Page 75 of Girl, Accused

Ella knew she should go for the arrest, but she wanted the details, the motive. This was her best chance to get into a serial killer's mind while the adrenaline was flowing and the confessions were pouring.

‘You never met them before you killed them?’

‘Why does it matter?’

‘You killed four people. You appointed yourself God’s editor when no one asked you to. That needs an explanation.’

Sister Mary twitched. Ella sensed she was looking for a way out because a mission-oriented killer would never turn themselves in. That was the third option, after involuntary capture and suicide.

‘They all confessed.’

‘To you?’

'Not in a booth with a screen between us. But in the moments thought no one was listening. When they boast rationalize, and justify. Grant and Harper in court. Summers in her book. Torres in city hall meetings. It all made mesick.’

Four victimsconnected only by their sins, not by any traceable relationship to Sister Mary herself. That's why they'd missed it. They'd been looking for personal connection when the only link was moral judgment.

All publicly available information.

The phone on the floor still cast its light in a pale circle, and in its fractured light, Ella now saw Sister Mary's pupils dilate. It was the bodily response to a limbic system preparing for flight. The decision telegraphed itself through her body a half-second before she moved, in that infinitesimal tell that separated the living from the dead in situations like this.

Sister Mary lunged sideways in a sudden explosion of movement. Ella's decision-making bypassed conscious thought.

The Glock recoiled in her hand.

The bullet sailed past Sister Mary's shoulder – exactly where Ella had aimed – and struck the mirror behind her.

Physics took over. The mirror shattered into a million shards. They caught what little light remained and created a kaleidoscope of deadly fractals. In the rain of glass, Sister Mary became a blur through the darkness. Ella spun in time to see her hit the stairs, and then she was in pursuit.

Good, Ella thought.Give me some light so I can see this bitch properly.

Mary disappeared above, and just as Ella reached the opening, the trapdoor above slammed shut with enough force to send wood dust raining down. It caught Ella in the forehead and nearly sent her sprawling, but she held steady on the side railing and shook off what would surely become a concussion. She shouldered the trapdoor open, and Ella erupted into the main room just as the outside door banged against the wall.

Through the window, Ella caught a flash of black clothing and ginger hair disappearing into the cemetery. At her feet, Ella saw Sister Mary’s tools of the trade. A branding iron and a metallic pan for heating. Sister Mary had ambushed Ella with every intent to brand her like the others.

Ella leaped over them and made for the cemetery. Her legs and lungs both burned. At the halfway point across the graveyard, Ella saw that Sister Mary had reached a car. An old Ford Taurus. The ignition rumbled to life, then the vehicle lunged forward before the door fullyclosed. The tires spat gravel in a spray that stung Ella's shins through her pants.

She drew her Glock and planted her feet. ‘Stop!’

The Taurus accelerated. The suspension bottomed out as it hit a dip in the church driveway. The distance between Ella and Sister Mary stretched from forty feet to sixty in seconds.

Ella's hands found that perfect stillness that came only in moments like this. Four monks lived at the monastery of her mind: Breath, Sight, Pressure, Release. They worked in harmony now as she aligned the sights with the Taurus's rear tire.

If she didn’t hit this, Sister Mary could disappear before the night was out.

First shot: The bullet struck the pavement two inches right of the target.

Miss. Ella breathed. Try again.

Second shot: The rear tire shredded in a spray of rubber. The Taurus fish-tailed but kept momentum.

Got you.

Third shot: The front tire disintegrated. The car's right side dipped violently as metal rims bit into asphalt.

The Taurus swerved hard right. Its trajectory was now governed by the laws of inertia rather than human intent. It jumped the low curb between the church property and the adjacent farm field, and for a suspended moment, all four wheels left the floor. It ascended briefly toward heaven before returning to the ground. The momentum carried it forward, directly into a JCB truck parked outside Granville Power Station. The impact folded the Taurus's hood in half and possibly Sister Mary too.

Ella let out a breath she’d been holding since she fired her last shot.

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