Her Last Word(59)

“You’re sure your wife hasn’t seen her?” Adler asked.

“My wife rarely leaves the house. She goes to yoga twice a week and that’s about it.”

“Why doesn’t she leave her house?” Adler asked.

“She agoraphobic. Leaving the house creates a great deal of stress. It took a lot of therapy just to get her to yoga.”

“Both your wife and Ms. Ralston were two of four girls on the river the night Gina Mason vanished.”

“I know. We never talk about Gina. It upsets Erika too much, so we don’t.”

“Any idea where she might have gone?” Adler asked.

“Nowhere. My wife went nowhere. You’re the cops, and it’s your job to find her. She functions within a three-mile radius of the house.”

“You sound pretty certain,” Adler said.

“I’m always looking out for my wife’s best interests.”

“We’d like to return to your house. You can join us and tell us if any items are missing.”

“Sure. Of course.”

“Does now work?” Adler asked.

“Do I have a choice?” Crowley asked.

Without comment, they escorted Crowley to a car. The drive took under twenty minutes, and no one spoke. Out of the car, Crowley moved past the cops and headed up the front stairs to the door. As Crowley moved out of hearing distance, Quinn looked at Adler.

“I call bullshit,” she said loud enough for only her partner to hear. “I don’t think he cares about his wife.”

“He appears upset, but I’m not buying it.”

“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck,” Quinn said.

Adler trailed behind Crowley up the stairs and through the front door. Crowley had flipped on the entryway lights and immediately spotted the bloodstain on the floor. He froze.

“That’s not Erika’s blood, correct?”

“Correct,” Adler said.

“This must have been some kind of robbery gone wrong. Jesus, with all the drug addicts running around on the streets today, nice houses like ours are a soft target.”

“Let’s have a look around.”

“How was Kaitlin Roe hurt?”

“She was stabbed,” he said.

Crowley’s jaw tightened. “My wife never liked Kaitlin. I can’t see her allowing an interview with anyone, especially with Kaitlin.”

“What did your wife tell you about the night Gina vanished?”

He moved past the bloodstain into the living room, flipping on lights as he moved through the space. “Like I said, she didn’t like to talk about it.”

“She must have mentioned it once or twice,” Quinn said.

“She was eaten up with guilt. She felt if she’d stayed behind instead of leaving, Gina would still be alive.”

“You think Gina’s dead?” Adler said.

“After all this time, how could she be alive?”

“It’s been known to happen,” Adler said. “Where were you the night Gina vanished?”

“At my parents’ house. I was waiting for Erika, but she never came.” He shook his head. “The Kaitlin Roe I remember was always good at manipulating people. She convinced her aunt to take her in and pay for her tuition. If there’s anyone who knows what’s going on, it’s Kaitlin Roe.”

“Ms. Roe has no memory of the attack,” Adler said.

Crowley clenched his hands. “Don’t believe her,” he said. “She’s a fucking liar.”



Dear Kaitlin,

You are lucky. You escaped your punishment. The plan wasn’t to stab you but to take you. I have a special room for you, and nothing will make me happier than to lock you in it and then set it on fire. You are a witch. You deserve to burn and to suffer. I am coming back for you, and remember when you are drawing your dying breath, you asked for this.

The words in the note felt inadequate. They didn’t begin to tap the rage he felt toward Kaitlin. Jennifer he could forgive. She’d never been strong. Even Erika would be forgiven. But Kaitlin was the one who’d had a real chance to save her friend, but literally turned her back on Gina.

He balled up the letter and threw it on the floor. He had been so careful with his planning. He’d driven Erika’s car to a Route 1 gas station, bound her hands and feet with tape, and transferred her to his truck. After dumping her off at his place, he’d returned to her house to wait inside for Kaitlin. But the plan had gone to shit when Kaitlin had set off that alarm. He’d panicked and lunged with the knife, hoping only to make the noise stop.

A wave of frustration churned in his gut. Kaitlin was supposed to be here, and he wanted to snatch her now. But for the next few days, she was out of his reach. Shit! The agitation crawling under his skin was going to drive him mad.

He grabbed keys and unlocked the basement door, then flipped on a light and descended the rickety staircase. Another lock secured the last door.

Erika had been in the dark for forty-eight hours. No food. No water. Essentially entombed alive. It was a hell of a way to go. He wanted to leave her down here until she died of thirst and deprivation. It was another of the horrible ways he’d imagined Gina dying.

However, he no longer had the patience to kill her slowly. He had to do something to calm his nerves. Today she would be Kaitlin’s proxy, and her death would ease the tightness in his chest. Give him enough relief to prepare once and for all for Kaitlin.