I heard a sharp intake of breath, but no one spoke.
“Who’s calling, please?”
“Is this Bailey Weggins?” A woman’s voice.
“Yes, speaking.”
“This is Lisa,” she whispered hoarsely, her tone desperate. “Lisa Mannix.”
The name meant nothing to me.
“Lis—?”
“The woman at the motel.”
“Right. What—?”
“You said I could call you. You have to help me. Someone’s after me—and he’s out there now.”
Chapter 19
OUT WHERE?”ISAID. “OUTSIDE THE MOTEL?IS THATwhat you mean?”
“Yes, God...”
“Is your door bolted?”
“Yeah, but... this is freaking me out.”
“Uh, where’s the guy who comes to see you? The one with the BMW.”
It might actually be him she was freaking out about, I realized. An abusive boyfriend who was now scaring the crap out of her.
She hesitated, perhaps caught off guard that I’d noticed her paramour’s car.
“I—I can’t reach him,” she said after a few seconds. “It’s going to voice mail.”
“When you say someone’s out there, who do you mean exactly? A man? Can you describe him?”
“I’m not sure who it is. But a white SUV has been tailing me this afternoon. I thought I’d lost it, but as I pulled inhere, I saw it shoot past me, going farther north. It may have turned around.”
“Do you see anyone out there now?”
“Not from the window. And I’m too scared to go outside.”
“If you think you’re in danger, you should call 911. Right now.”
There was such a long silence that I wondered if the call had been dropped.
“You still there, Lisa?”
“I—I can’t call 911.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want any cops involved.”
Hmm, now that was curious.
