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“Now, why would you call her a dog? She’s your friend—”

Ava takes a step forward. “What did you do to her?”

His smile is evil. “Nothing much—yet. I’ve been waiting for you. Trying to puzzle out how I was gonna get you away from your guard dog there, and here you are. Like a gift dropping at my feet. Thanks, Knox. It was so kind of you to bring her to me.”

My hands fist and he notice it.

“Down, boy. Don’t do anything stupid. I don’t want to shoot you just yet.”

I move closer to Ava. “What do you think will happen? You can’t get away with this. Drop the gun, turn yourself in, and end this madness.”

“And why would I do something dumb like that? Turn myself in? I’ll get life, and you know what they do to cops on the inside. It isn’t pretty.”

“I’ll talk to the DA on your behalf. We can cut a deal. Make sure you’re safe.”

He laughs. “There’s no such thing as safe. Ask her friend. She thought she was safe behind locked doors.”

Ava’s shoulders pull back. Her nails digging into her arms are the only sign his words hit her hard.

He takes two steps to the side and back again. “Besides, no one knows anything. There’s no proof. They can search my house all they want, but they won’t find a thing.”

“There’s enough evidence pointing at you.”

“Bullshit! There’s no evidence, and if there is, it’s circumstantial at best. You think I’m stupid? You think you’re better than me because you made detective? I was there for three years before you, and they gave you the promotion. You came in thinking you were gonna do what the chief and everyone else couldn’t. But you didn’t, did you? You failed, too. Where’s Emily, Jake? Did you find her yet?” He laughs, and the sound is deranged.

Before I have a chance to react, Ava takes several steps forward. He points the gun at her face. A kill shot.

Chapter59

Avalon

Today is notthe day I die. Today is not the day I die. Today is not the day I die.I say it over and over in my mind like a mantra.

I don’t flinch. I don’t react to the gun the bastard is pointing at me. I keep my hands up and stare him down. “You’re wrong. We know what happened to Emily. We know what you did to her, and we know where you hid her body.”

His face transforms from gloating to rage and back again in the span of a second. He laughs. “You almost had me there. You’re good. Great acting skills. I give you that.”

His gaze goes past me and to Jake, who’s edging toward me, hands in the air. He stops at my side and lowers one hand to the small of my back.

The German Shepherd pushes against Jeff’s leg, head down and tail wagging, slow and unsure. He doesn’t seem to notice the dog. “You’re bluffing. You don’t know shit. You’ll never find her. Never.”

I look at him in the eyes. I don’t waver—show no fear. “It was raining the day you took her.”

He scoffs. “So? Everyone knows that.”

I continue as if he hadn’t said anything. “You knew Emily would be there. You overheard her making plans with Jake. And you thought that would be the perfect opportunity to take her.”

Jake tenses at my back.

I haven’t told him any of this because I didn’t know it myself until now. “You didn’t plan your first kill very well. In fact, you didn’t know you would kill her that day. Oh, you fantasized about it in great detail. But back then, you didn’t know if you could do it.”

He sneers, his lip curling like a wolf showing its teeth. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t I?” I slowly lift my hand and point to his right. “About a hundred yards that way, there’s an old mine, a cave, really. It’s been abandoned for over one hundred and fifty years. That’s where you put her body. You stuffed her into a large duffel bag, filled it with rocks, and dumped her into a subterranean lake.”

He rushes at me, gun shaking in his outstretched arm. “How do you know that?”

Jake moves, trying to shove me behind him.