Page 87 of Deathtoll
Kate stared at her sister.
She was seeing the room and herself and Emma in it from above, an out-of-body experience. And overlaid on that image, she could see a movie montage of odd little moments from the past three months, the nausea and lack of appetite, the exhaustion and brain fog, her emotions all over the place, fighting with Murph, fighting with Emma…
The movie ended and Kate snapped back into her body, still staring at her sister, except she was finally seeing the truth in those clear brown eyes. “I—”
Kate’s gaze dropped to her flat belly, feeling as if she hadn’t been simply shoved onto the stained cement floor minutes before but had been dropped from a great height, from outer space. Every bone in her body, every thought in her brain, felt rattled.
A tear rolled down her face. “Oh God.”
Emma misted up too. “Right?”
“Murph just broke up with me.” The words tore a hole in her chest.
* * *
Murph
Murph drove back to Kate’s place from the mechanic shop where Mordocai used to work. It wasn’t empty or abandoned, but he couldn’t think of any other place to check. Neither the owner nor the mechanics had seen any strangers lurking around. Nobody had been asking questions about Fred Kazincky.
Traffic slowed for something up ahead. For a few seconds, Murph was stuck in front of his old house. The Victorian he’d sold from witness protection, via proxy, was finally fully renovated. He noted the gingerbread trim: pink, cream, and tan.Fancy. Although, he liked Kate’s house just as much if not more, the clean lines and the possibilities it hid.
Traffic cleared, and Murph moved on. He drove around Kate’s block. He went through a mental map of Broslin in his mind, east to west, anyplace he could think of that could be a hiding place. At the same time, he scrutinized every car he saw. Nothing stuck out. No strange males around forty slowing or stopping.
When his phone rang, he grabbed for it. “Agent Cirelli.”
“We found Emma’s car abandoned by Route 743,” the agent said. “Just outside of Hershey. She must have decided to take the scenic route. No sign of struggle. I tried to call Kate, but her phone is turned off. Everything okay?”
“We had a fight,” Murph told her. “She probably turned off her phone because she doesn’t want to talk to me right now.”
“Local police are still watching her house?”
“Three-man team. Three-person team,” he corrected. Gabi was watching the back.
“I’m assuming you’re also there, fight or no fight?”
Murph cleared his throat. “Yeah.” He hated to be so pitifully predictable, but there it was. “So Emma’s car was just sitting by the side of the road?”
“In a parking lot. I’m looking at the spot right now. Nothing but a skeevy motel on one side and a roadside market on the other. Nobody remembers seeing her. If she parked closer to the motel, we could have caught her on the security cameras. The market doesn’t have any. The guy behind the counter says she could have been there, he might not remember. It’s been a busy week, people picking up their Halloween pumpkins, fall wreaths, and whatnot. He does a brisk business selling fresh cider, has signs for it all down the road. Could be what pulled Emma in.”
“Could she have gone to the motel?”
“Not according to the front desk clerk. And, like I said, she’s not on the security cameras.”
“Do you think Asael took her?”
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think there was at least a possibility. Asael turns up alive, then both of Kate’s neighbors have accidents, then her sister disappears. All in one week.” The agent paused. “But still, it could be a coincidence. Emma is a beautiful young girl, traveling alone. There are people out there who would consider her prey. Plenty of women disappear in this country each year. You know the statistics.”
He did. He’d been an officer of the law for long enough to learn them.
“I’ll let Kate know about the car,” he said.
“I’d appreciate it. She can call me if she has any questions, but I don’t have anything more right now. Okay. That’s it. I want to call Captain Bing to let him know that I’ll be in Broslin at one point this afternoon. I’ll see you then?”
“See you then.”
After Murph thanked her and they hung up, he dialed Hunter.
Hunter picked up with “What’s up?”
