Killjoy

of Folgers coffee in the freezer.

Carrie kept going to the hallway to see if Sara or Anne had come down yet. What the hell was taking them so long? She went back into the kitchen, made a pot of coffee, and then carried a mug of the steaming brew into the living room. She deliberately kept away from the windows, just in case someone was out there watching.

She sat down in one of the easy chairs near the dining room and waited tensely. Her hand trembled, and hot coffee spilled over the rim, burning her fingers. Five minutes later, she saw Sara slowly making her way down the winding staircase. She was dressed in a royal blue floral silk robe. From the way she clung to the railing, she appeared to be woozy still.

'Do you need help?' Carrie called out when Sara stopped for the fifth time. She had a white-knuckle grip on the railing.

'No, I can make it. I'm a little dizzy. What in heaven's name was in that food?'

'I don't know what it was,' Carrie said. 'But it was powerful.'

'It could have killed us.'

Wouldn't that have been something? Carrie thought. To die from a canape and never know about all the trouble Jilly had gone to. Her sister would have been enraged. Carrie smiled at the thought, as sick as it was.

'Would you like some coffee?'

'I don't think I can handle it just yet. How do you know that it wasn't poisoned?'

'It isn't,' she assured her. 'My letter was from my sister. She's gone to a lot of trouble to terrify me. She obviously wants me to suffer before I die, and poison would act too quickly.'

'Then why did she drug the food?'

'To knock us all out,' Carrie answered. She waited until Sara had taken a seat across from her, and then said, 'She came into our rooms last night.'

'Someone was here,' Sara agreed. 'He or she went through all my things. My cell phone and Palm Pilot are both missing.'

'The phone line's dead too.'

'Yes,' Sara said. 'I checked.'

It suddenly occurred to Carrie that the judge was awfully calm. She asked her why.

'I don't see any reason to become hysterical. What would it solve? I'd rather exert my energy figuring out a way to get out of

here… in one piece.'

Carrie took another long drink of her coffee. It was tepid now and bitter, but she drank it anyway.

'My sister came back from her grave.'

'Excuse me?'

'My sister… I thought she was killed in a car accident years ago,' Carrie said. 'My husband and I celebrated after my niece

went to bed. I was told that her body was cremated in the inferno, but there were items from her purse that had been thrown

clear during the impact, and those items convinced the police that the victim was my sister. I was a fool to believe it. Jilly was wanted for questioning by the police at the time.'

'So she feigned her own death,' Sara said, nodding. 'Clever.'

'Oh, yes,' Carrie agreed. 'Jilly was always sneaky and clever.' She got up and handed the letter to Sara. 'She's hired a hit man. That's what she called him. Her hit man.'

'Your own sister did this to you.'

Sara didn't sound surprised, just intrigued. Carrie wondered at her reaction. In normal families, if there really was such a thing, sisters certainly squabbled. Some might even hate each other, but how many would go to the extreme of hiring someone to kill

a sibling?

'You're not shocked,' she said.

'No, I'm not.'

Carrie shook her head. 'Jilly isn't like anyone you've ever known.'

'Want to bet?' Sara said dryly. 'I've put away hundreds of men and women who committed heinous crimes. I believe I've heard and seen it all in the twenty-two years I've sat on the bench. Nothing can shock me now.'

Carrie scoffed. 'I wouldn't count on that. So tell me, Sara. Who wants you dead?'

Sara carefully adjusted the belt on her robe so that the bow was perfect, then folded her hands in her lap. 'Who wants me dead? Oh, quite a few people, I would imagine.'

She handed the letter to Carrie and watched as she unfolded the note and read it. It was short and to the point.

Judge Collins:

I told you I would get even, and I'm a man of my word. Now it's your turn to suffer. I wish I could be there to watch… from a safe distance, of course. You're going to die very soon now.

Rot in hell, bitch.

Carrie dropped the letter on the coffee table. Then she handed Jilly's letter to Sara.

'While you read her short but not-so-sweet note, I'm going to get another cup of coffee.'

'I'd love a cup now,' Sara said.

Carrie went back into the kitchen, and when she returned a minute later with two mugs, Sara had placed the note on the coffee table next to the one she'd received. Carrie handed her a mug, warned her the coffee was very hot, and sat down.

'Your sister hates you.'

'Oh, yes.'

'She accused you of stealing her child and turning her against her.'

'That didn't happen.'

'She seems to believe that all of her failures were your fault and that your success was stolen from her.'

Carrie nodded. 'Jilly always had the unique ability to rewrite history. Once she said it, in her mind it was real.'

'She sounds like a psychopath.'

'She is,' Carrie said. 'It was never officially diagnosed, but I'm sure that's what she is.'

Sara began to trace the worry line in her forehead with her fingertip as she listened to Carrie. Back and forth, back and forth.

She was so deep in thought she probably wasn't even aware of what she was doing. 'What happened with the child?'

'Avery,' she said. 'Her name is Avery, and she's an adult now, not a child. Jilly left her in the hospital. She told my mother and

me that we could keep her, sell her, or give her away. She didn't care what happened to her.' Tears sprang into Carrie's eyes.

She hated herself for showing such weakness in front of a virtual stranger, but she was powerless to do anything about it. 'Jilly's going after Avery too. Oh, God, she could already have her locked away somewhere now. My niece was going to join me at the spa…' She covered her face with her hand. 'We've got to get out of here soon. We have to find a way.'

'Your sister has gone to quite a lot of trouble to hurt you,' Sara said.

Carrie told her about Jilly coming into her room during the night and how she had believed she was having a nightmare. Sara

was a good listener and so calm Carrie was actually comforted.

'Jilly could be very patient when she really wanted something, and, oh, how she loved complicated plans. Nothing could ever

be simple.'

Sara put her coffee cup down and leaned forward. 'How much time do you think we have?'

'She's gone to a lot of trouble setting this up. She'll want to prolong my agony.'

Both of them kept glancing at the spiral staircase, expecting to see Anne coming down the stairs.