harm‘s way yet. There was still much to do and many miles to go before I could relax.
My car was still in the parking lot where I had left it. The only thing Darrell Gene did was move it to the opposite end of the apartment complex, away from the highway where it wouldn’t be spotted as easily. He left the keys in the ignition. I knew it was too early to consider myself lucky. Once I made sure my family was okay, then I could rejoice.
My car started on the first try. I backed out slowly, still a little disoriented from my escape from the labyrinth and from the head wound. I looked in my rearview mirror as I pulled out of the parking lot and saw Karen’s door open. She stepped out, wearing a mask of confusion as she watched me drive away.
She would never figure out what had happened, and I would never tell her.
That view of Karen in my rearview mirror was the last time I ever saw her. After that fleeting moment passed, I focused ahead of me, on the open road, on the future.
I pressed my foot down on the accelerator and raced toward my house to save my family and my marriage.
I just hoped that both would be intact when I got there.
Chapter 33
“Come on out now, darling.” Darrell Gene held the knife at Judith’s throat. “We’re all waiting to see what Miss America looks like.”
Peter squirmed in Judith’s grasp, whining. She miraculously managed to keep him under control, even at knifepoint.
“Leave Amy alone.”
Carl struggled to speak with his hands and feet tied behind his back. The floor beneath him was covered in a sticky maroon puddle from the deep wound Darrell Gene gave him. The blood stood out in stark contrast against his pale, pasty complexion.
“Oh, don’t you worry about a thing, Carl. I won’t hurt a hair on her head. She’s going to be my wife, after all. She‘s got to look good for the pictures. It just wouldn‘t do to have her all banged up and bruised. I‘ll save that part for the honeymoon.”
Carl went back to praying silently, closing his eyes against the pain. Darrell Gene returned his focus to the bedroom door.
“Time’s up, sweetheart. Let’s see just how pretty you really are.”
The door opened and at first no one was there.
“I said come out. I want to see you. Don‘t be shy.”
Amy emerged clothed in delicate white silk, looking like an older, more tired version of the girl who had gotten married all those years ago. Darrell Gene gasped at the sight of Amy standing there in her wedding gown.
“Now that’s what I’m talking about.” He shifted nervously from one foot to the other. “You’re a regular little angel, and I should know. Judith, dear, do you happen to have a camera handy?”
“There’s one in the desk drawer.”
“Well, don’t just sit there playing babysitter. Get up and get it. We’ve got family pictures to take.”
Amy froze. “Family pictures? I’m not taking any kind of pictures with you. You‘re not my family!”
“I think you’ll reconsider that. In fact, not only are you going to be in the picture, staring lovingly into my eyes. But the baby’s gonna be in it too. We’re going to be one big happy family, and the camera‘s gonna capture it all for posterity. Since your husband is gone, it only feels right that I do the manly thing and step in to take his place.”
“No.” Amy’s lower lip began to quiver. “Jamie isn’t gone.”
“He left you for someone else. He apparently didn‘t want his family, but I do. I think we‘ll all get along nicely.”
“No!” Amy wept, crushed by the impossibility of the situation.
“Yes!” Darrell Gene waved the knife around in joyous, festive circles above his head. “Now’s let’s show the camera how much we love each other.”
For the “wedding pictures,” Darrell Gene insisted that they recreate the poses featured on the mantle. Judith snapped the first photo as Darrell Gene and Amy stared into each other’s eyes. The camera couldn’t see the knife that was pressed against her stomach. All it captured was the hatred in Amy’s eyes and the mirth in Darrell Gene’s.
The next pose featured Darrell Gene shoving a hunk of chocolate cake into Amy’s mouth. It was a pose expected from all newly-married couples. The tears, however, were completely optional. Amy decided to include them because she couldn’t have done any differently.
The one that nearly sent her over the edge