Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(16)

Lynn closed the distance between them and slapped Lizzy’s cheek. Lizzy could’ve stopped her—could’ve done a lot of things—but she let it happen, maybe even welcomed it.

Lynn stepped back and put a hand to her mouth, seemingly stunned by her actions. Then she whirled about and left the room as quickly as she’d come.

After turning back to Jared, Lizzy fixed his hair, then leaned over and kissed his forehead.

When she looked up, she saw the same nurse still standing on the other side of the bed. The scene she’d just witnessed was more than likely going to give her a lot to talk about at the nurses’ station. Lizzy looked at her and said, “Do you think you could give him a sponge bath?”

“That was taken care of this morning. It’s right here on—”

“I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“What about Dr. Calloway? He did ask me to—”

“Please tell him I’ll have to talk to him some other time. I’m sure he’ll understand.” Lizzy walked out of the room before the nurse could protest further. Lizzy wasn’t ready to hear what Dr. Calloway had to say. Jared’s family would probably be surprised if they knew that they weren’t the only ones clinging to the irrational idea that Jared could still somehow pull out of this.





CHAPTER 12

Jenny Pickett pulled into the garage, closed the roll-down door, then took the long way around the side of her house to gather the mail. On her way up the walkway, she took a good long look at the house she’d bought two years ago and even found herself looking at it in a new light. It was small, but it had a lot of potential. The house could use a new coat of paint. She’d never had a green thumb, but for some reason she thought it might be time to hire a landscaper, too—clean the place up a bit. Maybe plant some roses or a couple of nice-smelling camellia bushes.

She inserted her key and opened the door. Two weeks after killing Brandon, it seemed to her she was morphing into a whole new person. She was learning to break away from the same old routine. She held her head high at work and made eye contact with coworkers. She had even dared to join another table of people in the cafeteria during her lunch break today. Although she didn’t say much, nobody had seemed to give it a second thought, nor did they appear to be put off by her existence. One of them, Dwayne Roth, even smiled at her and took her tray from the table when she finished eating.

Jenny left the pile of mail on her desk, and then changed into comfortable clothes before walking back to the kitchen. In celebration of the changes she’d made, she set the table, complete with a crystal glass, candles, and a cloth napkin. When dinner was ready, she admired the table setting, then turned on the television and rolled the TV table to a place where she could watch the news while she ate. Before sitting down, she went to her office to get her list.


Brandon Louis

Terri Kramer

Stephen White

Debi Murray

Gavin Murdock

Rachel Elliott

Melony Reed

Ron Jennings

Louise Penderfor

Mindy Graft

Aubrey Singleton

Claire Moss

Chelsea Webster

Dean Newman

Gary Perdue


She sat up taller when she heard the Channel 3 anchorman say Stephen White’s name. That was fast! Apparently Stephen barbecued more often than she’d dared hope.

“The thirty-one-year-old Auburn man is dead, and three others were also injured after a quantity of gunpowder exploded at Oakhaven at approximately 8:30 p.m. last night.”

Access to the property was blocked, but a Detective Quincy said the incident was most likely a “freak” accident. “Just friends getting together for a barbecue,” he said.

“We believe Stephen White was killed instantly. He was pronounced dead at 8:45 p.m.”

Jenny couldn’t believe it. Her idea had worked.

Even back in high school, everyone had known that Stephen was an avid gun collector. He used to brag about his and his father’s collection of muskets and what skilled muzzleloader marksmen they were. A ridiculous passion, but Jenny felt certain it wasn’t something he’d give up.

She was right.

After learning where Stephen lived, it was easy enough to make some flyers about Christian life and then dress up in a short black wig with bangs that swept over one eye. She’d done her homework and she already knew Stephen was in construction and was working on a remodel in Granite Bay. After knocking on his front door and getting no answer, she pretended to be looking for the occupant of the house and walked around to the back. She didn’t even have to break in. There, in an unsecured shed—Stephen was no brighter now than he’d ever been—she found shelves loaded with bags of gunpowder. She made quick work of setting up the barbecue using her own mixture of the stuff and nitroglycerine.

The only thing she’d left to chance was the timing. She had no idea when Stephen White would use his barbecue next, especially since summertime was months away. She hadn’t been sure if Stephen had children, and the idea of harming an innocent child had weighed heavily on her mind.

You were innocent once. Nobody worried about you. Don’t be an idiot.

She continued to listen to the anchorman. Investigators had spent the day talking to neighbors and family members who were inside the house when the explosion occurred. Investigators were analyzing gunpowder from the scene, confused by the rarity of such an odd event ever occurring.