Page 94 of Strangers She Knows

“Not my problem. Listen, we’re off subject. Here’s the way today is going to play out.”

No more talking. No more gathering her strength. Kellen ate pizza, and listened.

“You’ll take off running, and after thirty minutes, I’ll follow. I’ll chase you like a dog that deserves to be put down, and I’ll kill you.”

Kellen had been expecting something like this. How could she not? Rational people who wanted to rid themselves of a pest…would have just killed it. But Mara wanted to prolong the agony.

Calmly, Kellen drank her milk—she needed the calcium—and her water—for hydration—and took another slice of pizza. “This chasing me down thing. That’s a cliché. Didn’t your father teach you the importance of creativity?”

“Yes, he did.” Mara stabbed a tomato with her fork. “He gave me personal lessons in the creativity of suffering.”

Uh-oh. So there was more to the father story than Kellen first thought.

Mara stared as red oozed down the tines of her fork. “A cliché is if I shoot you right now.”

“What made you think of killing Rae? She’s a child. She’s never done anything in her whole life that could make her deserve death.”

Mara’s leaned across the table and shouted into Kellen’s face.“I didn’t kill her!”

“Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe she’ll never recover from that drug you gave her.”

“Why do you keep harping on about Rae? If she dies, it’s not because I tried to kill her. It’s not my fault if she can’t take meds.”

Suddenly, Kellen saw Mara through a veil of livid red. This woman hurt Rae, forced Max to take Rae into the greatest of danger to save her life, and then Mara blithely shrugged aside responsibility. In a calm voice that came from a place deep inside, Kellen said, “You said you would chase me around the island until you caught me and I died.”

“That’s right.”

“All right. That’s what we’ll dotoday. Because I have no choice. When I get back to the house, alive, I’ll have beaten you at your game. Right?”

Mara laughed, a deep indulgent laugh. “Sure. That’s how it’s going to turn out.”

“You’ve made up the rules. The house is a haven. You can’t hurt me here.”

Mara wavered.

Kellen dug deep into Mara’s insecurities. “You know I’m better than you. You’re afraid to make the promise because you’re afraid I’m going to win the game.”

“If you get back hereafter sunset, you can live another day. In the morning, we’ll start again.” Mara chortled as if the idea was impossible.

“I’ll come back here after sunset, and liveuninjureduntil tomorrow.”

“Sure.” Mara made the promise easily. “You know, I’m doing you a favor. If you’re so fond of your husband and your daughter, and so sure they’re going to die, you’re better off when I kill you.”

Kellen could see it. Mara was working it out in her mind, making herself blameless, telling herself that with Kellen’s death, she’d done her a favor, and in a fury, she leaped at Mara, shouted in her face. “If Max and Rae die, I’ll kill their murderer, then I’ll spend my life hunting down every crazy, stupid killer like you.”

When Mara’s pistol touched Kellen’s chin, she realized what she’d done. In her rage, she’d lost her advantage.

She stepped back.

No more mistakes. Before this game was over, Mara would die.

All Kellen had to do was figure out how.

40

Kellen ran out of the kitchen door and jumped down all the steps in one bound, into the tempest. The wind slapped rain into her face and blasted more rain through her still-damp clothing. As she raced around to the front of the house, she formulated her goals:

1. Live through this day.

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