Page 51 of Secret Stalker

“I drove straight from the barn to the house, so that probably took about fifteen minutes. And I was only home a few minutes, like maybe ten. Mama was on the verge of one of her migraines. I think we overdid it—maybe she was dehydrated from drinking too many sodas while we were out, I don’t know. Anyway, she was out of pills. I got back in the car and drove into town to the only twenty-four-hour convenience store, on Maple Street and Fifth.”

“Smiths.”

“Yes.”

“I remember looking up at that huge clock above the door and it was 10:22.”

“Ten twenty-two exactly?”

She nodded.

“How can you be so sure?” He scribbled down the time.

“I remember saying to myself that if something horrible happened to me that night, I needed to tell the police it happened at 10:22.”

His gaze shot to hers. “Why would you think that?”

“Because that was when Bobby Caldwell walked into the store.”

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