Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 141464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
“I remember those lectures.”
“He was meanest to Jezzie, though. If I messed up something, he’d take it out on her. I just stopped saying anything after a while so she wouldn’t get hurt.” He focuses his glassy eyes on me again. “Are you sure she’s okay?”
Fuck me. What if he’s putting on the performance of a lifetime just to get close and hurt us?
He can’t be that diabolical at his age, can he?
“Yeah, she’s fine.” I pull my phone out of my pocket and search for a photo of her that’s a couple years old. I find one with her on the back of my bike, arms raised over her head, laughing. Aunt Angela took the picture and fussed over the short ride. I turn the screen toward him. “She’s in school, a couple hours from here. Comes to visit on the weekends sometimes.”
He studies the picture like he’s searching for proof—something in her eyes, her smile, maybe the way she holds herself—that she’s okay. After a few seconds, he nods and hands the phone back without a word.
“How about when we’re done here, I’ll take you to see the apartment?” I slide my phone back into my pocket. “We can stop by the gym too. If Sully’s around, you can meet him.”
He nods again, more sure this time. “Okay.”
Obviously, he doesn’t trust me yet.
Can’t blame him.
I’m not sure I trust him either.
But at least it’s a start.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Margot
“That was the most frustrating movie ever. I still don’t understand why he didn’t just tell her what he saw,” April mutters as we step out of the movie theater and into the cool night air. “She would’ve helped him kill that guy to save her family.”
“I think that was the point,” I murmur, pulling my coat tighter around me. I should’ve brought gloves. My fingers are freezing. “Sometimes we worry too much about not making others uncomfortable at the expense of our own safety. And, let’s face it, he was weak. Too worried about being polite. Too busy following ‘the rules’ and waiting for someone to come save them.”
April snorts. “Couldn’t be me. I would’ve run that dude over with my car and gotten those kids the hell away from there.”
“Same.” I smile at her, the ache in my chest easing just a little. Today’s funeral was short and simple, and when April texted to meet for dinner and a movie, I didn’t hesitate. I needed the distraction. Her company and cheerful chatter. Needed someone who wouldn’t ask if I was okay, because I’m not sure how I’d answer right now.
“Want to grab some coffee?” April yawns. “I have a long drive home.”
“We could’ve picked a place closer to you.”
“Nah, I love that theater. Totally worth it.”
“You can stay at my place tonight, if you want,” I offer.
She hesitates, as if she doesn’t want to hurt my feelings by saying no. “It’s okay. I just need caffeine to keep me awake.”
“Fair enough.” I push open the door to the café and nod for her to go first. “I’m buying.”
“Deal.”
Inside, the place is busier than I expected this late. Probably other moviegoers needing a warm drink before heading home. Most of the tables are covered with chairs that have been flipped up for cleaning, so April and I slide onto two stools at the long counter instead.
I order hot chocolate, she gets a coffee. The cranky server drops them off quicker than expected, clinking the mugs against the wooden countertop with a hard thunk and a grunt.
As I wrap my hands around the warm ceramic, ready for my first sip, something flickers on the TV mounted above the counter.
Daniel Muldoon—Local Financial Planner Arrested in Suspected Serial Murder Case.
The headline screams across the television beneath a picture of his smug, all-too-familiar face.
My blood turns to ice.
The mug stays hovering near my lips, untouched. The room goes quiet in my head, the news anchor’s voice distant and warped, like I’m underwater. The string of suspicious deaths. The elderly women whose bank accounts were wiped clean.
They did it. They actually arrested Daniel.
That means they must have significant evidence against him, right?
April shifts beside me. “Margot?” she asks, her voice low, cautious.
I can’t tear my gaze away from the screen.
A sick part of me wants to revel in his downfall. But three—maybe more—women paid the price for Daniel’s destruction. I can’t take any satisfaction from that.
“Isn’t that…?” April gasps. “That’s Daniel, isn’t it?”
I nod once, still staring at the screen. “The police came to talk to me a few weeks ago. They questioned me about his grandmother’s death—”
“Oh my God. Are you serious?”
“Yup, and a few other women. Friends of his grandmother’s, I think.”
I glance over and take in her shocked expression.
My face twists with disgust. “He held his grandmother’s funeral at our place—and referred the other two to us as well,” I add in a lower voice.