Page 44

THIRTY-SEVEN

As I predicted, April uses the free parking spots by the library.

She’d rather walk an extra block than fight for the frenzied meter parking closer to McCallie’s.

I thought I spotted her car there before the meeting, which is why I used a meter across the street.

I’m able to get into my car and follow her without being noticed.

We leave the stop-and-go traffic of downtown, merging onto the highway. She’s headed home, I think. I remember this route from when I visited her last week. However, when April passes her street without turning, my curiosity grows.

“Where are you going?” I say aloud to the empty car.

My phone begins to ring. I connect it to the overhead system and answer.

“Where are you headed?” Marley asks. Her voice is breathy and close, like her mouth is nuzzling the receiver.

“I’m following April,” I say. “She’s not going home. We just passed her street.”

“I’m still on foot,” Marley says. “Victoria and Danielle are together. It makes me suspicious.”

“They live close to one another,” I say. “They probably do this after every meeting.”

“They haven’t noticed I’ve followed them,” she says, confidently. “I don’t know what I’m going to do when they split off.”

“Just keep watching,” I say, turning on my car blinker. Up ahead, April has taken a left at the light. She’s heading down Washington Street. In my head, I try to piece together where she might be going. All I know is that’s the part of town where the police station is located.

“What are we supposed to be looking for anyway?”

Marley sounds frustrated. At least my chase is taking place in the heated comfort of my car.

She’s stuck on the streets, no idea where she’s headed, or what she’s looking for.

The fact she’s tailing two people will make her task harder.

If one of them is the killer, they aren’t going to do anything suspicious until they are alone.

I’m convinced whoever’s responsible for this crime spree will act.

We’ve exposed their pattern to the entire group now.

Not to mention, the police have now cornered all of us.

At the very least, there must be some evidence they have to hide, some action that must be taken, and we’re hoping either Marley or I will catch them doing it.

“They’ve stopped walking,” Marley says. I can hear the sharp intake of breath, can almost imagine her trying to duck behind an old building or lamppost to hide.

“What’s happening?” I ask. My eyes are glued to April’s bumper, which is still moving slowly down Washington Street. There’s only one car between us, and I hope it’s enough to keep me concealed.

“Still just talking. Now they’re…” She pauses. I can hear her raspy breaths. “They’re hugging. Danielle is going inside a building.”

“What kind of building?”

“I can’t see. Not until Victoria starts walking again. She’s just standing there.”

April’s car comes to a stop outside a large apartment block. It looks familiar and forgettable, the way most complexes do. I’m not sure whether I’ve ever seen it before. I park against the curb on the other side of the street, watching as April exits her vehicle.

“Okay, Victoria is walking again,” Marley says.

“April has stopped,” I say, watching her like a lioness watches its prey. “She’s at an apartment block off Washington Street. She’s out of her car, but she’s not gone inside.”

Instead, she leans against the car. April’s head is raised, staring at the drab building.

Even from where I sit, I can pick up on her sad expression.

There’s an emptiness in her eyes, a look of despair.

Is her guilt finally catching up to her?

Does she realize it’s only a matter of time before the twisted game she’s constructed comes crashing down?

“Looks like Danielle went inside her offices,” Marley says, apparently reading the inscription on the front of the building. “Gates and Hamblin Associates.”

“I forgot her office was on that street,” I say. “What’s Victoria doing?”

“Still walking towards her apartment.” Her words run together, tense with indecision. “What should I do? Wait on Danielle or follow Victoria?”

“Follow Victoria,” I say. “At least see if she heads home. Danielle can’t do too much at work.”

Truthfully, I’m too preoccupied to think about either one of them. I’m watching April, trying to figure out why she’s here and what she’s doing.

The double glass doors to the apartment building open. A man walks out. He’s wearing a dark trench coat, hands in his pockets. He stands directly in front of April, and the two of them begin to talk.

It dawns on me that even if one of these women is behind the killings, they may be enlisting the help of someone else. It’s a lot for one person to carry out on their own. Could April have asked this man to help her? Plant evidence at times when she was elsewhere to better establish an alibi?

The questions shoot off in my brain like a firing squad, and then the double doors open again. This time, two small children come running out, one toddling as though he just learned how to walk. They rush past the man in the trench coat and into April’s arms.

Her children. I’m not familiar enough with either of them to know their faces, but April’s expression confirms it. The worry and apprehension on her face disappears, replaced with joy. She bends down, kissing each child on the top of the head.

It must be her night with the kids. April told me she’d been separated from her husband for some time.

This must be where he’s staying, which explains the worried look on her face.

I can’t imagine what it must be like to be a mother and have your children out of your sight, to move them from a swanky house in the suburbs to a dingy apartment downtown.

The kids turn and hug the man in the coat. Chase, their father. April opens the door to the backseat, and they jump inside.

“Are you still there?” Marley’s voice sounds irritated.

“Yeah,” I say, putting the car in drive. “It’s not April.”

“How do you know?”

“She’s picking up her kids from their dad’s. Even if she was behind this, she wouldn’t do anything with her kids around. We need to keep watching the others.”

“Okay, so that’s one off the list,” she says. “I still have no idea where Victoria is going. I’m pretty sure we passed her building a couple of blocks ago.”

“That’s good,” I say, driving back in the direction I just came from. “Maybe she’s going to meet someone.”

“I’m getting a bad feeling,” she says. “The roads are thinning out. There are barely any people around. She’s going to see I’m following her.”

“Just stay on her,” I say, merging onto the highway. “I can make it back to Danielle’s office. We’ll have eyes on both of them?—”

A high-pitched, heart-stopping scream rings through the phone. The sound startles me so much I slam on the brakes, almost causing the car behind me to rear-end me. From behind, a horn blares.

“Marley, are you there?”

Nothing. The staticky rustling of the line, still connected, but no voice at the other end.

“Marley, did something happen?” I shout. “Answer me.”

The sound on the line changes. Becomes clean and crisp, like someone is holding it up to their ear. There are the heavy exhales of someone breathing?—

Click. The line is disconnected.

My nerves rattle, my heart pounding. Marley was still following Victoria when she let out that scream. Could Victoria have seen she was being followed? Could she, or someone else, have attacked Marley? If they did, the person would have looked at her phone afterward, and seen she was talking to me.

Every car on the road seems to move at a snail’s pace as I slam my horn, swerving in and out of traffic. Hurriedly, I type in Marley’s last known location into my GPS. She’s eight minutes away, only a few blocks from Victoria’s apartment complex.

In my mind, that terrifying scream rings out again and again. She’s in danger.

Last time a friend was at risk, I walked away. I knew the world was a scary place. My own experience with Michael had taught me that, but I was too insecure and afraid to fight for my friend’s safety, and that mistake cost Layla her life.

Now, I know better, and I’m not going to let Marley fight this battle on her own.