Page 94 of Zero Divergence
“I’m not lying, Bonnie. Tiffany Humphries outplayed her husband. You killed Vivian for nothing.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Tiffany is shark food at the bottom of the Pacific. Franco chartered a boat the night before he returned home, slit her throat, and pushed her body overboard. It’s better than the traitorous whore deserves for turning her back on Franco. I would’ve made her suffer more.”
“She’s hanging out with her sister on the beach,” Royce said. While they hadn’t spoken with her, Mendoza’s contact sent photographic evidence she was alive and sunning herself on the beach. He was going to keep an eye on the women on the off chance Franco had hired a hitman to kill them.
Bonita laughed. “You bought that bullshit story he fed you? I thought you were supposed to be brilliant.”
“No, my partner is the smart one.”Sawyer.Royce couldn’t allow himself to worry about what Sawyer was thinking or doing, or he could miss an opportunity to gain the upper hand. “I talked to Tiffany on the phone,” Royce lied.
She glanced at him again with narrowed eyes. “You’re lying.”
“You’re guessing. We’ll clear this up when Franco arrives,” he said smugly.
The car crested over a small incline, and at the bottom of the hill, Savage Creek flooded the valley from recent heavy rains. Royce couldn’t tell how deep the water was, but he could see muddy tracks going up the other side. Neither hill was steep, but his Camaro had rear-wheel drive and wasn’t equipped for off-road mudding. He couldn’t believe her little Dart had made the trip in and out, but at least she had front-wheel drive. With a fast head start, she’d probably pulled it off easily enough. As if Bonita read his mind, she hit the gas hard as she approached the bottom of the hill, slamming into the water with a jolting thud and sickening crunch.There goes the front spoiler. The evil bitch cackled like it was the best amusement ride she’d ever been on, before whooping and gunning the gas.
Royce gripped the door handle with both hands for stability as she fishtailed up the hill until gaining purchase on dryer ground midway up.
“If it hadn’t been for you, they’d still be alive, and Franco and I would be living on a beach someplace.”
This woman was delusional, but Royce wanted to keep her talking, especially when they crested the hill and a dilapidated cabin came into view. The rotten roof hadn’t caved in yet, but it was only a stiff breeze away from collapse. No fucking way he was voluntarily submitting to whatever they had planned for him.
“My arresting Franco ruined your plans?” he asked to keep Bonita talking.
“Yes,” she hissed. “We’d started dating before you manufactured fake evidence and arrested Franco. He was going to leave his wife for me. We were going to start over.”
“That’s what he probably told Tara, Abby, Christi, and Harper before he killed them. You were going to be victim number five.”
“He did not kill those whores. I saw them flirting shamelessly with him. They’d go out of their way to entice him. They must’ve latched on to someone else who killed them. Those sluts had it coming.” There was deranged, then there was this girl—a whole new classification of insanity. If he didn’t already know better, Royce would’ve thought Bonita killed the four coeds.
“How did they entice Franco?” Royce asked.
“Abby made a fool of herself by lingering in the library on the nights he researched classes, Christi saved a piece of his favorite pie for him every day, Harper made sure his request to speak with the dean got put ahead of everyone else’s, but Tara was the worst. She often showed up early to clean his office, knowing he was working late. Once, I saw her enter the men’s restroom when he was inside. I could tell by the smirk on her face she planned it on purpose. Nasty whore.”
I saw her enter.How long had she been stalking Humphries?
Bonita was the kind of person who just blended in and skipped people’s notice. Healthy people’s attention, anyway. Franco Psycho Humphries would have observed her lurking around, and he would’ve used her adoration and mental instability to turn her into a perfect weapon no one saw or suspected. Royce wanted to ask her how she finally gained favor with Humphries but realized he was running out of time as she slowed near the cabin.
This is it. Now or never.
“It’s not too late,” Royce said. “Put this car in reverse and drive us out of here. I will speak on your behalf at your trial. You’re sick and need help. You’re not evil. I can help you if you save my life.”
“Fuck you.”
Royce’s body tensed as he prepared to spring into action, but then the shadows shifted on the darkened, rotten porch on the front of the cabin, and Franco Humphries stepped forward. The mottled sunlight penetrating the canopy of tree leaves overhead glinted on the pistol pointed toward the car.
“This should be fun,” Bonita chirped as she put the car in park and killed the engine. For good measure, she zapped Royce once more in his side. He jerked and his teeth rattled, which only made her laugh. “So much fun.”
Humphries gestured with the gun, indicating he should get out of the car. Bonita unbuckled his seat belt and waved the stun gun again. “Get out, or your nuts are next.”
“What’s with you and my nuts?” he asked, opening the door.
It was awkward getting out of the car with his hands bound, but he managed. His legs felt clumsy and weak at first, but the more he moved, the quicker he regained his strength. Royce was grateful he didn’t have any symptoms of a concussion. He kept his hands in front of his chest as he squared off against the serial rapist and killer. His heart pounded, but he refused to show any signs of weakness. Instead, he smirked at the man holding the gun steady on him. “Let me guess. This is all just a big misunderstanding.”
“No,” Humphries said. “I’m going to kill you.”
Yet, he remained a safe distance away, aiming the gun at Royce instead of killing him on the spot, which meant he planned to toy with Royce first. Fuck that noise. Royce wiggled his fingers as discreetly as he could to keep the blood flowing. If his fingers went to sleep from lack of circulation, what limited use he’d have of them would be significantly compromised.
“What took so long, love?” Humphries asked.