It’s all right. You were expecting Elizabeth to help you. You were scared and angry when she didn’t come back. But now she’s here, and she’s going to help you like she promised.
Elizabeth saw Sabrina relax fractionally.
“I’m sorry I left you in the lurch,” Elizabeth said.
“But you were staying with that nurse.”
“Yes. Are you going to call the police and tell them where I am? If they drag me into the investigation of Polly’s death, then I won’t be able to help you get your friends away from Lang.”
Sabrina answered with a slight nod.
“Lang’s men were chasing me the day I was supposed to meet you. That’s why I crashed my car, hit my head, and ended up with amnesia. I couldn’t meet you because I didn’t remember anything.”
Sabrina struggled to hold back a sob. “I waited for hours.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“I thought you’d changed your mind. Or … or you were too scared to do it.”
“No. I still wasn’t sure how to get in there, but now I have a plan,” she said.
She knew Matt caught her thoughts when his hand closed around her arm. “No,” he said.
“Can you think of anything better?” she asked.
After long seconds, she felt his acquiescence and looked back at Sabrina. “Matt will get in by pretending to be a customer. And I will slip in the back way and mingle with the women. While Matt keeps the men away, I’ll get the women out.”
“You wanted to shut down his operation,” Sabrina pointed out.
Elizabeth nodded. “I don’t know if we can go that far. But we can rescue the girls who are there. And after everybody’s out, we can burn the house down. That will set him back while we figure out the next step.”
Sabrina looked torn. “I want him in jail for what he’s done to me and the others.”
“I do, too, but it might not be possible.” She changed the subject. “And you have that secret welfare organization ready to take them in and hide them until they can get new identities?”
“Yes.” She turned her gaze on Elizabeth. “Can we go get my friends tonight?”
“It’s better if we have everything planned. You need to get the welfare group ready with transportation, and Matt and I need to rehearse our roles,” she answered.
Sabrina’s expression turned fierce. “You want me to get a rescue operation organized tomorrow? How do I know that you’re not going to disappear again?”
Elizabeth felt her heart squeeze. “I can’t absolutely guarantee what’s going to happen tomorrow night,” she said. “But Matt and I plan to be there.”
It was the best she could do, and she let out a sigh of relief when Sabrina nodded. “Where are we going to meet? How are we going to do it?”
Elizabeth hadn’t thought about all the details, and because this woman was pressing her, she felt like the room was closing in on her.
Matt gave Sabrina an angry look. “I know you’re worried about your friends, and you’re anxious to get them out of Lang’s clutches, but Elizabeth has already been through a lot because she committed herself to helping them. She’s almost gotten killed more than once. The man who murdered that nurse almost killed her, too.”
As he spoke aloud, Elizabeth knew he was sending Sabrina a soundless message.Don’t lean on Elizabeth. She’s doing everything she can. She’ll be ready tomorrow night. All you have to do is have a van ready to take your friends away from The Mansion.
She saw Sabrina take a breath and let it out. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know I’m not making this any easier for you.”
“It’s okay,” Elizabeth managed to say, then cleared her throat. “I told you that I had a memory loss when I crashed my car, and I still don’t remember everything.”
Sabrina nodded.
“I need to ask you some questions. You might have answered them before, but I don’t remember some details.”