TO DIE FOR (Eva Rae Thomas Mystery Book 8) - Willow Rose Page 0,62

want me to call the police?”

Lynn stared at her, holding her breath. He was here? He had come? She had genuinely believed he wouldn’t show up for his appointment while being on the run from the police and all that. Why had he come?

He might tell on you. He might tell the police you two had sex, and then you’ll go down with him.

Lynn barely blinked, then said, “Not yet. Wait for my signal. Let him in.”

“O-okay.”

Pretend like you don’t know. When he steps in, make sure he doesn’t suspect you have been talking to the police.

“Doc!”

Lynn looked up from her notepad, then smiled. “Jeffrey. How wonderful to see you. How are you today? Take your time to answer.”

Slow down. You’re speaking too fast. He’ll notice.

He sat down with a deep exhale. His hair was tousled, and he hadn’t shaved. “A lot has happened, Doc. You won’t believe it.”

Lynn nodded. “Try me.”

He exhaled again, got himself comfortable on the couch, then lifted his gaze and met hers. “They…they think I killed Joanna. They found her body in the lake, and…they’re after me, Doc. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been staying at a friend’s house, but they’ll come for me there too. I just know they will.”

Lynn nodded, trying to act surprised. “Now, I want you to calm down, Jeff. Take a few deep breaths and make sure you’re feeling calm, okay? Let’s talk about this.”

Jeff leaned back. His nostrils were flaring, but he seemed calmer. “I knew you’d understand, Doc. I knew you’d listen to me. No one else will.”

She nodded. “Absolutely.”

“The thing is, Doc, I don’t know how to get out of this. I’ve tried to tell them I didn’t touch her, that I never would.”

Lynn looked at him, eyes narrowing. “But you did say to me that you sometimes fantasized about locking her up in your basement. Do you remember that?”

He paused. He sat there, staring at her. Had she gone too far?

“Do you remember saying that to me?” she asked.

“Well…yes…but…could you stop writing for a second there, Doc?”

Lynn stopped and looked up from her pad again.

“Okay.”

“Do you write everything I say down?” he then asked. “I mean that thing about the basement; it would look really bad if the police got ahold of that.”

Lynn stared at him, not answering. “I see.”

“What have you been writing on that pad, Doc?” he asked, his eyes lingering on Lynn’s hand holding the pen. “Can I see it?”

Lynn shook her head. “No, Jeff, you can’t.”

Before she could react, he stood to his feet, walked to her, and pulled the notepad out from between her hands. She tried to grab it back from him, but he was too fast, and soon his eyes were scanning the paper. Then he looked at her, a deep furrow growing between his eyes.

“What’s this? Why haven’t you written anything I said on the notepad?” he turned the pad to show her. “All it says here is I killed her. I killed Joanna?” He stared at her, mouth gaping.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Chapter 66

The gun went off, and the blast pushed Sarah back. Meanwhile, her target ducked down, jumped for her, and grabbed around her legs, making her fall. Her back hit the tiles below with a thud. The bullet had missed and hit the cabinet at the other end of the kitchen.

She had missed.

The person was soon on top of her, punching her face and knocking the gun out of her hand, so it slid across the tiles. More punches followed and excruciating pain, and soon Sarah saw nothing but stars in a sea of blackness.

She could taste her own blood as she was being dragged by the hair across the tiles, turned around, and tied up using duct tape. She lay there, fighting to remain conscious while the person stood above her, panting, gun in hand.

“You never should have come back, Sarah. It wasn’t a very smart move. But then again, you never were that clever, were you?”

Sarah groaned behind the duct tape that was covering her lips. She really did feel stupid right now. If only she had kept running instead of staying with her brother. If only she had gotten out of here while there was still time.

You’re stupid, Sarah. You really are stupid!

The question now was what would happen to her next. Would she end up back in the chains in the room in the basement? Would she be kept down there for what felt like another eternity? Living off