When Kaely came to, she realized she was tied to a chair. She squirmed, trying to find a more comfortable position, but she couldn’t. She looked around. She was in an old room, paint peeling from walls covered with faded clippings that seemed to be cut from newspapers. She realized most of them were articles about her father. Photos of his victims, newspaper columns devoted to Des Moines’s Raggedy Man. A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, right over her head. Although the spot where she sat was illuminated, the rest of the room was black. It was so dark she couldn’t tell how large the room was or if she was alone.
A musty odor permeated almost everything. It was overpowering. She twisted around as far as she could, but it didn’t help. Her gun was gone. So was her phone. She had no way to call for help. No way to defend herself. There was only one person who could rescue her. Where was he? He’d promised to call for backup. Where was it?
Across the room, she heard a door open. It squeaked loudly, but she couldn’t see who entered the room. Of course, she didn’t need to. She knew who it was.
When he entered the circle of light, she almost didn’t recognize him. His expression was so different. Filled with such anger and hate.
“Where are we?” she asked.
His expression went slack. “You don’t look surprised to see me.” The disappointment in his voice was obvious, and it made Kaely’s stomach turn over. The man who stood in front of her wasn’t the man she thought she knew. He was someone else. Someone who hated her.
“I’m not. I knew it was you.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“Fine. Whatever you want to believe.”
“If you knew it was me, you wouldn’t have come alone.”
“I didn’t.”
He laughed as if her comment was the funniest thing he’d ever heard. “Actually, you are. Even if someone saw the address I sent you, they wouldn’t know where you are now. I moved you.”
Fear grabbed Kaely by the throat and shook her. She felt a spike of adrenaline—the instinctive fight-or-flight reflex. Was he telling the truth? Had she lost the only person who could help her? “You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not. And you know that.” He gazed at her through hooded eyelids. “How could you possibly know it was me?”
“You made a mistake.”
His face twisted with anger. “No, I didn’t. I haven’t made any mistakes. Not one.”
“I told you that Alex was the killer’s targer, but I never mentioned the second letter sent to the newspaper. It hasn’t been printed yet. There’s no way you could have known unless you wrote it.”
It was obvious Richard was running their conversation over in his mind. Suddenly, his eyes widened. “You’re right. What have you done?”
“I called someone. Asked him to follow me. He should be here any moment.”
Richard walked out of the light and back into the darkness. Kaely heard a scraping sound. He pulled another chair with him. He positioned it a couple of feet away and sat down. “I hate to disappoint you, but we weren’t followed. We were only at the warehouse for a minute or two. When we left, there was no one behind us. They must have lost us in the rain. You’re totally alone.”
Kaely didn’t want to believe him, but she could tell by his direct gaze and the way he leaned in that he was telling the truth. At least as he knew it. Of course, he’d been lying to her for a while and she hadn’t caught it. Probably because she wasn’t looking. She’d trusted him for so long, it hadn’t occurred to her to look for signs of deceit. They were probably there. She’d been sloppy. Let down her guard. Now she was going to pay for it.
“I assume you have questions?”
She nodded. “Did you ever love me?” She hated the vulnerability she heard in her voice, but she couldn’t help it. Richard and Alex were the only people she’d fully trusted. How could she have been so wrong?
For just a moment, Kaely thought she saw something flicker in Richard’s eyes. Regret? Compassion? But as soon as it came, whatever it was disappeared.
“Yes, I cared for you. For you and Jason.”
“So what happened?”
He snorted and rolled his eyes. “You mean what was the trigger?”
She nodded. “It’s been twenty years. Why would you do this now?”
He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a couple of envelopes. “You remember what I told you about Bella’s sister? About the letters her daughter gave me?”
“You’re talking about Doreen? Yeah, I remember.”
“I was going through the letters Bella sent to her. And I found . . . these.” Richard’s voice shook, and the rage in his features turned to grief. “Let me read you a section.” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “I don’t know what to do, Doreen. Ed and I were together at his house and Jessie came home early from school. Ed made up some story about why we were in his bedroom, but I don’t know if she believed us.” Richard glared at Kaely. “You knew Bella had an affair with your father?”
Kaely’s mouth dropped open. “No! I . . . I don’t believe it.”
Richard leaned in and slapped Kaely across the face. She cried out in surprise and pain. Her reaction seemed to only fuel his anger. “You knew. You should have told someone. Told your mother. Put an end to it.”
“I didn’t know, I swear.” Kaely tried to think back, to recall the incident Bella referred to. A long-forgotten memory sparked in her mind. “Wait a minute. I do remember something. I was sick at school. I called my mom, but she couldn’t leave work. Then I phoned my dad, but he didn’t answer. I finally called our neighbor, and she picked me up and drove me home. I came in the door and went to the kitchen to get something to drink. A couple of minutes later, my dad and Bella came down the hall. I had no idea where they’d been.” She grimaced as she tried to pull up the rest of the buried memory. “I . . . I think my dad told me Bella came over to borrow something, but I can’t remember what it was. I wasn’t really paying attention. I had the flu. The thought that they were having an affair never entered my mind. Never.”
“You’re the smartest person I’ve ever known,” Richard said, “and you want me to believe you didn’t know about your father and Bella? You also had no clue your father was a serial killer? Either you’re incredibly stupid or you’re a liar. And you’re not stupid.”
“Richard, I was twelve the day I saw Bella and my dad together. And fourteen when he was arrested. I was a child. Children don’t automatically assume people are cheating on their spouses . . . or that their father is a coldhearted, twisted murderer!” Kaely could hear the panic in her voice, but she recognized that Richard was detached from reality. He wouldn’t hesitate to mete out some kind of delusional justice unless she could change his mind.
Richard’s eyes were dark and emotionless. He put down the letter he’d just read and opened the other envelope. “Bella wrote this four days before she died.” His fingers trembled as he held the letter. “I can’t take it, Doreen. How could I have cheated on Richard with someone like Ed Oliphant? He’s evil. Vile. How could I have allowed him to touch me? I feel defiled. Dark inside. There’s no place left for me in this world. I don’t belong anymore. I will never be able to face Richard again. Or look at myself in the mirror. I have no idea why Ed didn’t kill me too. He should have. Maybe he did.”
Kaely gasped. “You said Bella died of a heart attack.”
“She had a bad heart, but she overdosed on Valium and alcohol. On purpose. Her heart couldn’t take the reality of who your father really was. And what he did to her.”
“Bella killed herself?” Even in the bizarre situation she found herself in, Kaely’s eyes filled with tears. Bella had always been kind to her, and Kaely had loved her. Her show of emotion seemed to only stoke Richard’s rage. For a moment, Kaely thought he was going to strike her again.
“Don’t pretend you care,” he growled.
“I do care, Richard. About Bella and about you. You’re hurt and angry. In shock. But I didn’t cause any of this. I wish I’d been aware of what was going on. Maybe you’re right. Maybe I could have stopped it. But I didn’t do it on purpose.”
“You’re lying,” he snarled, “and I’m going to prove it.”
“How in the world can you prove something like that?” Kaely asked, frustration overtaking her. “You can’t get into my head. You have to believe what I’m telling you.”
“No, I don’t. You see, I’m going to make you face the truth you’ve been running from for years.”
“And how do you intend to do that?” Kaely’s eyes kept darting toward the door. Where was Alex? She needed him now.
Richard reached into another pocket inside his jacket. This time he pulled out a small plastic box. Kaely watched as he opened it and removed a syringe.
“What’s that?” Kaely asked, fear clutching at her chest.
“Lysergic acid diethylamide,” he said, a slow smile spreading across his face.
“LSD?” The tension in Kaely’s chest grew stronger until she wasn’t sure she could catch her breath. “No,” she whispered with effort. “Don’t, Richard. Please.”
“Don’t, Richard. Please,” he repeated in a singsong voice. He leaned close to her, a few inches from her face. “We’re going to visit your nightmare, Jessica. I’m going to prove you knew the truth all along. Maybe your mind is trying to hide it from you, but you knew. All you had to do was tell someone. People are dead because of you. Bella is dead because of you.”
Richard held up the syringe. He tapped the needle, and a small squirt of clear liquid bubbled over. Then he turned it around and plunged it into Kaely’s upper arm, completely ignoring her screams.