Killjoy

"Killed us," Sara said bluntly.

"But you said they left us food in the pantry and in the freezer, so they obviously want to keep us alive a little while longer,"

A

Sara disagreed. "The food… that's what's so alarming. Doesn't it seem more frightening to you that they didn't empty the cabinets?"

Carrie hadn't thought of it that way, but now she agreed with Sara. "I think that means they're going to blow the house soon. They're not going to let us sit in here until it's all gone. They left the water on too," she pointed out. "We have to get out of here."

She buried her face in her hands and whispered, "I've got to get to Avery. If that monster has her…"

"Concentrate on finding a way out, Carrie, so that you can help your niece."

A

Carrie lifted her head. "Say what?" A

She was, of course, implying that Sara and Carrie weren't. It was infuriating, her holier-than-thou attitude, but Carrie caught

Sara's nod and decided she had to get along with A

After Sara concurred, A

Oh, how Carrie hated the woman. She held her tongue as A

She was excited when she turned to Sara. "He'll sound the alarm. My husband calls every single day. He's never missed. I told him not to bother while I was at the spa because I'd be doing all those treatments, and it would be difficult for him to get hold of me, but he wouldn't listen. He said he couldn't go to sleep at night unless he talked to me. So don't you see? If we can just wait it out, my husband will have the police tearing Colorado apart looking for me." "We can't wait," Carrie objected. Sara shook her head at her for losing her cool. "You sound like you have a wonderful marriage," she told A

"Yes, I do. We're blissfully happy." There was a note of defiance. "And he will search for me."

"Yes, I'm sure he will," Sara placated. "But we might not have time to wait for the police to find us. Colorado's a big state."

A

"That would be wonderful," Sara said. "Thank you, A

Carrie wasn't as trusting. Maybe A

"Is anyone hungry now?" A

"I am," Sara said.

A

"I never should have called you a fat pig. I was overwrought, but that is a poor excuse for hurting your feelings."

"Sara, why don't you stay here and keep A

She was actually begi

then methodically rechecked each opening. There was a tiny window high up in the corner of her bedroom. It took her a long

time to move the bureau over to the wall and then climb up, but she still wasn't tall enough. She ran downstairs to get one of the dining room chairs. She noticed Sara was standing on a chair in front of the double-pane living room windows. She had a lipstick and was printing the word "help" across the glass.

Carrie stopped her. "If Monk, or whatever the hell the bastard's name is, has put a triggering device outside…" She didn't have

to finish her thought.

"The house will blow when help arrives."

"It's a possibility," Carrie said as she lifted the chair and started back up the stairs.

"I'll stop," Sara said. She got off the chair and went to get a towel to wipe off the letters she'd just written.

"What about trying to cut through the glass?" Carrie heard A

Carrie's arms ached from the exertion of lifting the chair on top of the bureau. It took her three tries, and she was panting

because she was so terribly out of shape. She fell trying to climb to the top, but fortunately, she landed on the bed. She propped the chair against the wall and tried again. When she was finally able to reach the window, she burst into tears. The son of a bitch had wired that tiny little egress too.

She wouldn't give up, no matter how hopeless their situation was. Maybe A

Carrie walked down a flight to the next level and proceeded to examine A

Chapter 12

Jilly walked around the stone bench nestled in the grotto facing the serenity pool. She paused to watch an instructor dressed in white tai chi clothing lead his students in an ancient exercise. The teacher was quite graceful, but his students were obviously novices, and their movements were stiff and awkward.

She continued on to where Monk had parked the all-terrain Mercedes. Flowers were in full bloom wherever she looked. There were even large patches of flowers along the back parking lot. Utopia was enchanting, and perhaps when this business was concluded, she could come back here for a full week of pampering.

Her phone rang just as she. slid behind the wheel of the new car. She had been waiting for Monk to call from his satellite

phone, and she answered before the first ring ended.

"Hello, darling."

Monk smiled. He loved the sound of her throaty voice and the way she whispered the endearment. "Has she arrived yet?" he asked.

"Yes, I've just sent her on her way, and I'm leaving now. I'll take the shortcut you found for me, and I'll be there a good forty minutes ahead of her."

"Did you enjoy talking to your daughter?"

"Oh, it was lovely," she gushed. "She's afraid. Thank you, darling, for letting me do this. There is one little worry, however."

"Yes?"

"Avery wasn't alone."

"What?" he asked sharply. "Who was with her?"

"A man," she answered. Adjusting her phone against her ear, she started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. "Her lover, no doubt," she speculated. "I had to include him because he knows that Carrie is missing. He went into the manager's office with Avery. Did I do the right thing? Did I?"

He knew she needed reassurance. "Yes, of course you did the right thing. Did you happen to get his name? Do you know