Page 103 of Exposed

“Who’s camera is it? It’s your camera, isn’t it?”

Ernie didn’t answer.

“I’ll take that as a yes. The photo’s not on Snapchat, is it? Of course not. You can try to delete it but that doesn’t work. The cops will still find it. It’s in the ether now. It’s in the cloud. Nothing you delete from a cell phone is ever deleted. You know that. You’re in security.” Bennie sensed she was making headway. He hadn’t kicked her again. “Hell, it’s probably a company phone, isn’t it? Ray did that for a reason, Ernie. He’s framing you for my murder and for Mary’s. In fact, he’s tricking you into framing yourself. You’re going to be dead as soon as Mo gets here.”

“This is crazy,” Ernie said, chuckling again.

“You must have a gun. You probably have a carry permit. I bet the only gun Ray wants to use is yours. Mark my words. Even if he has a gun or Mo does, they’re not gonna use theirs to kill me or Mary. Even if there’s a hunting rifle around, they’re not gonna use that either.” Bennie ignored her rib pain. It even hurt to talk. “But your handgun, yes. So they’re going to make up some story that makes it look like we killed you trying to get away. It’s gonna be three dead bodies up here, and you’re one of them. End of story.”

“Tell me your password if you want to save your partner’s life.”

“Ernie, what I’m saying is true.” Bennie bore down, terrified at the thought of losing Mary. “They’refamily. Brothers-in-law. They trust each other. They’re not gonna take a risk that you’ll break ranks. Framing you and killing you solves everything. You’re going to be dead as soon as Mo—”

“Tell me your password or I’ll go down there right now and kill your partner.”

“You said you would take her to a doctor.”

“All right, I’ll take her to a doctor.”

Bennie knew he was lying. He wasn’t going to take Mary to a doctor, but she couldn’t take the chance. She told him her password, which was BEARLY12, after her first golden retriever. “But Ernie, be smart. Take Mary to a doctor. If you get her out of here, you can save yourself. Use her as an excuse. Take her and go.”

“Just like that. What a joke.”

“It could work,” Bennie said, desperate. “Tell Ray she needs to get to a doctor, then drop her off at the nearest hospital and keep going. You’ll be free. She’ll see a doctor.”

“Why would Ray agree to that?”

“Because it fits the facts better for a staged scene.” Bennie was making it up as she went along. She hadn’t figured out that part. “If she dies wherever she is, they can’t arrange the body or move it without someone knowing. Blood spatter. Blood evidence. You know how forensics works.”

Bennie heard the sound of his footsteps, walking away. Panic rose in her throat. She couldn’t let Mary die, so horribly.

“Ernie, please! It’s the smartest move. It’s your only chance. It’s her only chance. You said you would. Ernie. Ernie!”

Bennie heard Ernie close the door and lock it, leaving her in the darkness. Tears welled in her eyes but she let the blindfold soak them up. She told herself to get her head back in the game. She couldn’t save Mary lying here.

She tried to wrench her hands apart for the umpteenth time, ignoring her aches, but the duct tape wouldn’t give. But now she knew where the door was and what it looked like. It was an old door with a bar across the middle. The lock hadn’t been embedded into the door, so it must have been a padlock outside. Not hard to break open, and her legs were strong. The noise might be a problem, but she had to try. She might be able to kick out the bottom. It would hurt like hell but adrenaline flooded her system.

She started rolling toward the door.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Mary finally caught a lucky break. She had been inching her way along the floor, fighting the pain in her head, but she’d been afraid to make noise. She’d had to stop every inch or so to make sure Ray couldn’t hear her, in the room outside the bedroom. But the last time she stopped, she noticed the sound of snoring coming from the other side of the door.

Ray had fallen asleep. The snoring was loud and deep. She started moving faster, wriggling along the floor like a snake toward the phone. Her hands were still wrapped in duct tape behind her back, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t wrench them apart. Her ankles were duct-taped too, and she couldn’t get them apart.

She writhed along the wood floor, closer and closer to the phone. There was no rug on the floor, and she inched farther and farther, slipping along. It struck her suddenly that she was sliding in her own blood.

The thought shook her to her very foundation, but she couldn’t stop. She didn’t know how long Ray would be asleep, she had to get to the phone. She might be able to knock it from the table without waking him up.

Suddenly she heard a sound outside the room and she froze,only three feet from the night table. There were footsteps on the floorboards in the other room, and she guessed Ernie had come back. She had missed her chance. She didn’t know if she’d get another one. She didn’t want to die here. She didn’t want Bennie to die here.

“Ray, get up! We need to talk.”

“Okay, relax,” Ray said, grumpy. “Did you get the password?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

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