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Dee moved her wrist, trying to free herself.
 It s no use. That s why we used handcuffs, so you can t escape. You might as
well save your energy. You re going to need it.
 Look, Janet, let s talk about this.
 No. She jumped to her feet.  When I wanted to talk, you wouldn t listen.
It s too late for talking. I told you I loved him. Why didn t you just go away?
She was pacing like a caged animal.
Jake sat Dee up, bending to check her ankles.  Is that too tight? he asked,
squatting in front of her.
She head-butted him in the face.
 Ah, my nose! he screamed, falling back.
 Imbecile, Janet mumbled under her breath, shaking her head in disgust.
He scrambled to his feet and walked into the bathroom while catching the
blood leaking from his nose.
 What are you going to do, Janet? Kill me?
 No, of course not. We re just going to leave you here to die.
 Janet, you can t do this.
 Yes, I can. No one comes here anymore, and my parents haven t been here in
years. We ll leave the door open, and you ll freeze to death. Then some wild ani-
mal will come and drag you away. In a few months, I ll send Jake here, and he ll
get rid of anything that might be left behind.
 This is crazy.
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237
 Not really. It s a good plan. Ben will be grief stricken, and I ll go to him as
a friend, of course. I ll even tell him I ll help him find you, and when we don t,
he ll turn to me. Then we ll be married. She looked pleased with herself. She
looked at the ring on her finger, then held it up in the light.  This is a nice ring,
exquisite even, but the one he s going to give me will be much nicer.
 Janet, don t do this. No man is worth going to jail for, or worth killing for.
Janet turned to her.  Tell me you wouldn t do anything you had to do to be
with him.
 No, I wouldn t. Not something like this.
 Liar, Janet yelled, shaking all over.  I know you would. I ve been watching
you, you bitch. She talked through clinched teeth, spit forming at the corner of
her mouth.  I watched you put your dirty hands on him when the two of you
went to get a Christmas tree, the tree that should have been mine. You took my
first Christmas with him away. And then he took you ice skating with his sister.
We were supposed to take her out together he said we would but you took
that away from me. That was supposed to be me! she screamed, tears filling her
eyes.
Then, abruptly, she stopped. Closing her eyes, she took a breath, and then
reopened them. Her tone changed; she spoke softly now.  But that doesn t mat-
ter. You were just a whim. She was thoughtful.  No, more like a virus that I had
to get rid of. He loves me, and he wants to be with me.
After watching Janet s transformation, Dee knew this was no game. She was in
serious trouble.
6' 6' 6' 6'
Ben sat on the sofa in his penthouse feeling completely isolated and helpless. His
head was pounding. He needed to do something. He needed to find her! He had
talked to the police and the FBI for hours. Now, a young man in a gray suit
walked off the elevator. He talked to one of the policemen, who directed him to
Ben.
 Mr. Harrison, he said,  I m Agent Blackstone. He reached out to shake
Ben s hand.  I m with the FBI s kidnapping task force. Can I ask you some ques-
tions?
 I ve answered all of your questions repeatedly. Can you please find Dee?
 Mr. Harrison, we ve checked the security cameras, and there s not much
there. We caught a glimpse of the assailant from the inside camera, and the make,
model, and tag number of a van that was reported stolen yesterday. We re just
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238
trying to figure all this out, trying to decide if this is a kidnap for ransom. If it is,
as long as they know they can get money, she should be safe, at least for a while.
How long would you say she s been missing?
 I don t know! he yelled.  Six, seven hours maybe. Ben put his face in his
hands.
 Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to harm her?
Ben thought of the man in the restaurant and the welder. No, he said to him-
self. They wouldn t have done that.
 I don t think so. She s not the sort of person who would deliberately hurt
someone.
 But, Edmond said,  she does have an uncanny knack for pissing people off.
Agent Blackstone looked at him.  And you are?
 Detective Edmond James.
The two men shook hands.
 Detective Lawson, Holly said, extending her hand.
 What can you tell me? Blackstone asked.
 What about Terry? Edmond added.
 No. Holly shook her head.  Terry s a parasite, but she wouldn t have done
this.
 What about that Maurice guy? Ben said.
 Would he want to see her hurt? Blackstone asked.
 He s her ex-boyfriend, and he has attacked her before, Ben said, looking at
Holly.
 That was the first thing I checked, she said.  He s in Las Vegas. He s been
there for a few weeks.
 Russell Pemberton, Ben said.  He was an employee at Harrison. He told
agent Blackstone about the incident with Russell.  Then there s Janet Summers.
She was an ex-girlfriend of mine.
 Would she have a reason to hurt Ms. Meyers?
 She was angry when we broke up. Ben shook his head.  But I don t think [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]