Page 82 of Crumbling Truth
When I hesitated, he lifted his other hand into view, holding up a serrated hunting knife that sent ice through my veins.
“Was that Theo you were talking to?”
I flinched at the sound of Theo’s name—Drew’s voice dripped malice, and I wondered if I could lie, but my reaction answered for me.
“Of course it was. Put down the phone and get out of the car, Esther.”
I did as he ordered, my thoughts racing so fast they tripped over one another. “I told him where I was headed. He could be here any minute.”
“Good. We won’t even have to call him with his invitation.”
“What are you doing, Drew?”
“We’re going for a little drive. That address was hard to find, wasn’t it? Don’t worry, I’ll take you there myself,” he said, pointing the knife toward his car. “And I assure you Theo knows exactly where it is.”
Even if I’d thought I could talk my way out of this, my teeth started chattering so hard during the twenty feet between the cars that I could barely speak. I might be able to make a run for it, but the lake lay on one side of the street and a field of deep snow drifts on the other. The temperature had to be belowfreezing by now, and I wasn’t dressed for prolonged exposure to the cold.
“Put your hands on the roof of the car. I have big plans for you, so don’t try anything stupid.”
Though my fingers curled into fists at the command, I forced them to relax and set them on the top of the car. I didn’t see what he did with the knife, but he grabbed one wrist, then the other, looped a plastic zip tie around them both, and yanked it tight. Before I could blink, he’d done the same to my ankles. Panic threatened to choke me as he opened the car’s trunk and lifted me off my feet to drop me inside.
The entire trunk was lined in white lilies, the smell so horrifically overpowering that I nearly gagged. I thought back to the bouquet I’d received—not from a grateful customer or someone playing a prank, after all.
“Drew, I don’t understand. Why are you doing this?” I whispered when he moved to close the trunk.
He studied me, his expression blank. “All in good time, Esther. We all have to reap what we sow.”
Then he slammed the trunk shut, encompassing me in perfumed darkness, and I couldn’t stop the bone-jarring shudders that wracked my limbs as the car started moving.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Theo
AssoonasEsthersaid the wordsPeregrine Cove,my brain jolted into action. I turned off the oven, dinner be damned, and yanked on a coat as I ran out to the truck. I dialed Alex’s number as I pulled out of the driveway.
“Are you in Spruce Hill?” I asked as soon as he answered.
I could almost hear him frowning at the phone when he replied, “Yeah, I just finished plowing Mr. Ankarberg’s parking lot at the north end of town. Why?”
“I need your help. Esther had a delivery this afternoon. She couldn’t find the address, so I offered to help. She was headed to Peregrine Cove. Jesus, Alex, the call cut out but she said someone was walking up to her car.”
“Shit,” he whispered. “Okay, how far are you from the Ankarberg plaza? Should I head straight to her or should we go together?”
My hands were shaking, so I gripped the steering wheel so tight that my knuckles went white. “I’ll be there in a minute. We go together. And Alex…thank you.”
“Just shut up and focus on driving. I’ll see you soon.”
Peregrine Cove was a little community of cottages at the edge of town, mostly used as beach houses during the summer. The party on prom night had been at Number Seven.
And it was right next to the lighthouse.
I swung into the parking lot barely a minute later and stopped beside Alex’s plow truck. He hopped into my passenger seat, still buckling his seatbelt as I pulled back onto the road.
“What the hell is happening?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied, “but I think she’s in danger. Can you call Chief Roberts or Hanson, get them to send someone out?”
Alex made the call, sounding so calm that it almost settled my nerves until I heard the undercurrent of fear when he spoke to me again. “They’re on their way. You accused me of being behind the pranks—what pranks, Theo? What’s going on?”
