CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Daylight faded, and a soft drizzle fell as Didi left the restaurant and started toward home. The Thai food had been superb, the atmosphere convivial, and all of the ladies had enjoyed a fun night out. Her mom had loved her violet-colored necklace and the book on orchids Didi had given her, and everyone had been all smiles when the group finally broke up. She glanced at her watch. The party had lasted longer than she’d expected. It was getting late, and there were more brownies to bake.

Didi couldn’t believe she’d forgotten to bring over the ingredients for the chocolate fudge icing, but then again, after the emotional day she’d had, she wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d forgotten her own name. It would only take a minute to run up to her apartment and grab the missing items. She’d be back at her mother’s house in fifteen minutes, pop the first batch in the oven, and whip up a second batch in a jiffy. Since it wasn’t quite dark yet, she’d be safe enough, but she wanted to be off the road by nightfall.

A full moon was rising as she neared home. Frayed nerves jumping, she drove around the block three times, searching for any sign of Kevin. Nada. The tension lodged between her shoulder blades eased. Mom’s house was only a few miles away, and the predicted gully-washer wasn’t scheduled to begin for another hour or two. She drove down the alley for the fourth time, swerved into her driveway, and parked.

Didi glanced to the right and grinned at the plush stuffed animal sitting in the passenger seat. When Jake had picked her up this afternoon, he’d given her a present. The gift was for Maisie, but that made it all the more special. To love Didi was to love her cat.

He’d explained that Lucy’s favorite catnip toy was a spotted purple cow with silly, elongated legs. The Siamese would carry her toy from room to room, moaning piteously with a mouth full of cow. Didi had laughed when Jake had relayed the story of how he often found the toy on his pillow or in his shoe. He thought it was Lucy’s way of leaving him a gift, and he’d pat her furry head and tell her what a good girl she was. She had other toys, but the cow daily traveled around the house.

When Jake had gotten up that morning, he’d found Lucy’s plaything submerged in the toilet, distressed cat squinting sullenly at the offending commode. A trip to the pet supply store for a new one had been in order, and while he was there, he’d picked up a second cow in hot pink for Maisie. The miniature bovine had been hidden in his vehicle’s glove compartment, and he’d even tied a bow around the cow’s neck. The gift for Maisie was a thoughtful, sweet gesture and had struck precisely the right chord. He’d been thinking about her, and Didi had given him a big kiss for his trouble.

She bounded up the stairs but didn’t quite make it to the front door before the heavens opened, and fat raindrops pelted her head. Drat. The weatherman had been off by a few hours. She wrestled with the door locks, working fast, shivering as the cold rain skated down her back. For the hundredth time this spring, Didi wished her duplex had been graced with a covered porch.

Inside, she squished a bit as she walked to the kitchen pantry. Rooting around the shelves, she sorted through cans and boxes until she found two bags of chocolate chips and an extra box of powdered sugar. She shoved the items into a plastic grocery bag and raced for the door. As she reached for the knob, she stopped and turned on her heel. She could spare one more minute and loped to her bedroom to check her messages. From the darkened doorway, she could barely make out the answering machine. Squinting, she stared at the ruby red number. An icy shudder chilled her to the marrow.

She’d been gone less than two hours. Eleven messages awaited her. Trembling, she didn’t bother to listen. She knew who they were from.

As she turned to leave, something caught her attention on the other side of the room. She switched on the light to get a clearer view and gasped. On the dresser stood a crystal vase bursting with white lilies. Without a doubt, they were the very lilies she’d flung in the trash. She should have stuffed the vile posies down the garbage disposal.

Next to the hateful flowers sat Kevin’s picture. The grinning headshot stared at her—mocking her, taunting her. To her absolute horror, the photo of Maisie spilled out of the wastebasket by the bed, ripped to shreds.

Her chest heaved, breath coming in snatches. I have to get out of here, but where can I go that’ll be safe? Jake’s house was too far. If she called him, it would take too long for him to get here. Longing for shelter and protection, Didi thought of Greenridge Hills, her mom’s comfortable, cozy neighborhood with the stone walls, the strong iron gates, and the smiling, pudgy security guards. On second thought, she nixed the idea. She couldn’t put her mom or her neighbors in danger.

Instead, she’d drive to the police station and tell them her story. She was sure they’d let her camp out all night. She would find sanctuary while they took care of Kevin. She’d be safe. Maybe she’d stay there. Forever.

She was sure of one thing. I have to leave now. I can’t stay here another second. Clattering through the house in drippy heels, she flew out the front door, slamming it hard behind her. Sprinting to the car, she hopped into the seat, turned her key in the ignition, and…nothing. She froze. Staring at the dash, she gave it another try. Again, nothing.

Shaking, Didi battled to concentrate. Hyperventilating, she did her best to calm her shredded nerves. This was not the time to panic.

A still, small voice inside her whispered the answer. Of course. How ridiculous. She had only to depress the clutch for the car to start. Next time she bought a car, she’d spring for an automatic.

Racing the engine, Didi checked her mirror and backed up into the alley. The rain fell down in sheets. The wipers slapped at maximum speed—thump, thump, back and forth, back and forth. Visibility was nonexistent, and she crawled along the familiar streets, her car pushed sideways by the whipping wind. She strove to see through the cracked, streaked windshield and grappled to stay between the lines. Thankfully, no one else was on the road either in front or behind her. No one else on earth would be foolish enough to go out in this storm. She made it to the square and turned toward the police station on the other side of town.

Didi was halfway to her destination when she caught the glint of headlights in the rearview mirror. Maybe it was a trick of the light from the street lamps. Maybe she was seeing things. Maybe she was too keyed up and her mind was playing tricks on her. Or maybe…a glossy black sports car followed her, tailing her every move. And maybe the driver was Kevin.

Dread flooded her senses. Wrenching the steering wheel, she turned right at the next street. So did the car behind her, and now she was sure. She sped up and made another right. The polished black sports car followed suit.

Maybe now was a good time to panic. Despite the hammering rain, she tore through the streets of Airy Ridge, hydroplaning on the watery pavement, trying her best to lose him. She imagined him smirking at her as he kept up with ease, and the thought both angered and frightened her. An Italian sports car beat a compact car every time.

She’d never make it to the police station. Her fevered brain came up with a new plan.

Leaving the side streets, she made a quick left, a hard right, and a headlong dash toward the woods at the edge of town. Now that she’d gone this far, there was no turning back. Didi veered left down Deer Hollow Road. She had no other option.

She hoped with all her heart Kevin wouldn’t risk getting his precious car dinged and defiled on the steep, slick gravel road, but to her dismay, he followed ever closer. A jagged streak of lightning strobed through the sky, and Didi glimpsed his grinning face in the mirror. The man Didi had once thought she loved was enjoying the chase.

She was going way too fast, but she didn’t have a choice. Didi hit the gas and sped on. Sliding down the steep hill, she steered the car as if her life depended on it, slamming into ruts, dips, and potholes. She narrowly missed the ditch on the right side of the road, swerved around the ancient oak on the left, and kept moving.

As she rounded the next curve in the road, she lost control of the car and sideswiped a giant walnut tree, crumpling the driver’s side door. Still, she kept going. For a split second, the Italian job seemed to slow, but it was only an illusion. Instead, at the end of the bend, Kevin was right on her bumper, inching closer, closer, closer. He flashed his lights and honked his horn as if this were all a joke. Keeping up the pressure, Kevin sped up and slowed down, teasing her, thrusting and lunging, fencing with her but never quite hitting her. Frightened out of her mind, Didi punched the gas pedal, the car nearly flying over a rise. On the other side of the hill, the old compact car slipped down the incline, slithering straight toward the swollen stream.

Didi shrieked in terror. The one-lane bridge was out. She had nowhere to go but down.

“Lord Jesus, help me!” She stamped hard on the brake. The little red car spun on its wheels, wet rocks skittering beneath her as she continued her relentless roller-coaster ride toward the creek.

The car slipped sideways on the muddy mess of a road, skating to the left until it came to an abrupt halt. Amazingly, the front bumper caught on the low branches of an old willow tree, the roots like woody fingers holding both car and riverbank in its grip. Thank God for the tree. Torrents of river water lapped at the tires, but the car held tight. With the front of her car facing upstream and one rear wheel resting on the ledge where the bridge used to be, Didi cringed at the sight of the raging creek rushing past. Chest heaving, she held the steering wheel in an iron grip, afraid to move a muscle.

The battered car shuddered and shifted slightly, the weight of the vehicle threatening to collapse the sodden bank of the stream. In the heavy, driving rain, with the passenger-side wheels barely resting on the edge of the bank, Didi unclasped her seatbelt and reached for her door handle.

She had to get out. There was no time to lose.

Didi pounded on the handle, shoving frantically, but the dented door refused to budge. The side of the car was more damaged than she’d thought. The only way out was through the window, but it would only drop a few inches.

Shuddering, she glanced up to see lights shining in her eyes. Headlights.

She strained for a glimpse of his face through the twin high beams. Lifting her head high, she sighted the man who’d killed her dreams. Was he intent on killing her?

Kevin revved the high-powered engine, rocking his car ominously. Didi prayed as she had never prayed before.

Then Kevin did a strange thing. He abandoned the rocking motion and wrenched the sports car out of gear. Slowly, he opened his door and slithered toward her. Didi swallowed the bitter tang of bile that rose in her throat.

Her nemesis opened his mouth to speak, shaking his head ruefully. “You shouldn’t have run, Didi. Now look what you’ve made me do.” He had the audacity to shake his head, seemingly regretful. “We could have been happy together.”

With a strength born of terror, using her shoulder, Didi pushed on the car door until it creaked open a crack. She shoved with all her might. The door groaned, metal grating on metal, until at long last, it opened another couple of inches. Didi could smell freedom. “Help me!” she screamed.

In answer, Kevin sneered, shook his head once more, turned on his heel, and strolled away through the rain. He slid behind the wheel of his flashy, mud-spattered car and closed the door with a soft thunk. Wheeling his precious vehicle around, he headed back up the hill, fishtailing through the muck. He’d left her there to save herself—or die.

Totally on her own now, she might have made it if she’d been given a little more time. A wall of white water, sludge, and debris slammed against the vehicle, sucking the car into the powerful current. Didi’s car rode the wave, bobbing on the crest of the swell, dipping, turning, whirling crazily.

An ear-splitting crack echoed in the night, and a massive white pine fell with a crash into the water. Moving fast, trunk as thick as an anaconda, the tree raced straight toward Didi. The little red car, in midstream now, didn’t have a chance. With the force of a wrecking ball, the sharp spear of wood sliced through the coupe’s damaged windshield, front to back, shattering the cracked, fragile glass.

Muddy water lashed the car, soaking Didi’s lap, rising quickly. The tree trunk missed her body by inches. Dead branches smacked into her shoulder and grazed her scalp. Pinned to the car seat, she couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. With half-closed eyes, she stared as her purse opened, scattering her phone and wallet to the floorboards.

Still, the water rose.

The water swirled around her neck and roared in her ears. She gazed in fascination as the pink catnip cow floated through the flotsam, gliding out into the cold, merciless water.

As she faded from consciousness, her last thought was of Jake. Sweet Jake. She wished they’d had more time.