She checked the rearview mirror and noticed the cop car emerging from the darkened forest. But the deputy turned in the other direction—toward the Prewitts’ cabin, or perhaps to wherever he’d hidden that poor girl.
“There it is,” Allen said, pointing to a dirt path coming up on their right. “The cop said to ignore the sign….”
The small wooden placard read: COUPLAND RIDGE TRAIL – NO MOTORIZED VEHICLES.
Nodding, Susan veered onto the narrow pathway. She felt as if she were driving to her own execution. She thought of those people who were forced at gunpoint to dig their own graves. She felt like one of them, compliant, doing whatever she could to buy a little more time.
As she maneuvered the Toyota over the rugged, winding trail, Susan knew she didn’t have much time left. From the way the deputy had talked, he’d already killed Jordan’s friend or had him locked up someplace so they could do away with him later. That girl shared the same fate. Susan wondered if they planned to stop there. Would they spare Mattie?
“You aren’t saying much,” Allen observed. “I guess you’ve had a pretty rough day, too, huh?” He put a hand on the back of her neck.
Susan cringed inside. She stared at the dirt road ahead and pushed harder on the accelerator. “Yes, I was very worried,” she said tonelessly. She thought about picking up speed, switching to cruise control and jumping out of the car. But she could break her neck in the jump, and Allen might walk away with just a scratch. She considered bracing herself and smashing into a tree—aiming on the passenger side. No, with the car wrecked, she’d be stranded, unable to help Mattie or any of the others.
“Susan, slow down,” Allen whispered. He braced his hand on the dashboard. “Goddamn it, I said,
She glanced at Allen and found him glaring back at her. She realized so many women had taken their last breath staring into those same cold green eyes.
Susan eased off the accelerator. Up ahead, she noticed a high chain-link fence with a large gap in it. “Is this our shortcut?” she asked.
“Past the break in the fence you’ll see a driveway,” he said. “Take a right.”
She followed his instructions—and the wheezing, rattling Toyota made it over a big bump just before the gap in the fence. Merging onto the pavement, she turned right and started down what must have been a private driveway at one time. Rocks, tree branches, and trash littered the long strip of cracked, potholed pavement. In the distance, she noticed a little shack that looked like a guard house. Beyond that stood a squat, decaying, two-story beige brick building. It must have been the old Chemerica plant, where the deputy had that girl “tucked away” in one of the closets.
Susan started to slow down. “Is this our shortcut, Allen?” she repeated.
“No, I lied about that,” he murmured. “There’s a girl who’s in trouble here….”
Susan stopped the car just past the decrepit little guard house. She glanced at Allen again. Those eyes that had been so cold moments ago were now brimming with tears. He looked so tortured. He kept shaking his head. “Oh, God, Susan…”
She wondered if he was actually going against the deputy’s plan to murder this helpless teenage girl. Was it possible Allen had a decent streak and he wanted to rescue her? He put his hands over his face, and he let out an agonized cry. She’d never seen him cry before.
“You mean you really want to save her?” Susan heard herself ask. She switched off the car’s ignition. She started to fidget with the indicator handle again. “You’re not going to kill her—or me?”
He wiped his tears away and then gazed at her. “Then you know….”
She nodded. “I was outside the Prewitts’ cabin while you were talking with Deputy Shaffer. I heard everything. It made me sick….”
“I never wanted to hurt you, Susan,” he said. “I thought for you and Mattie, I could change.”
Susan slowly shook her head at him. “Then it’s true. You killed all those women. You snatched them away— right in front of their little boys. Then you beat them and strangled them.” She shuddered. “The night I first met you, I was with Mattie outside that restaurant. I had car trouble. You did something to my car, didn’t you?”
He glanced down at the floor of the car and then nodded.
“You were going to kill me—like the others,” she said. “Why did you change your mind?”
“You were different….”
Susan shook her head. “That’s not why,” she whispered. “I remember now. The lawyer’s paperwork was on the front seat of my car—where you’re sitting now. You asked me, and I told you about the lawsuit—one and a half million dollars. Then you invited me to join you for Thai food. Up until that point, no one had seen us. You were going to take me away from Mattie and kill me….”
She glared at him, but he wouldn’t look at her. Slouching in the passenger seat, he rubbed his forehead.
“You faked that call to Triple A in the restaurant’s parking lot, didn’t you?”
He nodded. “I called them for real when you and Mattie were cleaning up in the restroom of the Thai place.”
“The idea of that one and a half million changed your mind, didn’t it?” Susan asked. “You figured on holding off for a few months, so you could play the dutiful husband and stepfather. What did you have in mind for later—an accident for Mattie and me? Why kill me in that parking lot, when you could do the same thing later and end up with a million and a half? Was that the plan, Allen?”
“Maybe at first,” he admitted. “But you’ve changed me, Susan. I’m different from the guy who killed all those women….”
Susan just shook her head in disbelief.
“Haven’t I been a good fiance?” he continued. “Haven’t I been good to Mattie? That cop, he wants me to kill you—and Mattie. I took you out here so we could get away from him.” Allen nodded at the old, abandoned chemical plant in front of them. “I figured maybe we could find this girl he’s got trapped in there. Then I’d let you take the car, and the two of you could go to the state police. As for me, well, maybe you’ll just let me disappear….”
Susan stared at him. He had to know she wouldn’t let that happen—not after what he’d done. He seemed so tormented and tired. He still wouldn’t look at her.
“Now that we’re here,” he whispered. “The more I think of that helpless, scared teenage girl, trapped in there, probably crying for her parents—” He shook his head. He had tears in his eyes. “The more—God help me—I want to kill her….”
Horrified, Susan edged back from him. She tightened her grip on the indicator handle—now, almost completely unscrewed from the steering column.
“I don’t expect you to understand, Susan,” he said, a coldness creeping into his voice. “I can’t help it. She’s so close. Knowing she’s practically within my reach, I’ve got to do her. That cop, he knows me. He has my number. He knew I couldn’t pass up an opportunity like this. He wants you dead. And I’m sorry, but he’s calling all the shots here.” He gazed at her and half smiled. “I want you to know, I got him to agree that Mattie won’t be harmed. He’ll be okay.” He gently patted her knee. “I—I’ll give him a nice toy.”
Susan held the thin steel rod in her grasp—one more twist and she’d have it freed from the steering column.
“I meant it when I said you’re not like the others, Susan,” he said. “Prove me right and make it easier for both of us. Don’t struggle. It’ll be quicker….”
Suddenly, he lunged toward her.
Susan tried to recoil, but he grabbed her around the throat. He shoved her against the car door, and she let go of the indicator handle. He started choking her. Susan kicked and struggled. All the while she tried to grab the rod on the steering column. But it was just out of her reach. Her hand fanned at the air.
She couldn’t breathe. The more fiercely she fought, his grip only got tighter. He was practically on top of her now. He had this cold, calm look on his face. His eyes seemed dead. He brushed his lips against hers.
With every ounce of strength she could muster, Susan pushed him back. But one of his hands was still on her throat.
Grabbing the indicator handle, Susan wrenched it away from the steering column and slashed the metal rod across his face—just missing his right eye. Allen shrunk back and howled in pain. She’d made a deep, bloody laceration down his left cheek.
Susan pulled the keys out of the ignition—just as he started to lunge at her again. Recoiling, she flung open
