"Not yet, but we could wait until he gets off work."
"No, we can't put it off." Zoe had too much riding on this. Sam was at the cabin, in the forest. She had to be. Everything Tiffany said made sense.
Zoe had talked to someone at the police station who'd confirmed that a missing person's report had been filed for a Paddy Bell. Even the questions Jonathan had asked her this morning lent credibility to Tiffany's words. The Bells were involved--just not the way he'd suspected.
She couldn't wait to tell him it wasn't Colin and Tiffany but Paddy Bell who was at fault.
If Paddy was the one at fault.
"You're sure you want to come?" Tiffany asked.
Zoe could tell she wasn't very excited about the idea. She was probably as afraid of what they'd find, and what it would mean, as Zoe. "I'm sure."
"Okay, then. I'm turning in to the hospital to pick you up. Do you see me?"
Zoe stepped away from the building and shaded her eyes. Sure enough, Tiffany's blue BMW was at the main entrance. "Yes, I see you. I'm standing right in front."
"There you are." Coming to a stop, she hung up without saying goodbye but offered Zoe a tentative smile when she opened the door.
"I can't tell you much I appreciate this," Zoe said.
Tiffany wiped the sweat beading on her upper lip and adjusted the air-conditioning vents while Zoe got in and fumbled with her seat belt. "No problem."
"Colin knows we're going without him?"
Tiffany nodded. "He called the police about Paddy, too."
"Good. At least there are people who know where we're heading, and Colin will be around to give them directions."
Tiffany adjusted the vents again. "Did you get hold of your P.I.?"
Zoe finally managed to fasten her seat belt. "Not yet."
"That's too bad."
The doors locked automatically as Tiffany gave the car some gas.
Just get her out of town...Just get her out of town...Just get her out of town. Then Colin will be there, and he can take over.
Tiffany tried to remain calm, but she was sweating so much she was nearly soaked, and the anxiety made her stomach ache. Maybe Colin had killed a previous pet up at the cabin, but only because he'd gotten carried away. It was the drugs, pushing him into an act he hadn't really meant to carry out. He'd let his first pet go along the highway in Utah, and he wouldn't have harmed Rover if Rover had obeyed.
This was different. It was the first time she'd purposely lured someone off to be killed, knowing in advance exactly what would happen.
But she wanted this. Somehow, she hated Zoe as she'd never hated anyone. Zoe had stolen Colin. Maybe she hadn't done it intentionally, but ever since he'd become infatuated with her he hadn't been the same. Zoe threatened everything Tiffany loved, everything Tiffany had. Zoe needed to go. And Tiffany wanted Colin to do it, to prove he cared more for her than he did their former neighbor.
That did little to ease the fear, however. There were so many things that could go wrong. She kept imagining Jonathan Stivers calling Zoe on the cell phone Zoe held on her lap. He could insist they stop and wait for him.
Or that detective who'd been involved could do the same. Tiffany had been lying when she said she'd notified the police. She'd only been hoping to learn if Zoe had already contacted them herself--and to stop her if she planned to.
Just get her out of town. If they could reach the mountains, they'd lose reception and Tiffany could relax. A little bit, anyway.
Eyeing her own cell phone, which rested on the console, she finally broke down and called Colin. She had to have some idea of where he was, some assurance that he'd be able to escape the office when he thought he could.
"Hi, how's work this afternoon?" she asked when he answered. She made sure her voice sounded casual, but she hoped he'd clue in to what she was really asking, and he didn't disappoint her.
"I'm not at the cabin yet," he said. "I ran home to get the credit card on my desk. I'll need some way to pay for groceries and gas. And that put me behind."
He must've left it when he'd ordered those bondage implements over the Internet for their party with his friends. The package had arrived the following day--express courier--but she hadn't seen it since Paddy died and Colin had scrubbed the house from top to bottom. All the toys they owned were gone. Colin had cleaned out everything, including the bonus room.
"Where--where did you put the things in that box that was delivered last week?"
"What things?"
"You know, the party favors for Friday night that you ordered over the Internet."
"Oh, they're safe, in my trunk."
He was bringing them with him. Tiffany's stomach gave another painful lurch as she imagined the night ahead. She wanted Zoe dead, but she didn't want to watch Colin have sex with her first. If he acted too kind or loving, it'd break her heart. And, even if he wasn't loving, even if he only wanted to hurt her, Tiffany had no desire to watch. She didn't have the appetite for torture that he did. He found it funny, exhilarating, stimulating.
He achieved some sort of sexual gratification from making others scream and cry. But it just made her sick.
She wondered if he'd let her leave or if he'd demand she watch.
Or participate...
Or help bury the bodies...
She stifled a shudder.
"Tiff?" Colin said.
"What?"
"Zoe's with you, right?"
"Yes. She's here. We're on our way."
Zoe glanced over and smiled. She was nervous, too, Tiffany realized.
She seemed intensely focused and hardly talked at all, which was fine.
Tiffany couldn't manage much of a conversation at the moment. She was too afraid she'd sound strange or make a revealing comment, accidentally alerting Zoe that the situation was not what she'd represented it to be.
Tiffany knew how quickly an errand such as this could go bad. Take Rover, for instance.
"How close are you to the cabin?" Colin asked.
"Another hour or so."
"Then you need to slow down. Misty was late going to lunch today.
The first freakin' day she isn't dying to feed her fat face at exactly noon. Can you believe it? Anyway, I think I'm behind you."
No! Not behind. She wanted to get this over with, turn Zoe over to her husband as soon as possible.
Tiffany checked her speed but didn't dare ease off the gas. She could always pretend to get lost once they exited the freeway and were out of range of any cell towers. "I hope he didn't do it, either," she said randomly, for Zoe's benefit.
"Tell Colin I'm so grateful for his support," Zoe murmured.