desk that was too big and too modern for that space, and I couldn’t find the motivation to open a new document in Word and let it flow.
On this thought, my phone rang.
Considering it did, as all others were blocked or silenced, it meant it was one of the girls, one of the exes, or one of the others—those being someone on Hawk Delgado’s team.
Or the FBI.
Obviously, I took the call.
Because it was the FBI.
“Agent Palmer,” I greeted.
“Ms. Larue,” she replied. “I wanted to follow up on the situation with Sheriff Dern.”
Good Lord.
I’d forgotten.
The local sheriff was supposed to come by. Introduce himself. Etc.
He’d been briefed by Agent Palmer, Joe Callahan and Hawk Delgado.
I’d been told he wanted to assure me, personally, that I also had his department’s support and protection.
I did not need to read between the lines that he wanted to meet me.
In fact, not entirely successfully hiding her smirk, which, coming from the fantastically professional special agent said quite a bit about Sheriff Dern, Agent Palmer had told me that Dern wanted to assure me I had the entire town’s support and protection.
“We did,” she noted drily, “explain in rather firm terms that the point of you being here was for the entire town not to notice you or know anything about your current dilemma. He promised he didn’t mean it…in that way.”
This did not give me a good feeling about Sheriff Dern.
However, he had authority and a gun, and if something triggered Callahan’s sensors, or was caught on Delgado’s constant surveillance, his department would be call two and that might mean he, or his deputies, could be in danger.
I had to respect that.
“Considering,” Agent Palmer stated, taking me from my thoughts. “He’ll need to reschedule.”
Considering?
Considering what?
“I—” I didn’t quite begin.
“But we’re still monitoring, and Mr. Booth, Mr. Kyle and Ms. Rosellini, as well as yourself, are all getting communications as per the MO. This leads us to believe that the suspect is not aware that you’ve all moved to safe houses.”
Well, that was good.
“As you know, but I wish to assure you, we’re continuing to investigate vigorously, and we hope a break will come soon, we’ll find this person, and you’ll be free from his machinations. Of course, you need to live your life as usual, just please, as we discussed, take precautions,” she went on.
“Of course, however—”
“Sorry to disturb you, I know you’re busy. I’ll leave you to it. Thank you and be safe.”
And with that, Agent Palmer rang off.
For a second, I wasn’t sure what to do with it.
This was because I wasn’t sure I’d been hung up on since Angelo threw that fit after I told him under no circumstances was I going to pretend still to be his loving wife when he was fucking all three of his backup singers, I didn’t care how many Grammys he’d been nominated for that year.
And the time before that was my agent when I flatly refused another acting gig.
I only had a second to think about all of that.
Because movement out the window caught my eye.
And when I focused there, I saw the girl was back.
Two
No Trouble
The phone in my hand rang before I could even get to the top of the stairs.
I took the call.
“Hello, Mo.”
“Ms. Larue, the girl is Celeste Bohannan. She’s the daughter of your neighbor at the bottom of the lake. She’s sixteen. Good grades. Good student. No trouble, except a recent suspension that we do not consider an issue. She’s safe.”
Good grades.
Good student.
No trouble.
But…
Recent suspension.
Wasn’t that, in essence, how many wayward souls were described by those surprised acquaintances, friends and loved ones who had no idea they were psycho killers?
They were quiet. Smart. Kept to themselves. No trouble.
On the other side of that coin, wasn’t that the lament of the sorrowful acquaintances and friends of beautiful young girls who met grisly ends?
What a waste. She was so young. Good grades. Quiet. No trouble.
I hit the bottom of the stairs, and Mo kept speaking.