“I know. I just hope Ed doesn’t get too upset with Matt when he explains what we found and how we found it.” Without a camera to help me I only just avoided hitting the side wall. Ooops.
“Ed’s a good guy. He won’t want to arrest Matt if there’s any other way around it.”
“I hope so, or I might have to call in a few favors with you.”
“What can I do?”
“Flirt with Ed. Make him forget all the bad in the world.”
“Molly! I’m not doing that.”
“Calm down. I was just joking.”
I heard Lizzie relax down the line. “Okay. Well, if you get stuck let me know.”
“You’ll talk to Ed?” I asked, surprised.
“Of course I’ll talk to him, but I’ll get Danny to do all the flirting.”
“Hahahahaha. Danny will love that!”
Lizzie giggled, before changing the subject. “We need to catch up tomorrow. There’s been a few changes to your diary, and I want to run it all past you.”
“Not a problem.” Relieved that I’d completed my reversing maneuver without smashing the back of Matt’s car into the wall, I slowly made my way around the building towards the visitor’s park.
“Give me a call when Matt gets home so I know you’re all safe.”
“Will do.”
Ending the call, I unclicked Harper’s belt and allowed him to be the first out the door. He ran straight to his favorite spot of grass without even waiting for me to follow him.
I felt his pain as I still hadn’t visited the bathroom and my bladder was complaining with every step I took. Searching my handbag, I found the key I needed to get in after-hours readying myself for a fast trip upstairs.
It was rare for me to use this entrance and I noted how overgrown the trees were, creating eerie shadows on the cement as they swayed in the light of the moon. The shrubs rustled and a mouse scurried across my path. I shivered and tightened my sweater around my body, willing Harper to hurry up, as once I reached that door, I did not want to have to wait around.
The night shrouded me and a chill ran all the way to my toes as a crackle of leaves caused me to jump.
Checking over my shoulder, I saw a shadow disappearing around the building.
“Harper! Is that you? Come on boy.”
Gripping my keys so tight it hurt, I quickened my pace as footsteps trailed behind me.
Someone was there. And the goose bumps dancing down my arms told me they were following me.
I spun around, straining my eyes in the darkness hoping to get a glimpse of who it was but only shadows laughed back at me.
“Harper. Hurry up!” I shook my head to clear any negative thoughts and figured pregnancy was playing tricks on my mind. It did things like that, didn’t it? I made a mental note to ask Lara about it and hotfooted to the door, willing Harper to get there before I did so.
I hated standing in the dark waiting for him. Every sound made me jump, every shadow shot fear to my heart, but as I heard his woof a sigh of relief left my lips.
I gave a shaky laugh and spun only to see a huge shadow looming overhead as something heavy smashed into my skull. The world darkened until it closed in on me, my mind racing over my babies, and Harper and what was about to happen. Only I had no control over any of it as the shadows faded to black.
Chapter Nineteen
My head throbbed and the disgusting smell of manure hit me hard.
My eyelashes fluttered open, the blast of light flashing my retinas and a shooting pain hit my already pounding head.
“Argh!”
“Oh look, she’s waking up.” The tinny female voice sounded familiar, but not in a good way. “Does it hurt?” She prodded my skull as she spoke. The tinkle of her charm bracelet sounded a hundred times louder than it actually was and I had to fight the urge to throw up.
Despite the pain, I forced my eyes open and winced. Swatting at her, I slapped her hand away and looked up into the face of Matt’s stalker, the woman in the green wagon.
“What?” I moaned. “What have you done to me?”
“Well, I hit you.”
“Too damned hard,” another female voice boomed.
This voice was deeper, older and one I instantly recognized.
“Adele?”
“Well at least I didn’t kill her,” the stalker snarled.
“Adele, what’s going on?” I went to rub my eyes but found my hands were bound to the chair I was on.
“You got a bit too nosy,” she explained. Her boots stomped against the cement floor, and as she came in closer, I could make out the dark rings under her eyes, her hair messy like she’d just gotten out of bed.
“I don’t understand. Where am I? What am I doing here?”
Dust played in the dim overhead light as the pungent aroma of grease and fuel clogged my sinuses. The tin walls caused their voices to echo around me, and I noted the mower pushed into a far corner, bags of fertilizer stacked alongside it. Watering cans and hoses competed for space with the garden tools and a bottle of weed killer swung from stalker lady’s hand.
“Am I in your garden shed?” I asked, as fear shot through my heart at lightning speed. My stomach twinged and fear for my babies skyrocketed.
“Don’t be stupid. I wouldn’t bring you to my own house,” snapped Adele. “No. This shed belongs to that sweet little barista friend of yours.”
The pain in my head heightened, my lips trembled, and confusion muddled my mind.
“Are you talking about Tom, from Café by the River?”
“Yes. That’s him over there.”
I looked over my shoulder and screamed. Tom was curled up unconscious on the hard floor, blood pouring from a wound on his temple, his mouth bound.
“Tom!” I yelled.
“I told you this was the right plan,” said stalker lady, dropping the bottle near the mower.
“Yes Brooke. You were right. I’m very happy that I went to all that trouble and found you to do my dirty work. Your plan to blame all this on the little love interest is genius.”
Brooke giggled. “I told you I was worth the money.” She moved to Tom, kicking him with her toe. “When I learned about his crush on Molly, I just knew he was the scapegoat we needed.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, my heart rate settling slightly when I noticed Tom was breathing.
“He’s in love with you and wants to break you and Matt up by making it look like he’s having an affair. Well that’s the story we’re spinning anyway.”
“No one would believe that,” I spat, knowing I had lost my trust in Matt for a moment there.
“As if,” scoffed Brooke. “I’m not the only one who’s seen Tom all googly eyed staring at you. So, when we needed to switch to plan B, I put the pieces of the puzzle into play.” She giggled. “I sent the messages and the photos of Matt with that woman, and staged his bedroom to look like she’d been there.”
“But why?”
“So, when this is all over and we kill you all, everyone will believe that it’s a love triangle gone wrong. Great plan, right?”
“One that wouldn’t have been needed if you’d kept out of things that didn’t concern you.” Adele death-stared me as she moved to stand next to Brooke.