Page 54 of One Last Secret

“You’re lying,” Lisa says.

“No. I’m not. I was in your apartment earlier. I heard you and Marcus talking, and I followed you here. I called the police. They’ll be here any minute.”

It’s not exactly the truth, but I need them to think they’re in danger. It seems to work. Lisa pales a shade further and says, “Marcus, lock the door.”

Evelyn cries out and rushes for the door. Lisa catches her, and with a snarl, throws her against the kitchen counter. The back of Evelyn’s head hits the counter, and she collapses to the floor. I cry out and stare at her in horror as Marcus locks the door.

Lisa points a finger at me and hisses. “This is your fault! You meddling… Why were you in my apartment?”

“I needed to know,” I tell her, still shocked by the violence I’ve just witnessed. “I needed to know what happened.”

“How did you guess that I was… how did…”

She presses her lips together and doesn’t finish her question. I reply anyway. “I didn’t know. I thought you and Victor might have been conspiring together to flee the country. I thought you might be lovers.”

Marcus chuckles at that, but his smile fades when Lisa doesn’t laugh. Her lip trembles slightly, but then she gets controlof herself. “We might have been. But I was never pretty enough for Victor. First there was that blonde girl Elias shacked up with, then there was Julia. Both pretty, stupid and submissive. Just like Victor likes. Never mind that I’m the only reason he’s not selling caricatures on a boardwalk in Venice and living in a porta-potty.”

I should be focused on the imminent danger I’m facing, but my curiosity overwhelms me. “Who was that blonde girl?” I ask. “The one Elias Blackwood was living with. Did she ever give you her name?”

Lisa laughs. “I don’t remember. God, that was thirty years ago. Besides, she was Elias’s squeeze, not Victor’s. He just thought she was pretty.”

When I realize I’ll learn nothing more about Annie from her, reason reasserts itself. I need to keep them talking. I need to keep them here and keep myself alive until the police arrive. “So you’re angry at Victor for never returning your affection?”

"Oh, please. I got over him twenty years ago. Artists are irresistible to girls because they're soft and sensitive, and they worship beauty the way addicts worship needles. Then, we grow up to be women and realize that men become artists when they don't have the maturity or the emotional stability to be anything else. I'll make money off of them, but I would never marry one."

“So you two are together now?” I ask.

This time, Marcus laughs. “Hell no. She’s fifteen years older than me.”

Lisa gives him a venomous look. It might behoove Marcus to remember who he’s dealing with. Then again, he’s no better than she is. In a way, they’re perfect for each other.

“You can’t actually believe you’ll get away with this. Do you think those paintings will sell enough to pay Rizzo.”

Lisa flinches at the mention of his name. “God, you really were at my apartment. What the hell… you’re my age! What are you doing snooping around trying to solve mysteries?”

“I’m trying to find justice for an innocent girl whose father was taken from her because of the selfishness of a woman who thinks the man who jilted her owes her a rescue from her own poor decisions.”

Lisa flinches again. Her face turns ugly. “Marcus, kill her.”

I pale, but Marcus doesn’t move. He looks at Lisa and says, “Really? Shouldn’t we just leave? I mean, you already killed the maid. We’re getting into this really deep.”

“She’s the only other person who knows about the plan,” he reminds her. “Kill her, and there will be no one to tell on us.”

“The police know too,” I reminded her. “I sent them evidence.”

“I don’t believe you. If you’d sent anything, they’d be here right now.”

Marcus still hesitates, so Lisa says, “Oh for God’s sake. Whatever happened to the men of the world? Fine.I’llkill her.”

She stalks into the kitchen and pulls a knife from the block on the counter. I cry out and rush toward the stairwell, but Marcus is over his hesitation now. He grabs me and throws me back onto the ground. I get to my feet and see both of them stalking towards me, blocking both the stairwell and the front door.

I run back into the living room, narrowly avoiding a grab from Marcus. They move toward me, trying to cut me off again. Marcus heads inward, away from the staircase, while Lisa stalks me like a cat, heading straight forward.

I wait for my moment, then feint toward Lisa. She stabs at me, and I grab her wrist, then shove with my other hand. She stumbles, and I rush for the front door.

I make it two steps when I feel lightning strike my left leg. I shriek and turn around to see Lisa drawing her knife backfor another swing. Marcus barrels around her toward me. On instinct, I grab the bannister and pull myself up the stairs.

Tears stream down my face as I run up the stairs. For Heaven’s sake, where are the police? What could be taking them so long?

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