Page 157 of Long Way Down

“Dana? Is everything alright?” The man – Ben, the boyfriend – stepped into the light of the living room, dressed in an immaculate suit, an overcoat spotted with rainwater, and frowned once he’d surveyed the room.

Recognition hit Melissa like a slap.

“I don’t know,” Dana said, and her voice seemed as if it were coming down a tunnel, now, as Melissa’s pulse swelled in her ears, and everything in her periphery faded. “He was back, the man was back, and I called the detectives, and–”

“Aw, babe.”Benmade a face, one that twisted his sharp features. Maybe it was just the coat, but he looked taller and broader through the shoulders than Melissa remembered. Slender, yes, leanly built…but she’d remembered him as slight, as almost elfin, and he wasn’t that. He was…substantial enough to do the things that he must have done, no matter how incredible that seemed, now. But realization was crashing over her. “It’s just your…” His gaze landed on Melissa, finally, and his eyes widened, a sudden pulse of shock. “Imagination.”

Again, Dana moved toward him, and again, Melissa barred the way with her arm.

“But that’s my boyfriend. That’s Ben.”

“No.” Something in Melissa’s tone captured Toly’s attention. She was aware, dimly, of him flashing her a look, and she didn’t motion him away from his gun when he reached for it this time. “His name’s not Ben.” She felt lightheaded, her lips slow and clumsy, heart racing full-out, now. “It’s Spencer Bradley.”

“What? No. This is Ben. Ben Crider. My boyfriend.”

Dana stepped toward him – and Melissa grabbed her sleeve and held her back.

Dana turned on her, frowning now. “What are you–”

Toly had settled his hand firmly on the butt of his gun, gaze trained on Bradley. God,Bradley. How had she never expected? How had she spent time searching for admirers, worshippers, even, and never once thought the fucker’s attorney might be involved?

“Listen,” Melissa said, urgently. “Whatever this man told you, whoever he said he was, he was lying to you. Thereisa Ben Crider, and he’s a nurse and runs a therapy group for men with violent impulses, but this isn’t him. This is Spencer Bradley, and he’s David Osborn’s attorney – unless that’s an alias, too.”

Bradley stood just inside the room, hands dangling at his sides, face cycling between disbelief, horror, and barely-leashed fury. His mouth worked a moment, soundlessly, and in that gap, Dana said, “What?” Shrill and half-hysterical.

She turned to Melissa and gripped her upper arms hard, leaned into her face, emphasizing, suddenly, alarmingly, their marked height difference. “What?” she repeated. “No, he’s – but he said – we met at my work. He needed a suit for a wedding. He…” She gulped, and looked toward Bradley and then back again. “He…Ben?” she asked of the liar who she thought of as her boyfriend.

Bradley took a step back, and Toly drew and leveled his gun on him.

“Whoa.” His voice quavered, and he offered both empty palms in a gesture of surrender. “What’s going on, Dana? Who are these people?”

“I don’t…Ben? Are you…?”

Bradley attempted another step, and thought better of it when Toly said, simply, “No.” He swallowed hard, throat jerking, a fine glaze of sweat shining at his temples.

“Dana. Babe. Tell them who I am.”

“I don’t–”

“Dana,” Melissa said, “he’s not Ben. He’s Spencer Bradley–”

“No, I’m Ben! I’m Ben! Dana, you know me. Please, tell them–”

“Osborn? Did you sayOsborn’sattorney?”

“Yes. We met him at Sing Sing when we interviewed Osborn last week. He’s lying now, just like he’s been lying to you.”

“No! Dana, listen to me! They’re lying to you. You know me.” He thumped his chest with both hands. “You have to believe me!”

“Osborn,” Dana repeated, voice gone hushed and wavery. “You’re Osborn’s attorney.”

“No, baby, please–”

Beneath Melissa’s hand, Dana’s arm trembled violently; she could hear the fast, desperate sucking of her breaths, and didn’t dare turn her loose. With her free hand, she pulled the cuffs from her coat pocket and flipped them to Toly, who caught them one-handed, gun still trained on Bradley.

“Cuff him,” she said. To Bradley: “Spencer Bradley, you’re under arrest for–”

Dana screamed.

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