“Ah, yes. I got that covered.” He gestured to Mia’s bed, and I could see a folded piece of paper on it. “I printed it off your computer.”
“You don’t have to do this,” I pleaded, as JD continued to herd me toward the noose. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It seemed to beckon me, inviting me to relax, to submit … telling me it would all be easier if I would simply surrender.
“Of course I do. I can’t have the authorities looking for me. This is the only way.”
“We can run off together,” I said, the idea popping into my head out of nowhere. I kept waiting for Aunt Charlie to say something else, but she was stubbornly silent.
He paused, his hands still on my upper arms. I held my breath. Could this actually work? But his fingers tightened their grip, and he nudged me forward. “Tempting, but I don’t think I could trust you,” he said. “And I can’t risk you telling the authorities the truth.”
“But they wouldn’t believe me anyway,” I said quickly. “No one in this town believes me. You know that.”
He chuckled. “Nice try, but your cop boyfriend does. Look, I’m not happy about this either. I like you, Becca. But there’s really no other choice.”
We were already in the corner, standing by the chair. How did we get across the floor so quickly?
Aunt Charlie, what do I do? How do I get out of this? I need help …
“Big step up,” he said. “Come on, now. I don’t want to hurt you. I promise I’ll make it as quick and painless as possible.”
A “quick and painless” lynching? I could feel a gurgle of laughter bubble up, and I fought to keep it down.
“Let’s go. We’re running out of time. Step up.”
I wasn’t sure I could step up even if I wanted to. My legs felt thick and heavy, like rocks. He jerked me. “Becca, don’t be like this.”
“I ... I can’t,” I said. “I can’t move my legs.”
He sighed, swearing under his breath, before half lifting, half dragging me onto the chair. He gently turned my body so I was facing the middle of the room and adjusted the noose around my neck.
He jumped off the chair and surveyed me, cocking his head from one side to the other. I could still feel the stone in my palm. Was there enough time to use it to cut through my bonds?
I had to keep him talking. That was my only chance. I had to buy myself as much time as possible while I tried to cut the rope.
“But why, JD?” I asked, carefully shifting the stone into sawing position. “Why did you set me up in the first place?”
He shrugged. “Isn’t it obvious? She took my father. I take her niece.”
I gave him a pointed look. “That’s it?”
He grinned. “Do I need any other reason?”
I forced myself to smile back at him, even though my skin wanted to crawl off my body. I had to keep him talking. I sawed the rope harder. “It just seems like a lot of work for a tit-for-tat revenge.”
JD’s face grew more speculative. “There is ... something.” He smiled again, wolfishly. “There’s something about you, too. I can’t put my finger on it. Even back then when you were sixteen. Sure, Jessica was flat-out gorgeous, but you ... there was just something else.” He took a step closer to me, the heat in his eyes unmistakable. Oh my God, was he going to rape me, too? “I couldn’t take my eyes off you,” he said.
“Then why set me up?” I asked. “Why do any of this when you knew from the very beginning you would have to kill me in the end?”
“Don’t you get it? I did it because I was going to kill you at the end.” He gestured toward the note. “I had to make your suicide believable. Otherwise, that cop boyfriend would never leave it alone.”
“So I’m killing myself to prevent myself from being wrongly accused?”
His smile widened. “Who said anything about being wrongly accused?”
I stopped sawing at the ropes and stared at him. “Are you saying that note is my confession?”
He shrugged. “How else could I stop the investigation?”
I swallowed hard. Even worse than dying, I was now going to be remembered as someone who snapped and killed two people. What would Daniel think? And Mia? Daphne? Chrissy? My family? Were they doomed to spend the rest of their lives wondering how wrong they had been about me?
I desperately resumed my rope sawing. I had to get out of there. I had to.
“This was quite the set up,” I said. “Was it all really worth it?”
His face contorted into rage. “How could you ask me that? Charlie loved my father. At least, that’s what she said. And still, she killed him. The scales must be balanced. My father’s death must be avenged.”
Aunt Charlie killed your father because he was a monster, I wanted to shriek. But I controlled myself. I suspected that wouldn’t help anything.
“I’m not Charlie,” I said. “And you’re not your father. History doesn’t have to repeat itself. And, besides, Charlie is dead. You have avenged your father.”
His face smoothed out and he cocked his head, studying me for a long moment. I held my breath. Did it work? Did I just talk him out of killing me?
But then he shook his head regretfully, and every part of me froze. “It’s gone too far, Becca,” he said, his voice regretful. “I have to finish what I started. I don’t want the cops after me the rest of my life. You must understand. I’ll always be grateful to you for solving the mystery of what happened to my father. I promise to always remember you and cherish your sacrifice.”
Remember me? Cherish my sacrifice? Suddenly I was furious, and wished Aunt Charlie was in the room, so I could let her have it. Over and over again in my dreams, she told me to find the jade or I would die. Well, I found her stupid jade, and look where it had gotten me.
He took a few steps closer and put his hand on the back of the chair. “Any last thoughts, Becca?”
Aunt Charlie, I thought wildly. You got me into this. You better help get me out.
But there was no answer, in my head. I couldn’t think of a single thing to say, and my hands were still firmly tied behind me.
Was this really it?
A door slammed shut on the first floor.
JD whirled around as I snapped my head up. Was someone home? Was I saved?
“What the hell?” JD swore, heading toward the door. “What time is it? No one is supposed to be home yet.” He twisted around to look back at me, drawing a finger across his throat. “One word and they’re dead,” he hissed, before flinging open Mia’s door and creeping out into the hall, his head jerking around.
I had to get out of there. I couldn’t let him hurt whoever had just come in. I started sawing on my bonds even faster. Please, please, let me cut through these ropes. Please, please don’t let him hurt whoever is here.
My ears strained, but I couldn’t hear a sound. Why was everything so quiet? Did that mean no one was there after all? I remembered being in the basement and hearing a door slam before, but when I searched, the house was empty.
You live in a haunted house, Becca. My aunt’s voice reminded me.
“Oh, helpful, Aunt Charlie,” I muttered. “Why did you have me dig up that body anyway?”
You didn’t find the evidence. The evidence is the key.
Suddenly, I was sick and tired of myself. I had spent my entire life waiting for someone else to save me. My mother, my husbands, and now, Aunt Charlie from beyond the grave.
It was about time I saved myself.
JD walked back into the room. “No one was there,” he said, his voice bewildered. “You heard that, didn’t you? A door slam?”
“Yeah, that happens,” I said. “This house is haunted, you know.” JD’s face cleared. “Oh, that’s right.” He glanced uneasily outside the door, rubbing his hands against his jeans. I kept sawing at the ropes and finally (finally!) felt a little give. M
y heart leapt, despite knowing I still needed a little more time.
Find the evidence. That statement kept rattling around in my brain. How on earth would finding the evidence help me now?
Think, Becca.
Aunt Charlie said she had proof that Jonathan killed Jesse.
Was that the key to my survival? Telling JD that Jonathan killed Jesse?
It seemed like a long shot, but at this point, what wasn’t?
“Why do you think Charlie killed Jonathan?” I asked.
His head whipped back around to stare at me. “That’s obvious,” he said. “She wanted his power.”
“Power?”
“Yes, his power.”
I gazed at him blankly.
His face started to contort into anger, but then he scrubbed at it. “I forgot, you never met him in person. If you had, you wouldn’t be asking such a question.”
“How would killing him get his power?”
His eyes narrowed. Clearly, I had struck a nerve. “What, you think it’s something else?”
“I know it’s something else,” I said. “And I think you do, too.”
I couldn’t believe those words had come out of my mouth, and for a moment, I was terrified I had overstepped. But he just stood there, staring at me, looking as shocked as I felt. “What are you talking about?”
Something shifted in the room. I could feel it. Suddenly, even though I was the one on the chair with the noose around my neck, I was in charge. I didn’t know how long the power shift would last, but I knew I had to keep going.
I fought against the terror threatening to collapse my knees.
“Charlie didn’t kill Jonathan because she wanted his power,” I said, sounding far more confident than I felt. “It was the exact opposite, actually.”
My shot hit home. JD froze, his face contorting into multiple expressions. “No, you’re wrong.”
“Your father was weak. Want to know how I know?”
“He wasn’t weak.”
“Because he killed Jesse, that’s why.”
JD shook his head violently. “No. You’re wrong. My father was strong, not weak.”
“Only a bully kills someone weaker than himself,” I said. “You said yourself that your father told you Jesse was weak. Your father killed someone he thought was weaker than him because HE was weak. And a bully.”
“No! My father was a powerful man.”
“He was a failure. A nobody,” I continued.
“Take it back.” JD’s face recoiled in rage, and I leaned back. Oh God, had I pushed too far?
“He was a great man,” JD shouted at me, his face red and splotchy. I could see a vein pulsing by his temple. “A strong, powerful man. A wonderful man. He was NOT a no-good loser. He was NOT a slacker. My grandfather was wrong about him. He wasn’t weak. He was strong. And powerful. Take it back!”
He was advancing on me, coming closer and closer, and I shrank as far back as I could, straining against the ties still binding my hands. I was almost free—I just needed a little more time. The noose tightened around my neck as I tried to cling to the chair with my legs, keeping JD from kicking it out from under me. Blackness danced at the edge of my vision.
Suddenly, there was a loud screech, and JD fell forward, hitting the chair underneath me. It shuddered beneath my feet, rocking slightly, and for a heart-wrenching moment, I was sure it would tip over. Somehow, though, it righted itself, and my eyes focused on the scene in front of me.
JD was in a heap, swearing up a storm as he twisted his arms at unnatural angles. Something had attached itself to his back. Something large and black and ... furry.
Oscar?
JD howled with rage and pain, slamming his back against the wall, but the angry ball of teeth and claws nimbly darted up his shoulder and fastened itself to his neck.
JD screamed in agony, and a line of blood soaked across his grey tee shirt. His hands blindly scrabbled at Oscar, trying to tear him off. He screamed anew as Oscar clamped down harder, finally ripping the cat free and throwing him across the room.
Oscar landed lightly on his feet, immediately turning to face JD, ears back, fangs barred. This was not the soft, purring bundle of warmth who cuddled next to me at night. This was the hunter, the predator, the creature who ruled the backyard with teeth and claws.
JD stumbled to his feet, covered in blood. One hand was pressed to his neck. He launched himself at Oscar, who somehow leaped out of the way.
I started sawing at the ropes as hard and as fast as I could. I had to get free. I had to help Oscar. There was no way a cat would survive this fight, even though Oscar seemed to look ... bigger than normal. Almost like a small cougar.
No. That was impossible. I had to be seeing things. The noose around my neck was probably causing a lack of oxygen to the brain, resulting in hallucinations.
JD righted himself and lunged toward Oscar again. And again, Oscar leaped out of the way, but not before slashing JD’s delicate, exposed inner wrist with his nail. A red burst of blood appeared, and JD screamed again, jerking his hand back as Oscar landed safely out of range.
The bindings frayed beneath my fingers and finally went slack. I did it! My hands were untied. I moved quickly to free my head from the noose. I jumped off the chair, prepared to join the battle.
JD’s head swiveled around at the sound of my hitting the floor, his eyes widening as he turned to confront me. He was covered with blood and scratches.
“Bitch,” he spat. “Look what your cat did to me.” His face was purple, contorted with fury and pain.
“JD, it’s over,” I said, trying to sound calm. “Your blood is all over this room. There’s no way anyone is going to think I committed suicide now.”
“Do you think I give a damn about that,” he snapped, stalking toward me. “Once you and that cat are dead, I can set up the scene any way I want.”
Warily, I shifted to the right as we began circling each other. “They’ll process your blood and come for you.”
He laughed, a sick, twisted sound. “I’m not in the system,” he said. “They won’t be able to find me.”
“If you leave town unexpectedly ...”
“So what? Lots of people disappear unexpectedly from Redemption, right? Why would this be any different?”
My initial burst of triumph was beginning to deflate. Despite all the blood and cuts, JD didn’t seem at all hampered. I didn’t think I was strong enough to take him on myself. I had to find a weapon.
JD feinted at me, and I quickly sidestepped, trying to keep one eye on him while searching the room at the same time. I was still holding the jade, and I could feel the sharp edge under my fingers.
But it was so small. I would have to get super close to do any damage with it.
JD laughed. “I can play this game all day,” he said. “And if we’re still playing when Mia and Chrissy come home ... well, maybe what the cops will find is that you just snapped … killing your roommates, too, before committing suicide.”
I swallowed hard, my eyes darting frantically around the room. I had to figure something out, and I had to do it now. I had no idea when Mia or Chrissy were due home, but I couldn’t risk them walking right into their death.
JD jabbed at me again, and I twisted out of the way. That’s when I saw it—the baseball bat in the back of Mia’s closet. She must have put it there that night we searched the house.
I squared my shoulders and studied JD. I had to do something, distract him somehow, so I could get my hands on that bat. But what? All I had was this piece of jade—could I even hurt him with it?
I studied the base of his neck, where Oscar had bit him. He was still holding a hand up to the wound, and I could see blood pulsing out between his fingers.
It was a long shot. But it was all I had.
“You’re never going to
get away with this,” I said.
JD looked at me with disdain. “Seriously? Who’s going to stop me? You?”
“Says the guy who lost a fight with a cat,” I said.
JD stiffened, his face contorting into rage as he lunged at me. I forced myself to pause, to hold still.
Wait for it ... wait for it ...
He was almost on top of me, so close I could smell his hot, fetid breath and see the madness gloating at me from deep within his eyes, when I struck. I stabbed him in the neck as hard as I could with the jade.
He shrieked and stumbled, crashing against the dresser. “You bitch!”
Without pausing, I dropped the stone and ran to the closet. I had to get to the bat before he figured out what I was doing.
I grasped the bat, my fingers wet, and it slipped. Was it sweat? No, it was blood. JD’s blood. My stomach twisted, but I couldn’t stop. I squeezed the bat as hard as I could and whirled around to confront him.
He was standing by the dresser, examining one of his hands, the other still to his neck. “What did you hit me with ...” he started to ask, but his words cut off as I swung at his head as hard as I could. At the last moment before impact, he looked up, his expression almost comical as understanding dawned across his face.
Thwak went the bat against his head. JD dropped like a stone, crumbling in a heap without a sound.
For a moment, I just stood there, still clutching the bat, watching JD. The only sound in the stillness around me was my own harsh breathing. Oh God, did I kill him?
No. His chest was moving. I couldn’t decide if I was glad or upset that he wasn’t dead.
Suddenly, I felt a warm softness against my ankles and heard a deep rumbling sound. Oscar wound himself around my legs, purring.
I bent down to pet him, and he pushed his face against my hand, his bloodstained whiskers tickling my skin. The predator who had saved me was gone, and my soft, warm companion was back.
His dark-green eyes gazed into mine, and he opened his mouth, revealing a row of blood-stained teeth. He closed his mouth with a click, and a very satisfied expression.
Secrets of Redemption Box Set Page 95