Page 54 of One Last Whisper

“How? She can keep me here as long as she wants. She’s only waiting for a storm so she can get rid of me when no one’s looking.”

“But peoplearelooking, Mary. Sean will be here soon. He’ll know something’s wrong when you don’t answer your phone.”

“Yes, but it could be too late, then. And Theresa… she’s different, Annie. She’s not like the others. She’s cunning. She’s a true killer. She’ll find a way to outsmart him.”

“Such little faith in the love of your life,” she chides. “Sean is a true detective. He’ll find you. And he’ll find a way to bring you to justice. You really don’t know him as well as you think you do.”

“But…”

“Enough,” she barks. “I’m not going to listen to you whine. You will survive if you stay sharp. You will die if you don’t. It’s that simple. So stay sharp and do what you have to do.”

“What do I have to do?”

“I won’t listen to you play stupid, either. Grow up, Mary. We’re not girls anymore. It’s time we admitted some things to ourselves.”

I think for a moment, and it quickly becomes clear what Annie means. “But how can I kill her? Even if I were capable of such—”

“You’re capable.”

There’s a hint of bitterness in what she says. I shudder at that and continue with my question. “I’m shackled to the wall. By the time she unshackles me, I’ll likely already be dead.”

“You won’t be. She likes to feel her victims struggle. She likes to feel them fight. You can’t fight if you’re already dead.”

“But she’s not stupid. She won’t risk it.”

Annie sighs. “I forgot who I’m talking to. You know everything, don’t you, Mary?”

I sob. “I just don’t want to die.”

“Then you have to fight. There’s no miracle here, Mary. There’s no magic button. There’s no, ‘If I do this, then everything will work out right in the end.’ You just have to do it even though you might fail.”

I sob again, this time with as much frustration as fear. Annie notices this and says, “That’s always been so hard for you. You’ve always needed to believe that if you make the right choices, you’ll receive rewards. But that’s not how it works. Sometimes, you make the right choices and still lose. It’s crappy, but it’s the truth. But what youneverdo is stop fighting. You never stop trying. No matter what.”

She turns to leave, but there’s one more question I need to ask her. “Wait!”

She stops and turns back to me.

“What did I say? In the hospital. And what did you say to me in my nightmare?”

She watches me for a long moment. A look crosses her face. I can’t tell whether it’s a look of compassion or a sneer of disgust. Perhaps it’s both.

She finally responds. “Not now.”

Then she is gone.

***

A loud crack of thunder wakes me from sleep. I’ve been hanging in this room for at least half a day with no hope for escape. And now the storm has come. Any chance I might have had has been taken from me.

I sob again, then shout in frustration. Damn it! Already? I don't even have time to prepare myself for the conflict to come.

Life’s not fair, Mary.

“I know it’s notbloodyfair, Annie!” I hiss. “If it were fair, I wouldn’t be here! I’d be home in Boston, and I’d have a practice, andyou’dbe home, and you’d never have left me to what? To find yourself? To be free? Ha. I wonder, did you ever learn the lesson you taught me? That sometimes you lose no matter what?”

Annie, of course, doesn’t respond.

I take a deep breath and steady myself. It’s not likely that Theresa will kill me now. She hasn’t had a chance to torture me. There will be at least a few more storms before summer arrives. That gives me some time.

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