1st Case - James Patterson Page 0,58

I moved around to his side of the car, terrified of going another step but unable to stop myself.

And there he was. His eyes were wide-open and unseeing. Two holes in the windshield lined up with the gunshot wounds to his forehead and neck where he sat, still upright.

I realized with another rush that whoever had done this was also keeping an eye on me. Maybe with the same gun sites.

Reflexively, I dropped to my knee and leaned against his car.

911.

The number passed through my head. I knew I had to call, but it seemed to take forever to get the message to my frozen hands.

And when I finally lifted the phone to dial the number, I saw the most recent text that had come in—the one I had ignored on my way down the stairs.

It said, Aren’t you forgetting someone?

And even in the blurred frenzy of thoughts competing for my focus, I realized what had just happened.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God.

No.

Not Eve, too.

CHAPTER 63

I RAN BACK to the front door, my mind searing with more wordless thoughts.

“Nine one one. What is your emergency?”

I heard the voice on my phone and realized I’d already dialed. My focus was on the keypad outside Eve’s door. I had to let myself back in. I had to get to her before they could.

Unless I was too late.

“This is 911. What is your emergency?” the voice repeated. “Is anyone there?”

“I need help!” I screamed as I ran up the first flight of stairs. “A man’s been shot in his car at this address. And my friend’s in trouble!”

“We’re sending help right away,” the dispatcher told me. “Please stay on the line …”

I didn’t hear what else she said. What I heard now—in fact, all I could hear anymore—was the sound of the baby crying from one more floor up.

“Eve!” I screamed, but there was no answer.

I took the next flight of stairs three at a time. It was dark in the hall when I got there, but I could see a line of light under the bedroom door.

“Eve?” I tried again. “Are you there?”

Why wasn’t she answering? I was terrified that I knew the reason, and conscious that I might have been walking into the exact same trap. But nothing was stopping me now. I couldn’t wait for the police, even if I wanted to.

I tore open the door and scanned the room, trying to focus past the blur of my own terror.

Marlena was there, wailing in her crib.

Eve’s bed was unmade and empty.

The bathroom was dark.

A window in the back had been left open. The curtains were wafting with the breeze it let in. I ran to it now and looked out, but there wasn’t anything to see. The neighborhood was quiet, as if nothing at all had just happened.

As if George weren’t dead.

As if Eve hadn’t been taken.

Almost as if, before it even began, it had already been over.

CHAPTER 64

WHEN I HIT the sidewalk with Marlena still crying in my arms, a small crowd of pajama-wearing neighbors and passersby had already gathered. Several people were holding each other, some of them crying. I saw George dead in his car, again, and my knees buckled. It brought me down hard on Eve’s front step. I knew this was real, but I couldn’t make it into a fact. Not in my head. All I could manage was—

Hold the baby.

Soothe this little girl.

I clung to those thoughts, and to her, until the police arrived to secure the scene. Suddenly, cruisers and personnel were everywhere. One of the officers took Marlena and swaddled her in his jacket. I hated to hand over the baby, but it wasn’t my choice, and besides, I was in no position to take care of her myself. It all went by in a dark blur.

Soon after that, I saw Keats, Obaje, and the rest of their team pulling up. I had no idea how they’d gotten there so fast. For that matter, I had no idea how much time had passed by now, but I was glad to see them.

Billy took my statement first, slowly and deliberately, making it as easy as he possibly could as I walked him through what I knew. After that, he poured me into the back of a manned police cruiser and brought me my things from inside. I wrapped my arms around my messenger bag like it was some kind of surrogate for the baby. Anything to hold on to.

“I’ve got someone coming to pick