Is he in there? she wondered.
Had he slept through whatever had happened?
She breathed a little easier at the possibility. If he was sleeping that soundly, maybe she could get away without him noticing that shed been here.
But then she stifled a groan as she realized it wasnt going to be that easy. There was still all this blood to deal with.
If Andrew came into his bathroom and found this terrible mess, of course hed know that she was somehow to blame.
She was always to blame for everything as far as he was concerned.
Her panic rising, she began to wipe the counter with the towel. But that was no good. All she was doing was smearing the blood all over the place. She needed water to clean things up.
She almost turned on the faucet in the sink when she realized the sound of running water would surely wake Andrew up. She thought maybe she could softly close the bathroom door and run the water as quietly as she could.
She crept on tiptoe across the enormous bathroom toward the door. When she got there, she cautiously peeked out into the bedroom.
She gasped aloud at what she saw.
The lights were turned low, but there was no mistaking Andrew lying there in bed.
He was covered with blood. The sheets were covered in blood. There was even blood on the carpeted floor.
Morgan rushed over to the bed.
Her husbands eyes were wide open in an expression of frozen terror.
Hes dead, she realized. She hadnt died, but Andrew had.
Had he committed suicide?
No, that was impossible. Andrew had nothing but contempt for people who took their own livesincluding his wife and son.
Not serious people, hed often said about them.
And Andrew had always prided himself on being a serious person.
And hed always raised that issue with Morgan
Are you a serious person?
As she looked more carefully, she could see that Andrew had bled from many different wounds all over his body. And nestled among the blood-soaked sheets beside his body she saw a large kitchen knife.
Who could have done this? Morgan wondered.
Then a weird, euphoric calm fell over her as she realized
I finally did it.
I killed him.
Shed done it in her dreams many times.
And now, at long last, shed done it for real.
She smiled and said aloud to the corpse
Whos a serious person now?
But she knew better than to bask in this warm and pleasant feeling. Murder was murder, and she knew that she had to accept the consequences.
But instead of fear or guilt, she felt a deep sense of contentment.
He was a horrible man. And he was dead. Whatever happened now, this was well worth it.
She picked up the phone next to his bed with her sticky hand and almost dialed 911 before she thought
No.
Theres someone else I want to tell first.
It was a kindly woman who had shown concern about her welfare some time ago.
Before she did anything else, she needed to call that woman and tell her that she neednt worry about Morgan anymore.
Everything was just fine at last.
CHAPTER ONE
Riley noticed that Jilly was twitching a little in her sleep. The fourteen-year-old was in the adjoining seat, with her head resting on Rileys shoulder. Their plane had been in the air for about three hours now, and it would be another couple of hours before they would land in Phoenix.
Is she dreaming? Riley wondered.
If so, Riley hoped that the dreams werent bad.
Jilly had lived through horrific experiences during her short life, and she still had lots of nightmares. Shed seemed especially anxious since that letter from social services in Phoenix had arrived, informing them that Jillys father wanted his daughter back. Now they were flying to Phoenix for a court date that would settle the matter once and for all.
Riley couldnt help but worry as well. What would become of Jilly if the judge didnt allow her to stay with Riley?
The social worker had said she didnt expect that to happen.
But what if she was wrong? Riley wondered.
Jillys whole body started twitching more sharply. She began moaning quietly.
Riley shook her gently and said, Wake up, sweetheart. Youre having a bad dream.
Jilly sat bolt upright and stared straight ahead for a moment. Then she burst into tears.
Riley put her arm around Jilly and reached into her purse for a tissue.
She asked, What is it? What were you dreaming about?
Jilly sobbed wordlessly for a few moments. Then she said, It was nothing. Dont worry.
Riley sighed. She knew that Jilly harbored secrets that she didnt like to talk about.
She stroked the girls dark hair and said, You can tell me anything, Jilly. You know that.
Jilly wiped her eyes and blew her nose.
Finally she said, I was dreaming about something that really happened. A few years ago. My dad was on one of his serious drunks and he was blaming me as usualfor my mother leaving, for his not being able to keep a job. For everything. He told me he wanted me out of his life. He dragged me by the arm to a closet and threw me inside and locked the door and
Jilly fell silent and closed her eyes.
Please tell me, Riley said.
Jilly shook herself a little and said, I was afraid to scream at first, because I thought hed drag me back out and beat me. He just left me in there, like hed forgotten all about me. And then
Jilly choked back a sob.
I dont know how many hours passed, but everything got real quiet. I thought maybe hed just passed out or gone to bed or something. But it was like that for a long, long time, and everything stayed so quiet. Finally I realized that he must have left the house. He did that sometimes. Hed go away for days and Id never know when he was coming back, or if he was coming back.
Riley shuddered as she tried to imagine the poor girls horror.
Jilly continued, Finally I started screaming and banging on the door, but of course nobody could hear me, and I couldnt get out. I was alone in that closet for I still dont know how long. Several days, probably. I had nothing to eat, and I sure couldnt sleep, and I was so hungry and afraid. I even had to go to the bathroom in there and I had to clean that up later. I started seeing and hearing weird things in the darkI guess they must have been hallucinations. I guess I kind of lost my mind.
Small wonder, Riley thought with horror.
Jilly said, When I heard noises in the house again, I thought maybe I was just hearing things. I yelled out, and Dad came to the closet and unlocked it. He was stone cold sober now, and he looked surprised to see me. Howd you get in there? he said. He acted all upset that Id gotten myself into such a mess and treated me OK for a little while after that.
Jillys voice had faded to a near whisper, and she added, Do you think hes going to get custody of me?
Riley gulped down a knot of anxiety. Should she share her own fears with the girl she still hoped to adopt as her own daughter?
She couldnt bring herself to do that.
Instead she said
Im sure he wont.
Hed better not, Jilly said. Because if he does, Ill run away for good. Nobody will ever find me.