Killjoy

The drizzle had turned into rain. A booming clap of thunder sounded. She flinched.

"You've got a weapon just in case, food and water."

"What do you mean I've got food and water? You think you're going to leave me here?" He reached for the door.

Chapter 16

By the time Carrie plopped down on the living room sofa, she felt doomed. Jilly and Monk had thought of every possible way out. Oh, yes, they'd wired every window… except, perhaps, one. She looked up at the skylight that loomed over the spiral staircase. The bubbled rectangle was over thirty feet above them. She shook her head. Even if they stacked table upon table upon wardrobes, they still wouldn't be able to hack their way through.

A

A

"I couldn't find anything," Carrie said. "I looked everywhere. I even searched the light sockets, the ones I could reach," she added. "I don't think anyone's watching us."

"What difference does it make if they can see or hear us?" A

Carrie thought the question was stupid but didn't say so. "Because if we're digging our way out of the basement and they can

see us, they'll push the button and kill us right then and there."

Digging through the basement was, of course, out of the question. The door to it was locked, and there was a big sign taped to

it. One word, but quite enough to keep the three women from trying to break the lock. "Boom."

Exhausted and frightened, Sara and Carrie sat in silence as they stared out the windows at the deepening shadows on the

beautiful landscape.

A

"Newspaper clippings I found in the chest in the foyer. One of the owners of the house must have saved them. Here they are," she said, handing Carrie a picture of a bride and groom on their wedding day.

"They look happy."

"I imagine they were," A

she said, thrusting them at Carrie. "It's quite sordid. Is anyone ready for dessert?" She sounded like a hostess of a party. Carrie found the question hilarious and laughed until tears came into her eyes. Sara was also tickled. She began to giggle.

"Oh, I don't know if I have room for dessert," Sara said. "After that gourmet di

"Don't forget the creamed corn," A

"I've taken inventory of the pantry," A

A

"After dessert, I have a surprise for you," A

"You aren't going to try to open the door to the garage, are you? That one is wired too," Sara said. "I checked it myself."

"In other words, you read the sign on the door?" Carrie said.

"Well, yes," Sara answered sheepishly.

Carrie put her hand out and helped pull Sara up from the easy chair.

"I'm a little stiff," Sara said.

A

Carrie couldn't stop worrying. The woman had yet to grasp the futility of their situation. "A

A

At this point, Carrie knew she would have done anything A

"I miss my husband." She was surprised she'd said the thought out loud. "I guess I do love him."

"You don't know?" A

"I thought he was cheating on me. He said he wasn't, but I didn't believe him. Some woman was calling at all hours of the

night. The phone's on my side of the bed, and I always answered. She'd ask for Tony, but when he'd take the phone, he told

me she hung up. What if it was Jilly calling?"

"You didn't trust your husband."

"No, I didn't."

The three women ate in silence while Carrie continued to wallow in self-pity. "You know what I hope?"

"What's that?" Sara asked.

"When it happens, I hope we're all sound asleep so we don't know it."

"That's grim," Sara said.

"Will the sound of the explosion wake us up before the pain of being incinerated-"

"Stop it, Carrie," Sara demanded. "We don't have time for such negative thoughts."

"Listen, if I want to-"

"Ladies, please," A

"You— are loopy," Carrie muttered. "You found some Froot Loops?"

A

square feet. Cedar siding," she added. She nervously laughed as she qualified, "I hired a contractor, of course, but I was there every single day making sure everything was done the way I wanted it done. I drove the builder crazy."

"I'll bet you did," Carrie said.

"Why are you telling us this?" Sara wanted to know.

"I was leading up to my surprise," A

"Found what?" Carrie demanded.

A

Chapter 17

"You'll be okay here," John Paul told Avery.

"What do you mean, I'll be okay? You're thinking about hiking to Coward's Crossing now? In the dark… in a rainstorm?

Are you nuts?"

"Avery," he began.

She grabbed his arm. "Okay, if your mind's made up, I'm going with you."

She knew he'd argue, and he did exactly that. He was almost civil as he told her she would slow him down, and he didn't want

or need to have to worry about her out there. When that didn't work, he tried intimidation, even going so far as to threaten to tie her to the steering wheel.

She let him go on and on as she climbed into the backseat, found her black jogging jacket, and put it on, and then dug through her bag until she located her baseball cap.

Scooping her hair up under the black-and-orange Orioles cap, she adjusted the brim, sat back, and kicked off her te

Her goal was to try to blend in with the night, and white te

Thank God she'd decided to bring her hiking shoes. She knew he was watching her every move as she carefully repacked her duffel bag.