Fear gripped Rachel, and she wriggled to get free. That’s when she realized her ankles were tied together too. And it wasn’t just rope; he’d used zip-ties.
“You can struggle all you want. There’s no way you’ll get out of those,” Archie said, grinning. He moved closer to her, raising the rock higher.
Rachel had to think quickly and keep him talking. “Why did you want to get Keith in trouble?” she asked. “He was your friend.”
Archie snorted. “He was no friend of mine. I knew him through Jeremy. Keith was a jerk. He was always playing pranks on kids in school, trying to make everyone look stupid. Jeremy put up with it because he thought Keith was cool. I didn’t. He told a bunch of kids in school that I was the one raping and killing those women. I had to explain my way out of it to the principal and even the police. Killing his sister and blaming it on him was the best revenge I could get.”
Rachel froze. “You killed those women?” She hoped his ego would keep him talking.
“Ha! You and that boyfriend of yours didn’t figure it out, did you? Keith figured it out, though. He saw me leaving old lady Arlington’s house that day, and he put two and two together.”
Rachel’s mind spun. If she screamed, she doubted anyone would hear her. This time of day, only a few mothers with toddlers would be in the park. She couldn’t put anyone else in danger. But she sure wasn’t going to die here either.
“You already got your revenge,” she said quickly. “Keith’s been in prison for decades for a crime you committed. Why risk everything by killing me now?”
Archie grinned evilly as he slowly got down on one knee and stared her straight in the eyes. “Because I like finishing what I’ve started. And because it’s fun.” He raised the rock high.
Rachel’s heart pounded as she stared at the rock in his hand. This was it. No one was around to save her. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the hard rock to slam into her skull.
“Hold it right there, Archie,” a male voice yelled. “Don’t even think about hurting her.”
Rachel opened her eyes and let out the breath she’d been holding. Archie was still over her, but he’d turned to watch Jeremy coming down the path toward him. He had his gun drawn, pointed right at Archie.
Archie laughed. “You’re not going to shoot me. I’ll take you down with me. You’ve known all along it was me. We’re in this together.”
Jeremy moved closer, his gun steady. “I may have suspected you all these years, but I never had the proof. Now I do. Back away and put down that rock. I swear, Archie. I’ll load this whole gun into you.”
Archie stood but didn’t move to drop the rock or his gun. “No, you won’t,” he said.
“I will, though,” another male voice yelled from the opposite side of the path. Every head turned to see Avery with his pistol drawn. “FBI! Drop your weapon and back away from Rachel. Now!”
Rachel stared at Avery, shocked. FBI? She looked over at Jeremy and saw the look of surprise on his face as well. Both men had their weapons trained steadily on Archie.
Sweat rolled down Archie’s face. He knew he was trapped. In a split second, he raised his handgun, pointed it at Rachel, and shot.
Chapter Eighteen
Rachel watched Archie raise his pistol. She jerked her body hard to roll away. Three gunshots went off, shattering the silence of the woods. Rachel watched as Archie crumpled to the ground. Avery was at her side in an instant.
“Rachel!” He quickly looked her all over. “Were you shot?”
“No. I’m fine,” she said, relief flooding through her. “I rolled away just in time.”
“Thank God.” He quickly cut the ties that bound her ankles and then helped her up before cutting the wrist ties. Avery pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.
Rachel held on to him, too, trying to stop herself from shaking. She’d thought she was going to die. Thank goodness for Jeremy and Avery. Remembering something, she pulled away, searching his eyes. “FBI?”
Avery chuckled. “I’ll explain later.”
She heard Jeremy radioing for an ambulance, and she turned to look at Archie. He was lying on the ground, and Jeremy was kneeling beside him.
“Is he dead?” she asked Jeremy.
“He’s breathing, but barely,” Jeremy said. “But we won’t let him die. He owes us a lot of years in prison.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. After all her suspicions about Jeremy, he’d actually been the one to come to her rescue. She owed him her life.
Jeremy nodded curtly, then turned away to bark into his radio again.
“Rachel?” An elderly man walked toward her. “Are you okay?”
Rachel stared at him. She recognized the face, except the last time she’d seen him, he didn’t have gray hair. “Dad?”
Frank Parnell opened his arms, and Rachel ran into them. “I’m so happy you’re okay. For a moment, I thought I’d lost you again.”
“I don’t understand,” Rachel said, pulling away. “How did you know I was here?”
Avery grinned. “It’s a very long story, but
