Jan Coffey Suspense Box Set: Three Complete Novel Box Set: Trust Me Once, Twice Burned, Fourth Victim

by Jan Coffey

  It all became clear to Kelly now. The script was written. They’d played their part, consciously, and when they disrupted the play, they had to die. First one and then the other. For whatever reason, Rose must have broken free of the cult after Frank’s death, so she had to pay the price. They had both been crushed by the machinery that had brought Kelly to this moment.

  A lie. Her entire life had been nothing more than an elaborate lie. She had no choices. No control. Even in leaving the Mission. They’d let Kelly go. It was all planned.

  Kelly tore aside the curtains and pulled open the sliding glass door. She stumbled toward the lake. She couldn’t think, she couldn’t see. Everything was a gray fog. She tripped over a boulder protruding from the grass and sank to her knees. The feel of the wet grass on her hands shocked her.

  “LET HER GO!” she screamed. “I’ll do anything. Please let my daughter go!”

  ~~~~

  The phone in the office and the one on the reception desk were both dead. Through the window, Ian saw Kelly come out of the carriage house, moving like a zombie. At first, he thought she’d found Jade. Then he saw her on her knees, screaming and crying, and his blood ran cold.

  He went up the stairs two and three at a time to the third floor. He grabbed his gun and snapped in the cartridge. He took the keys to his car, his wallet, and pulled a shirt over his head. He stuffed his feet into his sneakers. Running into Kelly’s apartment, he grabbed her keys off the counter and picked up her shoes off the floor. He looked out the window. Kelly was walking slowly toward Dan’s cottage.

  He ran down the stairs as fast as his legs could take him. They wouldn’t hurt Jade, Ian kept reminding himself. They had to keep her safe to force Kelly’s cooperation. They would keep both mother and daughter alive, at least until tomorrow.

  Monday. This entire thing was supposed to start on Monday. Ian cursed himself for not acting sooner, for not driving them out of here during the night.

  Kelly was knocking on Dan’s cottage and calling Jade’s name. He saw her shove the door open and walk in.

  When he reached the cottage, she was standing just inside the door. The back of her hand was pressed against her mouth, and her face was ashen. She was staring at something across the small one-room cottage, and Ian stepped in front of her, blocking her line of vision.

  He could smell the blood before his eyes even adjusted to the dim light.

  Dan lay on the bed on the far side of the room. Duct tape bound his arms tightly to his body and his legs were taped together, as well. His sightless eyes were open and staring at the door. His shirt and jeans were covered with a deep reddish brown that Ian identified immediately, and it was not difficult to see where the blood had come from.

  The throat had been cut through from one ear to the other, severing the jugular and the carotid artery, the windpipe and most of the cartilage and ligaments. Whoever had murdered the young man had slashed the throat with such savagery that he’d nearly taken off Dan’s head.

  Ian pushed Kelly out of the cottage. She was shivering violently. She looked up at him, but Ian didn’t think she was still seeing anything but the gruesome image inside.

  “Kelly,” he whispered pulling her close into his arms. “I need you to keep it together.”

  He felt her nod and try to take a breath.

  “They’re probably all around us. They’re watching us, honey. Don’t fall apart on me.”

  She pressed her face against his chest. She continued to shake. Ian looked around them. A thick mist was rising off the grass. The lake had a cloud hanging on the surface of the water. He glanced up at the parking area.

  “We’re going to walk to the car. I’m going to drive you out of here.”

  “No,” she answered, pulling away. “I have to find Jade. I’m not going without her.”

  “There’s nothing we can do against all of them. It’s two of us and probably close to two hundred of them,” he told her, pushing her gently toward the car. His eyes scanned the line of trees, the dark windows of the house. They were so exposed. “We’ll drive out of here and get help. They won’t hurt Jade. She’s their trump card to get at you.”

  Kelly didn’t look convinced. She continued to shake her head as he moved her steadily toward the car. They were nearly there before she spoke again. She was still crying. “I won’t go without her. I have to go to her. She’s got to be scared.”

  “We’ll come back for her together. I promise, Kelly. Let me get to a phone and make a call, and I’ll bring you back.”

  When they reached his rental car, Ian yanked open the passenger door and pushed her in. Hurrying to the driver’s side, he stayed low to avoid being a target. Dan had been in their way, so they murdered him. Ian knew he would be next.

  He turned the key. The engine would not turn over. He tried again and again. Nothing. He cursed inwardly. Of course! What made him think they’d make it easy for the two of them to drive out?

  He didn’t bother to get out and open the hood. There probably wasn’t a spark plug wire left on that engine. Plus, he’d be a clear target in front of the car.

  Kelly had stopped crying. She was looking at the key in the ignition.

  “You stay here. I’m going to try your car,” he told her, squeezing her hand. He waited until she looked up and their gazes locked. “She’s okay, Kelly. Keep telling yourself that. They won’t hurt Jade. You’re the one they want.”

  She didn’t say anything, but Ian knew she understood. He took his gun out, grabbed her car keys. Slipping out of one car, he was inside the four-wheel drive in a couple of seconds. He didn’t waste time. Putting the key in the ignition, he turned over the engine. He expected it to be dead and it was.

  Ian glanced at Bill’s truck across the way. He weighed the risk of running to it. He had no key and decided against it. These people wouldn’t go through the trouble of disabling two cars and leave the third for them to use. Walking out of here was not much of a choice, either. There were five miles of woods and back roads between here and the state highway. Plenty of opportunity to lie in wait.

  Kelly was getting out of the other car. Ian climbed out and went quickly to her.

  “The boats,” she said, wiping her face. “We can take one of the canoes across.”

  He pulled her against the car and made her crouch down.

  “We can do that, but first we have to think of a way to warn whoever was backing Dan up. I wasn’t expecting anything to happen until Monday. I don’t think they were, either. By the time they show up tomorrow, it might be too late.”

  Her breath was still catching in her chest as she tried to take a lungful of air and let it out.

  “Not across to the camp. To an inlet over there,” she said, indicating with her eyes but not pointing. “One of the county roads comes pretty close to the lake, about three-quarters of the way across in that direction. We can take a canoe, pull ashore, and it’s only a few minutes’ walk. There might be some morning traffic.”

  “You’re a genius.” Taking her hand, they moved quickly toward the lake. Once they were on the water, he thought hopefully, the fog would hide them and there would be no way to guess which direction they were going.

  He dragged the canoe closest to the lake to the water’s edge. Grabbing two paddles, he motioned for Kelly to get in. She scrambled to the bow. Ian threw the paddles into the boat and shoved them off.

  “Remember where you’ve come to, Kelly,” Ian said as he climbed in. Picking up one of the paddles, he drove it into the water, propelling the canoe forward. “Michael Butler and Tyler Somers and the rest of them have been controlling the people and the circumstances around you, but they can’t control you. You’re a free individual. You think and act the way you want. You’re in charge of your own mind. You’re not like the rest of them in that camp. You are not afraid. You’re strong, Kelly. You can fight th—”

  Ian felt the bullet rip through him, knocking him over even before he heard the gunshot. It was only as he was tumb
ling over the side of the boat that the searing pain started, bright lights flashing in his head.

  ~~~~

  “NO!”

  Kelly stared in shock at the blood-spattered side of the boat, at Ian’s body disappearing beneath the surface of the lake. Her stunned mind just could not fathom what she was seeing.

  “NO!” she screamed, looking all around her. Fog. Trees. Water. It was a nightmare. Nothing but a horrible nightmare. She tried to wake up. All of this had to be a lie. This couldn’t be happening.

  But then reality broke through her stupor. It was happening.

  The boat wobbled as she looked frantically over the side. She could see clouds of Ian’s blood, already spreading and disappearing. Some bubbles were rising to the surface, but that was all she could see in the dark lake water.

  She was over the side in an instant.

  The water was colder than she expected, shocking her momentarily and causing her to gulp a mouthful. Coughing and sputtering, she kicked her feet, treading water for a moment. They were not far from shore, but she knew the lake was already fairly deep here. When she could fill her lungs, she dived straight down where the bubbles had been. With the morning fog blocking out the sun, the lake was black even a few feet beneath the surface. Kelly could see nothing of him.

  She swam to the surface and took another deep breath. Diving deeper this time, she reached the lake bottom. The water was very cold. Her ears were pounding with the pressure, but she felt around frenziedly for him. Once, she thought she’d found him when her hand touched something. Reaching out again, she realized it was only the anchor rope from the swim float. Letting go of it, she continued to search in a widening circle until her chest was burning.

  Kelly’s lungs were about to burst when she broke the surface again. Gasping for air, she looked around her.

  “Ian!” she cried. The canoe was floating not twenty feet from her, one end of it bumping against the float, but there was no sign of him anywhere.

  Filling her lungs again, she dived a third time. Even as she went to the bottom, she realized that he’d been in the water a long time now. She was tiring quickly, and she couldn’t stay under for very long. She came up again, pushing her hair back from her face and feeling a horrible sense of hopelessness settle into her.

  “Mommy!”

  Kelly spun around, her eyes searching the shoreline for her baby. “Jade!”

  “Mommy!”

  Blinking away water, she saw her. Jade was there on the beach, with Janice and Cassy standing on either side of her.

  Chapter 20

  Jade was crying.

  At the sight of her daughter trying to free her arms from the two women, everything Kelly was feeling—relief, grief, fear, exhaustion, the cold water—all of it was pushed aside by one emotion. Anger.

  Kelly knifed through the water toward the shore. The blue van from the camp had pulled onto the grassy area near the lake. Two men armed with rifles were standing on either side of the open front doors of the car. Kelly wondered which one of them was responsible for killing Ian.

  Tears burned her eyes, but she pushed her head under, washing off any sign of weakness. The water became shallow, but Kelly took two more quick strokes before starting to walk out.

  “Mommy!” Jade’s cries got louder. She was trying to get to Kelly.

  Kelly looked at Cassy first. The teenager was whispering to Jade, who became suddenly calmer. Janice’s focus was on Kelly. A strange smile was painted on the old woman’s face. She appeared to have a death grip on Jade’s wrist.

  “Welcome back, holy sister,” Janice said, her eyes widening behind the pink frames. “We’re here to take you to the Mission. It’s our time, Luna-K, and you must guide us.”

  Every inch of Kelly’s body tensed, and then her blood boiled over. She tore her gaze away from her daughter and delivered a solid punch to the side of Janice’s face. “I’m not Luna-K.”

  The old woman shrieked as she let go of Jade and fell backward on the beach. Her glasses were lying in the sand, and her hand was at her bloody mouth. When she turned, Kelly saw Cassy running with Jade under her arm past the gunmen to the van. She took a step and the two men raised their weapons, pointing them at her.

  She couldn’t fight all of them, not all at once. She wouldn’t be able to get past the guns to her daughter, either. But that didn’t cool her burning emotions.

  “But you’re Luna-K,” cried Janice.

  Kelly looked down at her. “You’re an evil woman. I trusted you. My parents trusted you. And what did you do to them? Their deaths were not accidents, were they? You killed them.” She gave a solid kick to Janice’s foot. “And believe me, you don’t want to die, Janice. There will be no saints or angels waiting for you with open arms when you get there. You’re a lying, cheating, murdering bitch.”

  Janice inched backward, pulling her feet in. “You have only one family, Luna-K. We’ve been your protector for your entire life.”

  “Don’t you dare call me that!”

  “You’re the holiest of all. You carry in your veins the blood of the prophet Michael.”

  “Stop it!” Kelly went after her, but two sets of strong hands grabbed her from behind. She struggled like a wildcat against them, but one of the men twisted her arm painfully behind her. The other one grabbed her wet hair and turned her roughly toward the van.

  Jade was standing beside the door. But she wasn’t crying. She wasn’t trying to come to her, although no one was holding her.

  “Jade.”

  The child only stared and didn’t move.

  A man’s voice whispered something from the van, and Jade looked over her shoulder at the open door. Kelly’s blood froze when she saw the white-robed man climb out of the van.

  Many years had passed. Kelly had tried so hard to eradicate the faces and the horrors of the Butler Mission cult days. She had not succeeded. Despite the years, she recognized Tyler Somers immediately.

  “Hello, Kelly,” he said the words, and then paused. His eyes searched Kelly’s and then he held her stare.

  She felt the pull. The lulling feeling of helplessness washing through her. She couldn’t fight them. They were everything and she was nothing. She felt the men let go of her arms. No one was holding her, but she wasn’t going anywhere. This was the same trick that Father Mike had used. This was part of their old hold on her.

  “No!” she protested vehemently, tearing her eyes away from Somers and taking a step toward him. She stumbled but managed to keep herself on her feet. “I’m not doing this. You’re not playing with my mind. I was there once. I got out. I’m not going back.”

  “We just want you to take your rightful place among us,” he said in a soft voice. “We’ve waited a long time for Luna-K to lead us in our greatest moment.”

  “You can’t make me tell a bunch of clueless zombies to kill themselves for…for what?”

  “For our eternal reward.” When she wouldn’t look into his eyes, he turned with a resigned sigh and whispered to someone—perhaps Cassy—in the waiting van. “There are so many more important matters that require my attention right now. I shouldn’t have had to come here to convince you.”

  Janice limped toward the van. Kelly focused all of her attention on Jade. She knew what was happening to the child. Jade had no control over her actions. She was at their beck and call.

  “I was hoping you’d come to your senses on your own, but I want you to know that we’re leaving this world with or without you, my child. You were born of Michael. And I warn that you will be cursed for ten thousand eternities if you continue to break your father’s heart…if you continue to disobey his wishes.”

  “I don’t believe that crap. I never did. My father—if he was my father—was as sick as you. And neither of you have the power to…”

  Kelly’s words trailed off as Somers reached into the van. Someone placed a clear plastic cup filled with a dark liquid into his hand.

  “If there has to be a surrogate for yo
u, Luna-K,” he said, “Michael will understand, and so will our congregation.”

  Somers handed the cup to Jade, and Kelly screamed.

  “No! NO!” Her arms were once again held by the two gunmen on either side of her. “Don’t take it, Jade. It’s me…Mommy. Don’t drink it!”

  “Drink it, Jade,” Somers said in a low voice to the child.

  “Don’t do it!” Kelly kicked and screamed, trying to break free, but to no avail.

  The little girl held the cup with both hands, brought it to her lips, and drank the contents. When she was done, she handed the cup back to Somers.

  Kelly looked at her in a daze. It was as if time had stood still. She stared, waiting, not knowing how long it would be before the poison took effect. In her mind, she found herself imagining some rescue about to take place. Armies of soldiers pouring onto the beach. Ian coming out of the water. Ambulances rushing down from the inn and saving her baby.

  But nothing happened. No one would help her. She looked around her at the woods and the lake and the inn…and then stared at Jade as feelings of guilt washed through her.

  Kelly had brought this child into the world. The images of different moments in their life paraded before her weary eyes. The infant she’d held in her arms. The nights when just the two of them had looked out the window at the stars. The smile that Jade gave only her. The look on her face just before going to sleep. She could see Jade now, walking through the woods. Picking the flowers they both loved. Reading her books. Her mischievous laugh. Jade was like some perfect little human being inside of this child’s body. Kelly blinked back the tears and looked at her. She looked so small, so vulnerable.

  “Please,” Kelly begged. “There might still be time. We can still take her to a hospital. They might do something for her. I’m the one you wanted, anyway. Please!”

  “Yes, you were the one we wanted,” Somers said profoundly.