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Cedar Creek, Nevada

Tuesday, July 4, 1995 The Day Of . . .

“WHAT’S WRONG, TILLY?” ANNABELLE SAID, HER FACE CLOSE TO her mother-in-law’s. This confrontation had been a long time in the making. “For the first time in your life, you’ve got nothing to say?”

“Oh, I have plenty to say. And you’re going to listen. You may hold a spell over my son, but you possess no such effect on me. I know the game you’re playing. You’re white trash out for a payday, and you’ve completed the trap. I’ll give you credit there. I don’t take Preston as a fool, but I’ll be damned if he’s not a complete buffoon when it comes to you. Here’s the offer. Reid and I will pay you to go away. You’ll be well taken care of, and so will your child.”

“My child?” Annabelle said with a laugh. “You mean your son’s child, too, right? And your granddaughter?”

“I’m under no illusion as to what that child represents. She was a way for you to trap Preston into a life of servitude. And I admit, you’ve won. Reid and I will readily grant you the victory and give you what you want. You’ll see that the package we’ve put together is more than fair.”

Annabelle laughed again. “You and Reid are offering me, like, a severance package to go away?”

“Like, exactly. We can have the marriage annulled, and we’ll pay you a monthly stipend until the child is eighteen. You’ll see that the offer is more than fair.”

“For fuck’s sake, Tilly! Are you still running that crazy idea through your warped mind? I don’t want your money.”

“No, you want Preston’s. But what you don’t understand is that Preston has no money. Not the kind you’re after. If he goes through with this nonsense, Reid and I have warned him that he will be excommunicated from the family.”

“Excommunicated? Has Cedar Creek turned into the Middle Ages?”

“Cute,” Tilly said. “Preston will be cut off if he continues this nonsense with you.”

Annabelle shook her head. “With the way you keep them on such tight leashes, it’s no wonder your own son is stealing money.”

The comment, Annabelle noticed, went straight over Tilly’s head. She truly was clueless.

“Cut off means Preston gets no more family money. He’ll be fired from the law firm. He will not be allowed to work anywhere in Harrison County.”

“You promise?” Annabelle said. “Please, Tilly, promise me that everything you just said is true. Promise me that you’ll let Preston leave this godforsaken place and never look back. He’ll be here soon. Will you please tell him what you just told me?”

Annabelle took a step closer to her mother-in-law.

“You think idle threats like that will scare him, but in reality they’d set him free. It wasn’t my idea to leave this place. It was Preston’s. He can’t wait to get the hell away from you.”

“You little tramp!” Tilly yelled, startling both Annabelle and Charlotte.

Charlotte began to cry in earnest now, kicking her legs and flailing in the bassinet. As Charlotte squirmed, one of her kicking feet struck the button on Annabelle’s camera, which rested near the edge of the bassinet. Charlotte’s heel connected with the button, snapping off a photo just as Tilly exploded into a fit of rage and grabbed Annabelle by the hair. The two women wrestled but Annabelle was unable to break free from the woman’s grip as Tilly pulled her head down and spun her around.

Annabelle charged forward in a bull rush and she and Tilly crashed into the kitchen counter and cabinets. The impact was jarring and caused Tilly to lose her grip on Annabelle’s hair. Annabelle pinned Tilly against the counter until she could safely back away from her. When her mother-in-law turned around, her right hand gripped a long, serrated knife from the butcher’s block. Annabelle was so shocked by the sight of the knife that she had no chance to react. Tilly plunged the blade into her midsection. Annabelle let out a cry, more from fear than pain. Strangely, she felt nothing at all until Tilly pulled the knife from her gut. Then Annabelle felt the warm flow of blood pour over her hands as she grabbed at her stomach.

Lightheadedness quickly descended and Annabelle was only peripherally aware when Tilly plunged the knife into her a second time. A moment later Annabelle collapsed onto the kitchen floor. The house would have been eerily silent but for Charlotte’s wailing. As Charlotte’s legs flailed, her heel activated the camera again, firing off another photo, this time of Tilly holding the bloody knife.