it on his face from underneath, to show that it was him. He was smiling, and Allie laughed, relieved. She could see the glint of his gray Mercedes, parked behind him. Okay, he’d just gotten home.
She flashed her high beams, saying hello.
CHAPTER 84
Julian Browne
Julian felt preternaturally calm as Allie drove closer. The only hard part of his plan was getting her here, and he’d managed that. His hammer rested on the ground, hidden in underbrush. It wasn’t the subtlest weapon, but it was untraceable and all he had left at the farm.
Julian went over his plan, mentally rehearsing. As soon as Allie pulled up, he’d pick up the hammer and bury it in her skull. It would kill her instantly. Then he’d carry her away from the road, since she wasn’t fat anymore. If he couldn’t, he’d drag her. No one ever came here, and there were no houses around for miles. It would be a long time before anybody would find her corpse, if ever. Rain would hide their footprints and tire marks. She’d have decomposed, her flesh eaten away by foxes, vultures, and bugs. As for her car, he knew a guy who’d break it down for parts, no questions asked. The plan would work. Evidently, practice really did make perfect.
Allie closed in, twenty-five feet away, then twenty, then ten. She stopped the car. “I made it!” she called out her car window happily.
“Well done!” Julian called back. He dropped the flashlight near where the hammer was hidden, as if by accident. He picked up the flashlight in his left hand and the hammer in his right.
Tucking it behind his back.
CHAPTER 85
Larry Rucci
Larry squeezed the steering wheel. Every fiber of his being told him something was wrong. He had to get to Allie. There were almost no houses out here. Allie didn’t know anybody who lived here. There was no logical reason for her to be here.
He raced up the road, accelerating to seventy-five miles an hour, then eighty, then eighty-five. He couldn’t go any faster without risking hitting a deer or crashing, which wouldn’t help Allie.
Larry’s high beams pierced the darkness, but they didn’t go far enough. He felt like he was outrunning them. Bugs and moths flew crazily, scattering around his car. Air blew through his open window. He was almost at the road where she’d turned right. It must have been an unmarked road, like many of them this deep. They weren’t even named on maps.
“Allie!” he yelled out the window.
The woods and wind swallowed his cry.
CHAPTER 86
Allie Garvey
Allie cut the ignition, which turned off her interior lights and high beams, plunging her into darkness. She got the keys out of the ignition and dropped them in her purse.
“I’m proud of you, Allie!” Julian walked toward the car with the flashlight, aiming it on the ground. “You’re a country girl now.”
“This is the middle of nowhere,” Allie said as she got out of the car, looking around. There was no light except for his flashlight, and clouds passed in front of the moon. The woods were too dense to see his house. She heard the stream rushing along the road. The air felt cool and damp. The forest was filled with sound. The road was deep sand.
“Welcome!” Julian kept walking toward her, aiming the flashlight on the ground.
“Where is your house?” Allie asked. She slowed her walk to meet him, feeling a nervous tingle. She looked to the left, squinting. There was nothing but trees. And Julian’s car wasn’t parked in any driveway. Her stomach tightened.
Allie stopped. Julian hadn’t answered her question. He kept coming, swinging the flashlight, most of him in shadow. Her eyes adjusted to the darkness. There was no house here, and they both knew it now.
Her mouth went dry. She turned and ran back to the car.
“No!” she screamed, reaching the door and tearing it open.
CHAPTER 87
Julian Browne
Julian swung the hammer down on Allie as she opened her car door. She jumped aside at the last instant. The hammer connected with her right wrist, missing her head. He heard her bone break.
Allie cried in pain. She reached for her wrist, stunned. Her purse fell to the ground.
Julian raised the hammer again, but slipped on the downswing. In that split second, Allie took off running down the road. She screamed for help. No one would hear.
He raced after her, slipping again. His Gucci loafers provided no traction. He had to get her. He was pissed at himself. Now he had to chase