Page 46 of Lawman’s Witness

“If you know this about him, then why haven’t you gone to the police?” Amy Sue demanded. She thought she heard the sound of a vehicle, then the slamming of a car door outside and breathed in relief. Russ must not have been far away.

“Because it would be my word against his.”

“You’re his wife, if you told the police what you know—”

“If there was even a remote chance I had evidence against him I would be dead. No, he’d never make that mistake. By now haven’t you realized how good he is at this? He doesn’t make mistakes.”

“But he did. I witnessed the murder. I saw him!”

She shook her head. “Still, he isn’t behind bars, is he? And he won’t be even when he kills you both.”

“How can you stay with a…murderer?” Liz demanded.

Christine’s laugh was brittle. “I had no illusions when I married him. I saw potential in him and the life he could offer me. I didn’t care about his affairs with other women. Marriage is a bargaining chip. I got what I wanted, he got what he wanted.”

“You couldn’t have known who you were marrying,” Amy Sue argued, listening for Russ. Maybe he was having trouble getting into the house.

“I got more than I bargained for,” Christine said, and touched the diamond bracelet at her wrist. “Nor do I ever want to have this conversation again. You’ve put me in danger as well as yourselves.” Her voice cracked as she looked toward the front entrance to the house where they’d come in.

“That’s Jack,” Christine cried. “He can’t find you here. Please, hurry. There isn’t time. Quick, get inside the safe room,” she said, moving quickly to open the door. “I’ll get rid of him.”

Liz had risen from the chair and was already heading for the safe room. Amy Sue hadn’t moved, but the urgency in Christine’s voice made her follow Liz.

The moment they stepped in, the door closed with a clunk behind them. Amy Sue heard it lock. Liz must have, too, because she stepped to the door and tried to open it.

“She locked us in,” Liz said, something sounding a lot like fear in her voice. “You don’t think…” Their gazes met. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

Amy Sue couldn’t have agreed more as she looked around the small room. It was still under construction, so it was completely empty, the floor as bare as the walls. All she could hope was that Russ was still on the call in her pocket as she dug out her phone.

Her heart dropped as she heard nothing on the other end. When she tried to call him back, she found there was no cell service in here. All she could hope was that he’d heard what was going on before they were disconnected.

Liz had gone to the door and now pressed one ear against it.

“Can you hear anything?”

“Nothing.” She turned to face Amy Sue. “What do you think is going on out there?”

She had to swallow before she said, “I have no idea.” She didn’t say what she was thinking. Christine had known about her husband and now she’d locked them in this room. From the thickness of the walls, Amy Sue doubted anyone would hear them even if they screamed, and there was nothing to use to try to break out.

“Our cars are parked out front,” Liz said as if she’d been thinking what Amy Sue had. “She can’t keep us in here.” She looked toward the ceiling. “Shouldn’t there be air vents?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Josie felt the ominous darkness approaching as if it were sneaking in on the breeze. She rubbed her temples. It had been so long since she could sense trouble that she didn’t trust it at first. All her life she’d sensed when something dangerous was coming. It usually came as a darkness on the horizon growing ever closer, ever darker. She never knew what it was exactly, just that it involved someone she knew, someone she cared about.

Her grandmother had second sight or the “knowing” as she often referred to it. She thought it a gift. Josie didn’t have it as strongly as her gram. Also, for her, she’d always thought of it more as a curse rather than a gift. She’d told herself that she didn’t want to see something awful coming.

But after her accident last year, she’d lost her ability to sense anything in the future. At first she’d been thankful. Now that it seemed to be returning and she feared it had to do with her sister, she did as her grandmother used to encourage her to do. She embraced it, closing her eyes and willing herself to really see for the first time.

All she knew was that Amy Sue was in trouble, just as she’d feared would happen when her sister had been determined to see a killer brought to justice.

Josie opened her eyes. The darkness she’d seen earlier creeping in from the horizon was now black. As it moved toward her she stared inwardly, reaching into that menacing mist, afraid yet knowing she had to see what she’d feared most.

Her sister was in trouble.

Jack didn’t know what to expect after getting his wife’s cryptic phone call.

“I need you home right now.” That’s all she’d said before she disconnected. He told himself that if she was in real trouble she would have called 911—not him. But he kept thinking about this morning when Detective Tate had come to the house and Christine had repeated what he told her about the night before.