Page 45 of The Stranger

“Grr-ugh.” I hear the noise from behind me and spin just in time to see Tony collapse on the ground, the red line on his neck dripping the way Ernest’s had.

Lori turns back to me without giving him a second look.

“Run,” Walker begs. “Please, Tibby. Please go.” He squeezes my hand, then drops it, shoving me away with what little strength he has. “You have to leave me. Now.”

I’m barely listening to him. I push myself to my feet, staring at Lori in disbelief. “You killed him. You killed your husband. What kind of monster are you?”

She scoffs. “Come on, girlie. Try to keep up, will you? He’s clearly not my husband. Did you really think I’d be married to someone like that? Please. Give me some credit. He’s just some nobody I picked up and thought I could use for a while.” She nods, swiping the knife in the snow with an evil grin. Everything about her has changed, like the flipping of a switch. No longer is she the sweet, innocent woman who called me terms of endearment, claimed to miss her daughter, and warned us to bundle up. Now, she’s a monster. Empty yet filled with darkness. Everything from the way she walks to the tone of her voice has changed. “Kind of like you were for lover boy over there. And, hm, guess who’s next?” She taps her finger on her chin, then her eyes widen with a wicked smile. “I’ll bet you know.”

“Just like you killed those kids?” I go on, testing a theory I’m nearly sure is right. “The couple whose car you’re driving?”

She smiles. A confirmation if I’ve ever seen one.

“And Ernest?”

A wrinkle of confusion forms on her forehead. “Ernest? The manager?”

I nod.

The wrinkle disappears. “Ah, yes. Well, he saw his grandson’s car being driven by someone who was not his grandson.” She shrugs. “He asked too many questions. Left me no choice. He should’ve been more like that wife of his. Quiet. He would’ve been fine, then. He was in our room fixing the television when he saw the car, and he wouldn’t let it go. I followed him to the lobby to shut him up while Tony took a shower.”

I suck in a shallow breath. “The car… The boy that went missing, the boy whose car you have…was his grandson?” The bitter reality sets in. Someone out there will soon learn they’ve lost their son and father in one day.

She clicks her tongue, twirling the knife around haphazardly. “He didn’t have to die. And, quite frankly, neither did either of you.”

“Why did you kill the kids?” I take slow steps backward, maintaining the distance between us as she moves in my direction.

She shrugs one shoulder. “I needed a car.”

“Why?” I can’t breathe. Can’t think. My mind feels like it’s turned to ice right along with the snow beneath my feet.

She sneers, shaking her head. “You’re asking too many questions, just like Ernest. Just like Tony. You saw what that got them.”

I take another step back, my feet shuffling in the snow. She’s right there with me. For every step I take, she takes two. Soon, she’ll have caught up, and I’ll be here, defenseless and weak for the second time in one night. The difference being that while Craig would only yell and threaten, Lori will actually kill me.

“There was only supposed to be one person dead tonight. A worthless cheater. He thought I was weak. All my life, people have underestimated me, and all my life, I’ve proven them wrong. Time after time, person after person. I’m sorry, Tabby.” She says my name wrong with a sneer that tells me it was clearly on purpose. “You weren’t supposed to be here. You or your boyfriend. But this is the path you chose.”

“What are you talking about? We didn’t choose anything! You slashed our tires and left us no choice. You’re the reason we’re here. You had to have planned it all. You knew we’d need to leave and have no way to go anywhere without you.”

She shakes her head. “Oh, you sweet, dumb girl. I didn’t slash your tires.”

“What are you talking about? Of course you did.”

Her brows draw together. “Really? I’ve told you everything else I’ve done. Why would I lie about something as stupid as that? I didn’t slash your tires. I had no reason to want you to travel with us. In fact, it was better for me if you stayed there at the motel. With the dead man in your room, no one would’ve been looking for me.”

I let her words wash over me. “But…if you didn’t do it…”

She waves the knife in Walker’s direction, answering the question I can’t bring myself to ask. “Narrow down your options, girlie. I managed to figure out this puzzle ages ago.”

“Walker? He wouldn’t.”

She smirks, but doesn’t argue.

“No. Why would he?” I glance over and find him staring at me from where he remains on the ground.

He blinks slowly.

“You didn’t…”

---