Page 35 of If She Stayed
"Give me an hour to get Sandra somewhere safe and ask her some questions about the group’s early days.The founding of the club might be the key to understanding who's doing this and why."
“Sounds like a plan.Do you think we’re good to go from here?”
“Not much you and I can do.But you take whatever time you need.”
“I’ll compare notes with Collins and Carter and then coordinate units for the book club members.You just be sure to update me after you’ve spoken with Sandra… again.”
“Will do.See you soon.”
Kate hurried to her car and, feeling the afternoon slipping into evening, drove through Richmond's afternoon traffic with controlled urgency.Three women were dead, and the killer was accelerating their timeline with each attack.The next one could come any minute now… or not for several days.It was simply impossible to know for sure.
She felt like she was trapped in some sort of strange time loop when she pulled into Sandra Morrison's driveway for the second time that day.But now that there was a third body, the oak trees that provided beautiful shade seemed almost ominous—as if they might also offer cover for someone who might be watching and waiting.
Sandra answered the front door before Kate could knock, her expression immediately shifting from surprise to concern when she saw Kate's tense demeanor.
"Agent Wise?I wasn't expecting you back so soon.Is it… is it true?Is Eleanor dead?"
"She is.I’m so very sorry.But I need you to listen closely,” she said, hurrying on before further emotion could stagger Sandra.“I need you to come with me to the FBI field office right now.I assure you, it's for your protection.And besides that, I need to ask you some important questions about the book club's founding."
Sandra's eyebrows rose in apparent disbelief."The field office?Agent Wise, I think you're overreacting.And besides… you’ve already questioned me.I’m starting to feel like I’m being interrogated and… and…” She trailed off, emotion rising to the surface.She shook her head and tried her very best to remain centered despite the tears that had started to trail down her cheeks.“My husband will be home from the hardware store within the hour.I'm perfectly safe here in my own home."
"Mrs.Morrison, three members of your book club have been murdered in less than four days.The killer is moving faster with each attack, and I believe you could be a target."Kate kept her voice calm but firm."I need you to take this threat seriously."
"But why would I be in any more danger than the other members?"Sandra asked, though Kate could see the genuine fear on her face.Kate thought she actuallywantedto come with her but was afraid to do so because she’d then be taking a direct step into admitting this insanity was real.
"Because you're one of the founding members, just like Eleanor was,” Kate said.“The killer might be targeting the original group for reasons we don't understand yet."Kate paused."The founding of the book club twenty years ago might be the key to understanding who's doing this and why.And I’ll admit that yes, it’s just a hunch right now.But as more of your members are killed, we just can’t take chances."
Sandra shook her head slowly."Agent Wise, I think you're mistaken about something important.Something that night indicate I’m not the next victim.”
“What’s that?”Kate asked impatiently.
“I'm not one of the founding members."
Kate felt a jolt of surprise."But you said you and Eleanor started the group together twenty-two years ago."
"Almost, but not quite.I joined about four months after the group was originally formed.Eleanor started it with three other women, and I came along later when they decided to expand the membership."Sandra's voice carried the precision of someone who prided herself on accuracy."I've been with the group for twenty years, but I wasn't there at the very beginning."
Kate's professional instincts immediately sharpened."Who were the original founding members?"
"Eleanor, of course.Jennifer came along even later than that.She was quite young."Sandra paused, thinking."The original group also included Bridget Nelson, who passed away from cancer about twelve years ago.And there was one other woman, Janet something.She only stayed for a few months after I joined, then left the group."
"Do you remember Janet's last name?"
Sandra looked thoughtful."It was Janet Klein, I think.”The active struggle to recall the name seemed to momentarily curb her grief and sorrow.“Or maybe Kline, with a different spelling.She was only with us for maybe six months total before she decided the group wasn't what she was looking for."
Kate felt pieces of a puzzle shifting in her mind.A woman who could be seen as a founding member who had left the group decades ago… someone who might have harbored resentment about being excluded or forced out."Do you remember anything specific about why Janet left?"
"Not really.She said the group wasn't meeting her expectations, that she was looking for something different."Sandra frowned slightly."Although I do remember she made an odd comment when she left.She said she had gotten what she needed from the book club and was ready to move on.She wasn’t mean about it.No hard feelings or anything like that, but…yeah, we all found that comment a little odd.We joke about it here and there, even now."
I don’t think the group will be joking about much of anything from here on out, Kate thought bitterly.
But the phrase struck Kate as potentially significant."Thatisa strange way to describe leaving a reading group."
"I thought so too at the time.Janet made it sound like she had accomplished some kind of mission."
Kate's pulse quickened."Mrs.Morrison, you mentioned that you keep detailed records of all the book club meetings and members.Would you have information about Janet Klein in those records?"
"I should, yes.I started keeping notes almost immediately after I joined, so I would have documented Janet's participation and departure."Sandra glanced back into her house.With this new task, it was almost as if the news that had broken over the past hour or so involving Eleanor was months old."The records are in my home office.Let me get them."
