Evelynn didn’t know what to say to that and thanked her while she pulled her hands out of Jennifer’s grip.
The slam of the door hitting the wall jerked Evelynn awake. She was no longer in the small classroom, having a pleasant conversation with Jennifer. She was brought back to reality. After spending who knows how long in the dark basement, this time, a bright light illuminated the entire room. Evelynn had to blink her eyes multiple times to get used to the light.
Jennifer stood at the doorway holding a plate of food. She was dressed impeccably, as if she were on her way out.
“I thought you’d be hungry, Emily, so I made you some food.”
Evelynn grimaced.
“I’m not Emily,” she gritted out.
Jennifer only laughed. However, Evelynn caught her frown for a split second. Evelynn also noticed that her hold on the plate had gotten tighter.
Jennifer slowly walked down the stairs and then around her. The look in her eyes reminded Evelynn of a snake who had spotted its prey. Evelynn felt a cold chill down her spine. This time she knew it wasn’t just because the basement had terrible insulation.
Jennifer stopped in front of Evelynn and held the plate out. Evelynn smacked it away from her hands. Jennifer scowled as the plate crashed onto the floor and broke into little pieces.
“That wasn’t very nice,” she said.
Suddenly her smile was back again.
“I’ll make you a new plate of food. Don’t worry about it, Emily, we all make mistakes.”
Evelynn shook her head and looked at Jennifer with disbelief.
“I said I’m not Emily. You killed Emily!” Evelynn yelled.
Jennifer flinched.
Evelynn saw that reaction and she latched onto it. Jennifer walked to the other side of the room and rummaged in the cupboards.
“It wasn’t just Emily, was it?” she seethed. “You killed Becca Hall, Leah Sanchez and Cassie Dunn too!”
She had been so busy screaming at Jennifer that she didn’t hear the rasp of a bat scraping across the floor. She looked up, and the last thing she saw was Jennifer lifting her arms to swing.
Evelynn didn’t know how long she was out. One thing she knew for sure was that her shirt was no longer white. The cut on her brow was nothing compared to the wound she received from the bat. Jennifer was ruthless.
“You’re awake, then?”
Evelynn took one look at the gun between her eyes and groaned. Jennifer couldn’t be serious.
“Of course, I am! This concussion means nothing to me.” Evelyn exclaimed, her sarcasm evident.
Jennifer pushed the gun closer to Evelynn’s head. It scraped against her new cut and Evelynn winced.
“Get up.”
Evelynn looked at Jennifer and made no move to get up. Jennifer dug the gun into Evelynn’s head and repeated her command. Evelynn simply looked at the shackle attached to her ankle.
“No funny business,” Jennifer warned.
She knelt down and unlocked the shackle. Evelynn frowned at the angry red mark that had formed against her ankle. The shackle had rubbed her skin raw and she gently touched the area in an effort to sooth the pain.
Jennifer kept the gun trained on Evelynn’s head as she gestured for her to stand up.
“Follow me,” she said.
Chapter 5
Evelynn followed Jennifer to the top of the stairs. In the bright lights, she saw just how dirty her clothes were. However, they weren’t just dirty; they were torn in some places too, and Evelynn realized how intense her struggle against being kidnapped had been.
She remembered why she was here, but she still couldn’t remember how she got here. It was possible that Jennifer was just freakishly strong. Evelynn touched the cut on her head and cringed. The woman had a mean swing too.
“Stop looking around and walk in front of me,” Jennifer ordered.
Evelynn could wrestle her for the gun. However, the chances of the gun going off and hitting someone was too high. Then she thought to herself, did she really want to escape now? This might be her only chance to gather the evidence she needed to support her claims.
Hopefully in the few hours she spent with Alec, he got the gist that she was going to talk to Jennifer. Evelynn thought positively and told herself that Alec was probably on his way here, at this very moment.
At the end of the hallway, Evelynn caught a glimpse of Jennifer with her daughter. In the center of the wall was a portrait of Jennifer and Emily. Emily was on the piano, playing a piece and her mother looked at her adoringly. As they got closer to the picture, Evelynn noticed that Jennifer’s eyes were focused on Emily’s hands.
Evelynn remembered Jennifer’s statement at the school and shuddered.
Jennifer directed her into a room located on the far side of the house and pushed her inside. There was nothing in the room aside from a grand piano. As bare as the room was, the piano glittered. It was at this moment when Evelynn realized what the cause of those knuckle injuries were to the girls.
“I can’t play,” Evelynn stated.
Jennifer made an annoyed sound and pointed to the piano anyway. Evelynn turned around and decided to try another tactic.
“I can’t play the piano unless I change my clothes and get a shower. Do you really want my bloody hands on those keys?”
Jennifer paused to consider the situation and finally waved her gun. Evelynn got up and followed Jennifer into a small bathroom.
“Wash up. I’ll get you clothes.”
Jennifer pushed her in and grabbed the key. After the lock had clicked, Evelynn rifled through the bathroom searching for something to help her escape. She opened cabinets and drawers frantically but found nothing. There was no window for her to try escape from either, just a vent in the ceiling.
Frustrated, Evelynn ended up taking a shower. At least this way she wouldn’t have to keep looking at her bloodstained shirt and pants.
The hot water stung her wounds, but Evelynn was determined to clean her hair. It had
