her back. 'Did Jonathan Hale pay you extra for that?'
Malcolm Fletcher wrapped a pair of Flexicuffs around her wrists and motioned to the hallway. 'After you,' he said.
'I'd like to stay here with Hannah.'
'Miss Givens will be joining you in the living room momentarily.' He gripped Darby's forearm gently and whispered against her ear. 'Don't be scared. I won't harm you.'
Darby wasn't afraid. For some reason, she believed him.
Malcolm Fletcher, murderer of Tim Bryson and two federal agents, escorted her into a living room with shabby grey carpeting. A framed oil painting of the Virgin Mary hung on the wall above the fireplace.
'Tell me about Sam Dingle,' Darby said.
Fletcher brought her to an armoire holding a TV, turned her around and asked her to sit on the floor.
'Did Dingle kill Jennifer Sanders?' Darby said.
'You'll have to ask him yourself when you find him.'
'You promised me the truth.'
'Sit on the floor,' Fletcher said. 'I'm not going to ask you again.'
'Can't keep Mr Hale waiting, can we?' Darby sat.
'Sammy raped and strangled Jennifer Sanders,' Fletcher said, looping another pair of Flexicuffs inside the ones fastened around her wrist. 'He also strangled the two women from Saugus.'
'Is that Jennifer's voice on the audio tape?'
'Yes.'
'Where did you get it?'
Fletcher tied a second pair of cuffs around the armoire's legs. 'I found the cassette and many more inside Sammy's home.'
'Did you kill him?'
'No.'
'Then what did you do to him? Where is he?'
Malcolm Fletcher left the room without answering.
Darby sat on the floor with her arms behind her, wrists cuffed and fastened to the armoire's leg. Fletcher was talking to Hannah. He was speaking too softly. Darby couldn't hear what he was saying.
On the fireplace mantel was a small clock. Darby watched the time, hoping Bill Jordan or someone from his team had noticed she had set off the panic button. Driving from Danvers to Rowley would take an hour. Jordan wouldn't wait; he would call the locals. Had he already placed the call? How long would it take Rowley PD to arrive? She would have to try and stall Fletcher.
Ten minutes later Fletcher came back into the room carrying Hannah Givens in his arms. She was still blindfolded and handcuffed. He gently placed her on the couch, then grabbed an old afghan from a chair and draped it over her. He turned to Darby.
'You won't be here long. I'll call nine-one-one from the road.'
'Why don't you just kill Walter now?' Darby said. 'That's why you're here, isn't it?'
'Why didn't you kill him? Isn't that what you wanted?'
'You don't have the right -'
'I watched you in the bathroom. You wanted Walter to suffer, Darby. Were you hoping to turn him into a paraplegic? Or did you want to kill him because, deep down, you know he's beyond redemption?'
Fletcher knelt on one knee, his strange black eyes hovering in front of her face. Behind them was infinite darkness.
'That appetite, you'll soon discover, is hard to suppress.'
'Are you speaking from personal experience?'
'We'll have to discuss the matter another time.' Fletcher's eyes roamed over her face and body. 'Maybe one day we can talk about it. Privately.'
'Let's talk about it now.'
Fletcher stood. 'When you think back to that moment inside the bathroom, you'll wish you'd pulled the trigger.'
'Where are you taking Walter?'
'I'm going to give him what he truly wants,' Fletcher said, tossing the handcuff keys on the table. 'I'm going to deliver him to his mother.'
'I'll find you.'
'Better men have tried, mate. Goodbye, Darby.'
83
Walter was trapped in pitch-black darkness. There was no floor beneath his feet, and he didn't feel anything as he waved his hands around in the air – it was like he was floating in outer space, without stars, without sound.
He had been to this place, whatever this place was, once years ago, after the fire. At first he thought he was trapped in hell and then a woman's voice, soft and reassuring, had called out from somewhere in the darkness and told him not to be scared. He wouldn't be here for long. Great and wonderful miracles were about to happen.
Walter didn't know the voice belonged to Mary. It was only when the Virgin Mother of Jesus revealed herself inside the chapel had he realized that the voice belonged to Mary, his Blessed Mother.
Walter came to his senses as he was dragged out of the bathroom. His feet bounced down the steps and then he was lifted into the trunk of a car. His body was stiff with terror.
A devil with black eyes and pale skin looked down on him before the trunk shut, plunging him into darkness.
Mary was calling for him. Walter shut his eyes and, curling himself into a ball, recited his special prayer, waiting for Mary to save him. Darby talked to Hannah Givens, encouraging her to get off the couch and grab the handcuff keys from the coffee table, but the young woman refused to move. Either she was in shock or Fletcher had said something to scare her.
Eventually, Darby heard sirens and saw flashing lights. Rowley police had arrived. She called to them as they ran up the front steps.
The patrolman who cut off her cuffs said a 911 call had been placed by an unidentified male who stated that Hannah Givens and a member of the Boston Crime Lab were being held inside the home of Walter Smith. The caller gave the address and hung up.
Hannah Givens sat on the couch, sobbing into the chest of a female officer. Darby tried speaking to Hannah, wanting to know what Fletcher had said inside the bathroom, but the young woman refused to speak.
Darby's first call was to Bill Jordan. When he didn't answer his phone, she left a message, telling him it was an emergency and to call her back.
Neil Joseph answered his cell phone. Darby explained what she needed and asked him to drive to Danvers to find Jordan.
Hannah's father called as the ambulance pulled away. He spoke in a strangled voice.
'Detective Joseph just left. I told him about your partner, but he wanted me to call and tell you.'
'Tell me what?'
'Your partner called me about an hour ago and said you found Hannah. He said that she was okay and told me not to worry. I asked to speak to Hannah and he apologized and said he had to get off the phone and help you. He hung up and forgot to give me your number. Detective Joseph gave it to me. Can you put Hannah on the phone, Miss McCormick? I just need to hear my baby's voice, just for a moment, please. My wife and I have been sitting here worried sick.'
'Your daughter's on her way to the hospital.' Darby had to keep reassuring Hannah's father that his daughter was alive.
