Murder List

Chapter Forty-eight

Eric reached the path and stopped. Where was she? Which way had she gone? He tilted his head and listened, but he didn’t hear a sound. She had vanished.

His disappointment was severe. She had turned the chase into a game of hide-and-seek. He couldn’t hear her, but in the distance someone was shouting her name, and whoever he was, Gage thought he was getting closer.

Gage knew he had to hurry. He didn’t have time for this silly game. She was being foolish. She had to know he was going to find her and kill her. Why was she fighting the inevitable?

He could feel his anger gathering inside him, and with it came a tremendous sadness, for he knew that when he did find her, he would be in a rage, and she would suffer his wrath before she drew her last breath. If she didn’t show herself soon, there wouldn’t even be time for him to explain, to help her understand why she had to die.

He realized then he’d made a mistake. He should have killed her right away. He shouldn’t have let her run. But he’d wanted her to feel that she had some say in her fate. His Nina hadn’t known what was coming. She’d been asleep, curled up in a little ball in the passenger seat, using her jacket for a pillow against the window, oblivious of what was happening. The truck flipping and rolling, the cab sliding down the center of the highway with fiery sparks shooting out on both sides like electrified cables, coming closer and closer. It had all happened in an instant, but in his mind’s eye, it had taken an eternity to strike… and destroy their lives forever.

Another shout came from behind, jarring him. He realized then that the sound was fainter than before.

Gage thought he heard the crunch of gravel underfoot. The sound was coming from up the path, and he bolted in that direction. He rounded the curve and stopped. He recognized where he was now. Full circle, he thought. She’d taken him back to the very spot where she had stood when he’d first fired at her. Yes, she’d stood right there next to that old tree.

He had watched her stare down into the ravine, the palms of her hands flat on top of the stone as she leaned over. She’d looked across the ravine… and then she’d found him, waiting so patiently for her to look up and see him standing between the trees. Oh, yes, this was the very same spot.

But where was Regan hiding? He stood perfectly still and listened. He couldn’t hear her. He turned around and looked behind him? Nothing there. Ah… there it was. A hint. He could hear what sounded like rocks cascading down the ravine.

She’d jumped over the wall and was hiding down below. Clever girl, he thought, but not too clever. He rushed to the wall and looked over. Small stones were skipping over the larger ones. She was down there all right, but where?

He thought he saw something move to the right behind some dead, rotting branches. His reaction was instantaneous. He fired twice, hoping to hit her or spook her into showing herself.

The blast from the gunshots reverberated through the trees, and more rocks showered down the incline. He knew the police had heard the noise and would be closing in on him. It was too late to do anything about that now.

He heard someone shout her name again, knew someone was coming. Gage leaned against the wall, turned, and aimed. Then he waited.