“They said they could protect me and they’d arrest him before we even spoke, and—”
“This isn’t your responsibility.”
“But think about it, Evan. This could get him out of our lives for good. Catching him would make me feel like I did
“What if the cops used another girl as a decoy or—”
“He’s seen pictures of you. If he realized it wasn’t you, he could go nuts and hurt lots of people, including you and Ally. I told you before, the police are just using you as bait. I won’t let you risk yourself like that.”
“You won’t
“You know what I mean. You’re not doing it, Sara.”
Part of me wanted to argue, the part that hated being told what to do, but a bigger part was relieved he’d made the decision for me.
“I was going to say I’ll tell them tomorrow, but they’re probably listening anyway.”
Evan shouted into the phone, “She’s not doing it.”
After that call I thought I’d hear from Billy or Sandy, but the phone was blissfully silent. The next day John called.
“Did you think about meeting me?”
“Yeah, and I still don’t think it’s a good idea. It’s too risky.”
“You said the cops don’t know.”
“But I told you last time, they might be following me.”
“They have no proof you’re my daughter and no idea we’re talking.”
God, he was smart. I was running out of ways to say no. I went back to the police excuse — it was all I had.
“They still might be watching, and—”
“Don’t you want to meet me?”
“Of course I do. But if the police are following me it could turn into a big shoot-out.”
“I’ll protect you.”
I almost laughed at the irony. The police wanted to protect me from him and he wanted to protect me from the police.
“I know. But I have a daughter — I just can’t risk my life like that.”
“What’s Ally doing right now?”
“She’s in bed.”
“Do you read stories to her?”
“All the time.”
“What’s her favorite?”
I hesitated. The police said not to lie to him, but I couldn’t stand the idea of him knowing intimate details about Ally.
“She loved
“What’s her favorite color?”
“Pink.” Ally loves candy-apple red. Brighter the better.
“I have to go. I’ll think about our meeting.”
“No, John. I’m not going to meet you—”
But I was talking to air.
John was making his way back down south — toward me. A trucker thought he’d seen someone near the pay phone around the time of the call, but he couldn’t describe him and hadn’t seen what he was driving. I barely slept that night, feeling John drawing near, hearing his tires on the pavement. The roads deserted as he traveled in the dark.
The next day, Monday, another package arrived. Billy and Sandy came over within a half hour of my phone call. Sandy and I hadn’t spoken since she’d ambushed me at the station, so when I opened the door I only greeted Billy. Sandy, marching to the kitchen with her briefcase in hand, didn’t seem to notice.
I held my breath while she carefully sliced open the box and lifted out a white jewelry box with her gloved hands. A small yellow envelope was taped on top. She set the box down on the counter and gently removed the envelope. Then she used a penknife to slice into the top, leaving the sticky part untouched. With tweezers she slid a card out of the envelope.
In bold blue pen it said,
I stepped back in horror.
“You okay, Sara?” Billy said.
“That’s
Billy gave a sympathetic smile.
He held open a bag and Sandy carefully slid the envelope and card into it. Next he slowly lifted the lid off the jewelry box. Both Sandy and Billy were crowding over it, so I couldn’t see the contents.
Sandy shook her head. “What a sick bastard.”
“Let me see,” I said.
They moved to the side as I came closer. Nestled in white cotton was a doll dressed in a pink sweater and blue jeans. I remembered Danielle’s sister sobbing on TV as she described what Danielle was wearing the last time she was seen alive. But it was the sight of the auburn hair glued to the faceless head that hit me the hardest. As I stared at the smooth metal my brain superimposed the image of her face agonized in death. I turned away.
Sandy said, “You need to have a good look in case he asks you anything.”
“Just give me a minute.” I sat down at the table and took a few deep breaths. “I keep seeing her face in that photo.”
“Have you given any more thought to meeting with him?” Sandy spun around, still holding the jewelry box.
“Evan won’t let me. He’s too worried.”
Billy nodded. “He wants you to be safe.”
“It’s so risky.” I stared at the box in Sandy’s hands. “But if I did it…”
“We arrest him and this all ends,” Billy said. “The gifts, the phone calls…”
“Women being murdered,” Sandy said.
“You know, Sandy, the guilt trip doesn’t help. What you did with the photo was horrible.”
She glanced at Billy, who cleared his throat. Her jaw tightened, but she said, “You’re right, Sara. That was over the line.”
For a moment I was startled, but as I met her eyes and she looked away, I knew there wasn’t one speck of sorry in her. I shook my head and turned back to Billy.
“I thought about the exact same things, Billy, but if I do it Evan’s going to be really upset.”
“Do you want me to talk to him?”
“No, it would just make it worse if he felt you were pressuring me. He doesn’t think I should be helping at all, it’s too dangerous. And he’s right. I’m risking Ally, especially now that John knows about her.”
“We don’t believe your family is at risk, but—”
“But he wants something from us. You said it yourself a couple of times — his demands keep increasing. What’s next? He demands to meet Ally?”
“That’s one of our concerns too. If we don’t act fast he’ll keep escalating.”
“But if I meet him so much could go wrong.”
Billy nodded. “Yes, it could. That’s why we’re not asking you to do it — even though this may be our only opportunity to stop him.”
“What if he got away? He’d know I tipped you off.”
