“No,” said Sophie.
“Well then, let’s stop arguing and start thinking,” said Graham. He groaned. “I can’t believe we’re actually trying to figure out how to dispose of a corpse. Why don’t we just hide her somewhere until we figure out what to do with her? I noticed there’s an old shed near the edge of the woods. We could put her in there.”
“It’s up to you,” said Sophie.
“Okay, but what about Lisa?” said Graham. “This catastrophe will be pointless if we come back and she’s gone.”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” said Sophie. She reached down and grabbed a handful of Lisa’s hair, compelling her to stand up. “You’re coming with me. I’ve got just the place for you.”
She dragged Lisa down the hall until they stopped in front of a door. Sophie opened it. Lisa found herself staring into a small room. She couldn’t see the interior very well in the dim light, but the floor was so cluttered that it looked like the contents of several dumpsters had been emptied inside the room. On the far wall, she saw a broken window with jagged shards of glass sticking out around the frame.
“Here’s where you’ll stay,” said Sophie, nearly ripping Lisa’s hair out of her head as she shook her. “I won’t be gone for very long, so don’t get any funny ideas. Oh, and if you were thinking about climbing out the window, let me show you something.”
With some difficulty, she made a path through the junk, pushing Lisa in front of her. When they arrived at the window, Sophie shoved Lisa’s face up to the opening. Lisa looked down. Molly’s body lay on the ground below, drenched in rain and hideous with the pallor of death. Lisa had been in such a state of shock before that she hadn’t noticed the horrifying transformation. She gasped and tried to turn away, but Sophie’s grip on her hair prevented her from moving.
“Take a good long look,” said Sophie. “That’s what happens to people who annoy me.”
She flung her away, and Lisa caught herself just in time to avoid striking her head on the ground. Trembling, she raised herself on her hands while Sophie paused in the doorway, a sardonic smile appearing on her brutal face.
“Just between you and me, I’m pretty sure Graham will eventually change his mind about letting you go,” she said. “It’s too much of a risk. You know what that means, don’t you? You’re going to die here.”
She slammed the door.
Lisa collapsed and stared into the darkness. She listened to Graham and Sophie’s muffled voices as they removed Molly’s body. The rain continued to fall. Nothing felt real. The past belonged to a different girl, the present was a nightmare, and the future didn’t exist.
Although she didn’t know the details of the arrangement Graham intended to make for her release, she realized her fate rested squarely in the hands of her father, and he had already proved he didn’t care about her. She doubted he would even try to get her back. Sophie would kill her without any hesitation, and she would join Molly in her makeshift tomb. She would never see Josh again.
She lifted her hand to her chest and gathered the necklace into her fist, twisting the delicate chain around her fingers and squeezing the aquamarine teardrop until its edges dug into her flesh. It didn’t belong to her anymore. Josh’s mother had given it to someone else—someone who no longer existed. With a spasmodic jerk of her wrist, she snapped the chain and dropped the necklace onto the floor. It was over. Shutting her eyes, she slipped into oblivion.
Chapter 19
Around midnight, Josh left the intensive care unit and walked downstairs to disrupt the dreadful monotony of waiting. His mother’s condition remained unchanged. He looked for Shannon and found her asleep, slumped over a table in the empty cafeteria. He decided not to wake her. If she could rest, so much the better. He doubted he would ever sleep again. It felt like an eternity ago when he and Lisa had stood on the balcony outside the ballroom and fantasized about the future.
He had told Lisa he would call her in the morning, but he desperately wanted to talk to her. The temptation quickly became irresistible. Feeling slightly sheepish, he paused outside the chapel, removed his cell phone from his pocket, and called her. Immediately, a phone started ringing quite close to where he was standing. With a premonition of doom, he approached the chairs near the fountain, reached between the cushions, and retrieved Lisa’s cell phone.
He was staring at it in bewilderment when the doors at the end of the lobby slid open and Richard strode in with an aura of restrained fury. He was speckled from head to foot with mud, and his clothes were shabbier than ever. His eyes flashed ominously, and when he noticed Josh, his scowl deepened.
“What are you doing here?” he said.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing,” said Josh. “My mom took a turn for the worse earlier this evening, and now she’s in the intensive care unit with pneumonia. I was at prom with Lisa, but we came over here to visit, and—”
“Lisa was here with you?” said Richard.
“Yes, but she went home a few hours ago,” said Josh. “Richard, the most awful thing happened. The man from the restaurant is dead. Graham was there, and a woman I haven’t seen before was with him. I heard them talking. Graham was being all weird around her, almost like he was trying to impress her.”
“I was wondering how long it would be before Erica made her tragic appearance,” said Richard, nodding his head. “It was only a matter of time before she materialized.”
“How did you know her name?” said Josh in astonishment.
“What do
