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Rain splattered against the windshield as she sped along I-5. She increased her wiper speed.Could Jared really be the Green River Killer?She recalled him standing in the home office of her old apartment, looking at her wall, listening to her theories about the man she believed had killed her sister. She shuddered at the thought of having been intimate, physicallyandemotionally, with Meg’s killer.
Instead of continuing toward Tacoma, she found herself exiting off the interstate and heading for the Green River. It had been years since she’d come down here, but she knew the area well from the time she used to spend combing the woods nearby in the years after the first Green River Killer victims had been discovered, hoping she might see something, or someone, that could lead to finding her sister’s killer. The industrial area was more built up than it was in the mid-eighties, but even still, it was quiet this time of night. Passing cars became less frequent the farther she got from the interstate.
As she neared the Green River, she imagined Jared driving these same streets in the middle of the night with a dead body—or two—in his trunk. A pair of bright headlights shone in the rearview mirror, interrupting her dark thoughts. The car encroached closer on her tail, its beams flooding her mirror with a blinding light.
“Just pass me already,” Holly said over Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” playing on the radio.
There were no cars in the oncoming lane. Instead of passing her, the car flicked on its high beams and surged closer to her bumper. Holly lay on the gas as she passed the sign for the Strander Boulevard Bridge over the Green River.
She squinted from the blinding lights shining in her mirror. “What’s your problem?” A part of her was tempted to brake check them, but she had no desire to ruin her car, or to be forced to get out in the middle of nowhere with some road-raged maniac. It was Friday night, and they were likely drunk.
Finally, the car swerved into the oncoming lane as Holly sped toward the bridge. Glancing out the window, she saw the vehicle move beside hers, but, of course, it was too dark to make out the driver. She eased up on the gas, but the car slowed to match her pace.
At first, she thought he was drunk or a weirdo, but now she realized she might be in real danger. She dared another glance, expecting the car to accelerate, but it stayed beside her. As she took in the sedan and the hooded figure behind the wheel, a cold certainty ran down her spine. This wasn’t a drunk driver. This was her stalker from last night. The hairs pricked up on the back of her neck.
The driver looked in her direction, but it was too dark and rainy for her to make out the face. With both hands gripping the wheel, Holly returned her attention to the road as she crossed onto the bridge. She forced a deep breath into her stiff lungs.Just stay calm.
A metallic screech erupted from the side of her car as the sedan slammed into hers, forcing her toward the short, concrete barrier to her right. She jerked the wheel to the left, but it was too late. Her scream was drowned out by the guttural howl of twisting steel and the high-pitched shriek of her tires clawing at the asphalt as she stomped on her brakes.
Despite her white-knuckled grip as she turned the wheel to the left, her Civic careened toward the low barrier at the bridge’s edge.
The passenger side smashed through the concrete, busting through the barrier. The force of the other car pressing against hers propelled her front tires over the side until her headlights shone through darkness. Holly lifted away from the seat, feeling momentarily weightless until the front of the car dropped, pulling her against the seatbelt.
The rear tires slid off the bridge, and her weightlessness returned. Out the windshield, the river blurred as she soared toward it. Her headlights reflected on the dark, flowing surface. Holly opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out as her undercarriage hit the water with a deafening splash. Holly’s temple smacked against the steering wheel. She shot out herarms to brace herself against the dash as water enveloped the windshield.
Chapter 24
HOLLY
Water sloshed against the windshield as the headlights sunk beneath the surface, illuminating the dark, murky water. Not seeing the river bottom, her muscles tensed with fear.
Frigid water rushed over her feet, soaking through her sneakers. She fumbled to unlock the seatbelt, but when she pressed a thumb against the release button, it wouldn’t budge. Water rose to her shins as she frantically pushed on the release mechanism.
“Shit.”
It released with aclickas water crept over the base of the windshield. She tossed the seatbelt to the side. Thank God. She was free. Now, she just had to swim out. Before she could move, her headlights shut off, leaving her in darkness as more water filled the car.
Holly hyperventilated, more from terror than the cold, as water spilled over the seat. Her frantic mind latched onto an article she’d written once for theTribune, a tragic story of a minivan containing a mother and two children that had accidentally driven into Puget Sound while attempting to driveonto a ferry. At the end of the article, she’d given some safety tips on how to escape a submerged vehicle. She’d learned not to open the car door, as it would flood the vehicle with water and cause it to sink faster.
Holly pressed the button on the door to open the window. Nothing happened. She swore. Water rose to her waist. The river’s surface lapped against the top of the driver’s side window. Her lungs seized with panic.
She felt the car being dragged backward and downward from the river’s torrent. Only this wasn’t a ride. It was certain death if she didn’t get out soon.
How deep is this river?But her mind was too panicked to think.
Screw it.The car was already flooding with water. She just needed to escape. She reached for the door handle and pushed. But it didn’t budge. She frantically jiggled the door handle while pushing her shoulder against the window.
She’d locked it for safety after climbing inside at the Major Crimes Unit. She felt the door for the power locks and pulled the lever up with her finger. She tried the handle again. Nothing. The water must’ve short-circuited all the electrical power.
“Ahh!” She slammed a hand against the side window in panic.
Her breathing quickened as water rose over her chest.Calm down, her mind screamed.You have to focus. Think.
She leaned over and felt for the glove compartment, now submerged. She pulled it open and swept a hand inside for something she could use to break a window. But all she felt were soggy registration papers, a notebook, a couple of cassette tapes, and a pack of gum.
Then she remembered.My umbrella.She cursed herself for not thinking of it earlier. She always kept one on the floor of the backseat. She twisted and reached behind her as water encircled her neck.
She sucked in a breath and lowered her face underwater as she skimmed the backseat floor with a hand. Her lungs burned as her fingers swept the carpeted mat, not finding it. She turned and got to her knees on the seat, taking a gulp of air from the few inches remaining at the top of the car.