Nikki sped up, letting the needle climb to eighty-five before she backed off as she approached a sharp curve. She rounded the hairpin turn too quickly and nearly lost control of the wheel before she tapped the brakes and slowed. She came out of the turn and glanced behind her. The vehicle made the curve and gained on her. She could see now that it was a truck. She couldn’t tell the make or model, but she had an image of an old panel truck covered in primer.
She used the voice control on her Bluetooth to call Adam. He answered on the first ring.
“Someone’s following me,” she said.
“Where are you?”
She gave him her approximate location as she split her attention between the road and the rearview.
“I’m on my way,” he said. “Whatever you do, don’t pull over. Keep driving. I’m coming to meet you.”
The truck butted her bumper and Nikki gasped as she clutched the wheel.
“Nikki? What happened? Are you still there?”
“He just rammed my bumper. I have to go.”
“Speed up. See if you can outrun him. Just hang in there...”
Nikki floored the accelerator and her SUV shot forward. As long as the road remained straight, she would be fine. She could outpace the older, heavier vehicle, but they were coming up on another turn. She couldn’t make it at this speed. She had to slow down—
The truck struck her bumper again, this time hard enough that Nikki momentarily lost control. As they rounded the curve, the truck drew even with her and then swerved into her, forcing her off the road. She fought the wheel and almost had control before her tires spun out on loose gravel. Her SUV mowed down a road sign before bumping headlong down the embankment to crash into a tree.
WHEN NIKKI CAME to she was lying on her side out in the open. She thought at first that someone had pulled her from the wrecked vehicle and left her in the woods. But she wasn’t alone. She could hear a strange, rhythmic sound in the background. She tried to lift a hand to her throbbing temple, but she couldn’t move. A wave of terror washed over her. Had she been paralyzed in the accident? Then she realized that her hands and ankles were bound and a gag had been tied around her mouth. She wasn’t on the side of the road at all but back home in her garden. She could smell the roses. Was she dreaming?
That rhythmic sound. What was it? A metallic strike followed by a soft thud. And in between, the sound of labored breathing.
Digging. Someone was digging in one of her flower beds. At this time of night?
She tried to maneuver to a sitting position, scooting her body around until she could pinpoint her location. Nothing looked familiar. She wasn’t in her yard after all.
Where am I?
A scream rose to her throat, stifled by the gag.
She fell back on the ground, hyperventilating. She forced herself to stay calm. To take deep, slow breaths. Once the haze started to clear she was only too aware of her predicament. She’d been forced off the road and knocked out by the crash. She’d been taken. Just as Riley Cavanaugh had been taken all those years ago. Taken by some unknown assailant who was now digging her grave.
Panic enveloped her again and she had to remind herself to breathe slowly. Help would be coming for her soon. Adam knew her approximate location on the road. He would already be looking for her. He’d find her car and know that she was in trouble. He could trace her current location using the GPS on her phone, except...was her phone still in her vehicle?
Think, Nikki, think! You can do this.
She’d been on her own for as long as she could remember. She could find a way out. She had to.
She lay quietly for a moment as she worked at the cord around her wrist. It was wrapped tightly, but there was a slight give in the fabric. Just keep working it. Don’t make a sound.
The point of the shovel struck the ground in front of her. Nikki looked up into the cold blue eyes staring down at her.
Then Lila Wilkes squatted and brushed the hair from Nikki’s face. She tried to jerk away but the woman grasped her chin. “Hold still. You’ve got some dirt on your cheek.” She licked a finger and rubbed at the smudge.
Nikki recoiled in revulsion and horror.
“You must be wondering what you’re doing here,” Lila said in a conversational voice. “Or have you figured it all out by now? I knew it would just be a matter of time. Once you found all those clues poor Charles left behind, you’d put it all together. You’ve always been a clever girl, haven’t you? Do you want to know how I put it all together?”
Nikki shook her head and tried to roll out of the woman’s reach.
“Sure you do. I found his diary. I found yours, too, as a matter of fact, but we’ll get to that later. We’re talking about Charles right now. He wrote it all down in his journal. Not in so many words, mind you. That was a bit of a puzzle, too, but when you know someone for as long and as well as I knew Charles Nance, you get how their mind works. Even when that mind starts to slip. The connection is still there. The onset of dementia just made things a bit fuzzy. Do you know what I mean?”
Nikki stared at her in horror as she worked at the bindings.
“You must have a lot of questions. I’ll tell you everything before you go,” Lila said. “You deserve that and I’ve always been a good storyteller. I’m a good actress, too. I have lots of talents that no one
