“That’s what he said last time. I believed him, too. I believed that I was jealous and paranoid, until…” Diane choked up briefly. “They were going to have a baby.” She harshly wiped at her cheek and composed herself. “After I got rid of her, I thought things would be okay. Then you ruined everything.”
After you got rid of who?
“Please put the knife down and then we can really talk this through.”
“All you needed to do is leave, I told you that on the phone, but you were too selfish. You just loved all the attention on yourself. Now, I need to make you go away.”
There was a finality to Diane’s voice that caused the bubbles of panic to erupt. Lianna felt as if she might not be able to get out of this situation.
“It’s your fault we’re doing this the hard way. Instead of taking my hints and going back to wherever the hell you came from, you had to run to Tim for help. Now he’s in jail because of you and your big dumb boyfriend.”
Diane was escalating, her breaths were shallow, and she had a frenzied look in her eye. Lianna knew she needed to get away, needed to get to a phone now. The woman read her thoughts.
“Don’t you dare try to run or I’ll go back to the school. I won’t leave without Annie this time.”
“How could you hurt a child? She is completely innocent in this!”
“I’d never hurt Annie. I can’t believe that thing came from you.” Diane used her free hand to shove Lianna forward. “Tim never wanted kids, at least that’s what he said. Until her. Then once I heard him start droning on and on about how sweet Annie is, I started thinking maybe he’ll come back if you have an accident and I’m here to care for the kids.”
She said the words so calmly, with so much conviction, as if she had thought the plan through. If Lianna didn’t leave, Diane planned on making her. How could she believe anyone would let her take Lianna’s daughter and start a new life?
“You’re just as crazy as your husband!”
“Don’t you dare speak about my husband that way!”
Diane shoved Lianna again with her free hand, catching her off guard this time. Lianna stumbled forward several steps. By the time Lianna regained her balance, the woman was at her side, her long nails cutting into Lianna’s injured forearm. Tears clouded her vision.
“I’m not falling for that again. Walk.”
“Too bad it must end this way. I had fun bothering you. See, that’s where I went wrong with Justine. When I found out about them, I let my anger get the best of me. But with you, listening to you stammer ‘hello’ when I called, watching you shriek like an idiot when you found the spiders.” Diane sighed, “I should have known you’d run to Tim. When he figured out what I was doing he had the nerve to be angry with me! Begged me to stop or threatened to tell you. Then you found a new boy toy to run to and his feelings got hurt.”
The pain in Lianna’s arm was making her nauseated, Diane’s insinuations making her dizzy.
“Tim’s up north at his brother’s place, so it’s the perfect chance to get rid of you without the police blaming him. We’ll walk to your special meeting spot by the stairs, then you’ll have a little accident.”
Lianna’s chest was so tight she struggled to pull in a full breath.
“Or maybe we’ll go to the rocks by the ocean, and you’ll slip and bash your head. Poor thing. Seems a lot of moms are slipping on the rocks these days.” Diane said the words in a sing-song voice, clearly amused by the idea.
“You’re overreacting, we can find another way,” Lianna pleaded but knew her words didn’t matter.
“Not anymore, Tim doesn’t want to come home to me…”
“Surely you can go to him and talk?”
“He doesn’t want me! He wanted her and now he wants you! Which is why I need you gone. It’s simple.”
The ups and downs of Diane’s disposition had begun to scare Lianna as much as the knife.
“It’s your fault and you need to pay. Now shut up and walk.”
Lianna was silent as they marched down the deserted street. She tried desperately to come up with a plan before they reached the end of the road and slipped into the forest where no one would see them. Oddly, she had a vivid recollection of an episode ofOprah.
The renowned host had told her female viewers in a kidnapping situation the number one thing to remember was never let them get you to point B. Take your chances of escape at the point of abduction, because once they had you in solitude your chances of survival drastically diminished. Lianna had no intention of getting to point B.
In a truly ironic curse, Lianna and Scott had chosen this street to build their dream home for the two reasons that burdened her now. First, it was close to the ocean, and second, it was very quiet. The homes sat back off the road and they were lucky to get one car per hour down here. Regardless, Lianna knew she would have to stand her ground soon. Theyhad traveled past both of their own homes, far enough away that Annie would be safe.
Lianna quickly came up with a plan—turn and run. She was no action hero. Trying to kick Diane or fight her would be both dangerous and a waste of time. Simply fleeing was her best option.