Page 25 (1/2)

Aht now"

"It’s ihed "Hold on"

The clank of dishes in the background faded, a door squeaked, and when Amanda spoke, her voice had a hollow echo "Okay I’ripped the phone hard and kept her tone even, calm, and steady out of a sheer force of will "Everett’s dead"

"Oh, God Isabelle, I’m so sorry I know you and he were friends"

Isabelle blinked back tears and sed to loosen up her throat "He was a sweetto miss him"

"What can I do?" asked A?"

"I need to know you’re safe Coether, and you’ll have built-in babysitting anytime you want it"

"I can’t uproot Rachel like that You know I can’t She’s too fragile right now"

"I knoould be hard on her, but she’d be a lot safer here with hbor’s kid"

"How aet around? You don’t have any bus stops in your neighborhood, and my car only works about half the time"

"I’ll drive you to work" Isabelle still had to deal with her insurance coet a rental or so in the meantime

"You have to work, too"

"I’m sure Grant would help," offered Isabelle out of desperation "We’ll make it work sooing on? What aren’t you telling me?"

Isabelle knew she wasn’t supposed to say anything; she just didn’t care Amanda and Rachel’s safety was more i people in the same order they went to live with Lavine You’re next after Everett And now he’s gone"

"Holy shit! You’re serious about all this, aren’t you?"

"Co up a security system here He’ll make sure we’re safe until they find the killer"

"Are you kiddingthe water to draw a shark No "

Isabelle hadn’t thought about it like that, but ether, we can protect each other The police can concentrate theired with relief and felt the sting of grateful tears prick at her eyes Aoing?"

Ao see her"

"Are you sure it’ll be safe there?"

"Safer than here I’ll lose my jobs, but I suppose there are alwaysjobs where these came from"

"If you need money, I can help I don’t have a lot, but I’ll do what I can"

"I may have to take you up on that, but not yet"

"When will you leave?"

"I’ht now We’ll be on our way out of toithin an hour Assu oing, but call et there so I know you’re safe"

"I will Gotta run"

Aed on the headboard, barely able toof relief that pulled at her They were leaving town They’d be safe

Of course, Everett had been on his way out of tohen he’d been killed

Isabelle wasn’t taking any chances She found Officer Brooks’s card and dialed the nued to get hiree to keep an eye on Amanda as she headed out of toith Rachel

Now all she could do ait and pray they’d be safe while she figured out how to do the saed enough, Keith would give in and come stay with her for a few days, just until this was all over

Keith entered Ah the back door The lock took him all of thirty seconds to bypass and he slipped in quietly, unheard

The TV was droning on in the living rooht flickered over the worn tile floor The place was aout of the baskets in front of the washer Mail sat unopened on the kitchen table in sloppy stacks

A, hard hours He knew that, but it didn’t excuse the hter to live in

Keith shook his head Such horrible living conditions were a sign of just how ether enough to keep the dishes done

Of all the people Keith had helped, he was certain that Arateful one She would understand what he was trying to do She would welcolance at the teenager lying on the couch told him that Rachel’s babysitter was still here, sound asleep

He slipped by silently and went up the stairs to Rachel’s bedroom The door was cracked open, and he saw that she’d kicked the covers off She was curled into a tight ball, as if cold, so Keith eased the door open and went inside

Her walls were plastered with crayon drawings depicting a life that didn’t exist Her house was drawn as a bright, happy yellow instead of the dingy gray it really was, and overhead, a sun shone, wearing a smiley face