Almost Dead (Lizzy Gardner #5)(71)

She’d stopped walking around and banging the walls hours ago.

Her mouth was dry and sticky. Dehydration was setting in. It hadn’t helped that she hadn’t taken the time to drink water or eat lunch before Chalkor had shoved her inside this cold, windowless room.

Was he planning on leaving her here?

Yeah, he might be a scumbag trying to collect monies he didn’t deserve, but was he willing to kill her for a few extra bucks?

He had to be coming back.

And when he did, she thought, she needed to be ready for him.

She scanned the room for the hundredth time. Nothing. All the rusty nails were in the other room. This room had been swept clean.

Even the shoes she’d decided to wear were worthless to her. If she’d worn her spiky heels, she could have done some damage the second he opened the door.

Think, Kitally, think. She had on a long-sleeved cotton shirt and red stretch pants. She had recently bought a matching bra and panty set.

Her bra! That’s it. At this very moment, the wire was pinching her skin, making her even more uncomfortable. She pulled her arms out of her sleeves, unhooked the back of her bra, and pulled it off. With her shirt back on, she examined the undergarment. She needed to get the wire out somehow. She crawled over to the door where she’d scratched herself earlier on a ragged metal hinge. She began rubbing the silk against the metal edge until she’d made a hole. The wire slid out. Back in her little corner of the room, she began to twist and bend it.

When Chalkor came back, she’d be ready for him.





CHAPTER 50

Hayley had spent most of the afternoon driving around, visiting every place she could think of where Kitally might be. Unfortunately, she’d had no luck with her search. As she pulled into the driveway, she couldn’t help but hope she would find Kitally inside the house, going about her business as if nothing had happened.

Instead, she found Jessica sitting on the front stoop, checking messages on her phone.

“What are you doing here?” Hayley asked.

“Nice to see you, too.”

Hayley unlocked the door and left it open for Jessica. “Kitally!” Hayley called out more than once.

There was no answer.

“Where is everyone?” Jessica asked.

“Lizzy is sitting in jail, and Kitally is missing.”

Jessica dropped her phone in her purse. “Since when?”

“Lizzy or Kitally?”

“Lizzy. I talked to her the other day and I didn’t think she sounded right, so I decided to pay her a visit, see how she was holding up.”

“She’s a mess.”

“You don’t look so hot yourself.”

“Yeah,” Hayley said. “I get that a lot.” She anchored loose strands of hair behind her ears. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to take a quick shower and then I’ll explain everything.”

“You live here, too?”

“All three of us—Kitally, Lizzy, and me,” Hayley said as she disappeared around the corner.

“Must make for interesting conversations,” Jessica called after her.

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“You didn’t tell me why Lizzy was in jail.”

“Five minutes. Just give me five minutes.”

Jessica secured the front door and then shouted, “Mind if I make myself some tea?”

“Make yourself at home.”




Jessica didn’t wait for the teakettle to whistle before she poured hot water into the mug she’d found. She walked around the bottom floor of the house as she sipped her tea. So far she hadn’t seen any sign of Lizzy’s things, not until she walked into the office at the end of the hallway. That’s where she found Lizzy’s laptop and a couple of very familiar-looking file cabinets, reminding Jessica of all the hours she’d spent organizing and searching through those same files. It was hard for Jessica to imagine Lizzy living with Kitally and Hayley, but these were strange times.

She headed out of the office, made her way down the hall and into the living area. The house was huge. There were more windows than walls. The views were magnificent. As she stared out into the trees, admiring the way the afternoon sunlight slipped through the branches, she wondered again why Lizzy would be in jail. The notion of Lizzy being put behind bars made no sense at all. If Hayley didn’t make an appearance soon, she was going to call the station and see what she could learn.

Outside, not too far in the distance, between a regiment of large oaks and light brush, she saw movement. At first she thought it was a deer, but it wasn’t.

It was a man.

And he was watching her.

How very peculiar.

Jessica moved her head away from him as she sipped her tea, but she kept him in her peripheral vision.

Her gun felt suddenly heavy upon her hip. A good weight.

From this distance, she couldn’t make out the color his eyes, but his hair was light, almost blond. His skin color was on the pale side. He was massive in build and tall, over six foot four.

She took another sip of her tea, didn’t taste a thing.

Footfalls sounded as Hayley descended the stairs.

Stay focused.

The man’s ears were flat against his head. His neck was half the size of the tree trunk he stood next to. His shirt was plaid. He wore denim, brown boots.