Part 27 (2/2)

'So tell me why you killed Glory.'

'It won't make you feel better to know what happened, Amy. Believe me. Glory Fischer was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. She saw something that it would have been better for her never to see. And, like you, she wasn't going to keep the secret. Sooner or later, she was going to tell someone. So let's try this again, Amy. Who did you tell? Do you have a roommate? Do you have a friend on the team?'

'No one else knew.'

'I'm only going to ask once more. Who knew you were coming to see me last night?'

'n.o.body.'

'G.o.d, I hate to do this, Amy.' He took his hands away from her body. Sharply, fiercely, he hit her again, his fist nearly breaking the bones in her face and wrenching her neck sideways. She heard him wince himself from the force of the blow. Her cheek and eye throbbed, and she started crying involuntarily.

'Stop,' she begged him.

'Let's go another way. Who did you call? What did you say last night on the phone?'

'I don't remember,' she sobbed. Her emotions soared between helplessness and fury. Her head spun with pain.

'I have your phone. I know the number you called. Who was it?'

'I don't remember making any call.'

'I heard you talking in the bathroom. What did you say? Did you mention my name?'

'You drugged me. I didn't know what I was doing.'

Gary sighed. 'You could make this a lot easier on yourself, Amy.'

'I don't remember anything.'

But she did remember. Through the haze of the drug, she remembered the sound of Hilary's voice, and she remembered telling her about Gary. And Glory. She hoped that Hilary hadn't written off the call as drunk ramblings from a former student; she hoped that she would tell someone, send someone. That was the only thing she could pray for. Help.

Katie would wonder where she was. Hilary would try to reach her. One of them, both of them, would send the police here. She had to stay alive until then, and that meant not giving Gary what he wanted.

It was as if he could read her mind.

'Rescue's not coming,' he told her. 'If that's what you're hoping for, give it up. By the time you're missing long enough for the police to care, this will all be over. I don't want to be ugly. Sooner or later, you'll tell me the truth, so you're only hurting yourself the longer you wait.'

'Go f.u.c.k yourself.'

Amy cringed, expecting another blow, but it didn't come. He sat in the chair silently, not moving.

'Unless you tell me, I'll have to start choosing for myself. I'll start with the people you care about. Your parents. Your friends. Maybe you don't care what happens to yourself, but what about them? Do you want them to suffer too? They don't have to, Amy. You can spare them. Tell me.' Tell me.'

'I didn't tell anybody. That's the truth.'

'You're lying,' Gary said. 'That's not going to save you.'

'Why the h.e.l.l are you doing this?' Amy asked him. She felt blood bubbling out of her mouth. 'Why? Is it because of your wife? You killed her, too, didn't you?'

Gary inhaled loudly. 'I loved my wife.'

'So you pushed her off a cliff. Did Glory find out about it?'

'Don't try to understand me,' he advised her. 'This isn't psychology cla.s.s. This is about life or death for the people you love. Believe me, I know how painful it is to watch someone you love die.'

'Everyone knows you were having an affair.'

Gary leaned in closer. 'Everyone? Who's everyone? Who told you that?'

Amy bit her lip and said nothing. She cursed herself in her head. She didn't want to give him a roadmap that would lead him anywhere near Katie. Or Hilary. Tell someone, send someone. Tell someone, send someone.

'OK, Amy, we'll do it the hard way.'

He stood up, and she could feel his presence above her, growing more ominous. She tensed, waiting for whatever was coming next, knowing it would be bad. Even so, she swore to herself that she wouldn't cry and she wouldn't beg. Not to him. Not in front of this monster. She just had to buy time and hope that someone would look for her. Come to the door. Find her.

At that moment, someone did.

Downstairs, she heard a m.u.f.fled noise, and she realized it was the sound of the antique doorbell chiming. Gary flinched. Amy sucked in a breath to scream, but he antic.i.p.ated her intention and was on her immediately, clapping a hand over her mouth. He squeezed her jaw, forcing her lips open, and jammed the ribbon of wet cloth back inside, choking her, cutting off any sound from her throat. When he was done, he slapped tape back across her mouth. She was mute again, other than a low squealing through her nose.

'I'll be back,' Gary said. He slammed the door of the room shut as he left.

She heard his m.u.f.fled footsteps as he ran down the stairs. She fought, trying to move the bed and make a noise that would be heard below her, but she was running out of strength. She kept breathing through her nose, struggling to swell her lungs, but she began to cough bile into the thick gag. Panic made her gasp for air. Help me. Help me.

Somewhere in the house, she heard him talking. Gary had answered the door. She wanted to cry, knowing help was so close and yet out of her reach.

Find me.

Chapter Thirty-Three.

Cab held up the folder with his Florida badge to the man who opened the door.

'Mr Jensen? My name is Cab Bolton with the Naples Police. I'm investigating the murder that occurred at the hotel where you were staying last Sunday. I believe you talked to someone in my department about the events you witnessed from your room that night.'

Gary Jensen looked fl.u.s.tered by Cab's arrival. His face was flushed, and he peered nervously over his shoulder. 'Oh. Oh, yes, Detective Bolton, of course. You took me by surprise. Your people told me that there would be a follow-up interview, but I just a.s.sumed it would be by phone. I didn't think you would come all the way up here to talk to me in person.'

'The victim in this case was from Door County,' Cab told him, 'so I've been conducting an investigation in that area. Since you're only an hour away, I thought it would be easiest to talk to you face to face.'

'Yes, of course.'

'I stopped by the university, and they told me you were home today.'

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