Page 46 of The Perfect Illusion

“Drop the knife, Rachel!” he ordered.

The woman looked at him and then down at Amanda, whose head was lolling limply. Then she returned her attention to him.

“Why are you pointing that thing at me?” she demanded. “I’m not the one who turned their back on their vows. I’m not the snake who seduced another man’s husband. Make them pay for their crimes, and then we can talk about me."

The knife in her hand was less than a foot from Amanda’s throat. The younger woman whimpered softly but said nothing.

Jessie raised her weapon too but hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. She was, at best, an okay shot. She vaguely recalled Ryan telling her that Brady, despite his extra girth and generally unhealthy demeanor, was a ringer on the range. But with Rachel’s knife so close to Amanda, Jessie didn’t to want to risk testing that.

“We can discuss all that, Rachel,” she said to Thompson in the calmest tone that she could muster under the circumstances. “But in order to do that, we need you to put down the knife. We can talk about consequences for the people who wronged you, but not when you’re holding that.”

“Please!” Thompson shot back scornfully, waving the knife in the air, “I know how it works. This is the only thing stopping you from shooting me. It’s the only thing making you listen. The second I drop it, I lose all my leverage. Isn’t that right?”

"We can't negotiate under threat," Brady told her, managing to sound firm and understanding at the same time. "You have to give us a reason to believe that we can trust you. And under the circumstances, that's a little hard, Rachel."

“Not my problem,” the woman said, the knife now back close to Amanda’s neck. “In fact, maybe I should order you two to drop your guns as a show of good faith to me. That will prove to me that you’re sincere about hearing me out.”

Jessie looked at Amanda, whose head was slumped on her chin. She had stopped whimpering. In fact, she wasn’t moving at all. Was she already dead? If not, she was dangerously close. Something had to give.

“How about this?” she said, raising her gun over her head. “I’ll drop my weapon as that show of good faith you wanted, and you take a step away from Amanda.”

It wasn't much of a concession, considering Jessie's lack of confidence in her own aim and the fact that Brady would still have his gun. But she was trying to keep the lines of communication open, and even a lame concession was better than none at all. Or so she thought.

“Don’t insult me,” Thompson said. “That doesn’t stop your partner there from blowing me away. Besides, I know who you are, Jessie Hunt. I read up on you after I left the office. I’m aware of all your run-ins with serial killers and how you tricked them. That won’t work with me.”

Despite her skepticism that it would do any good, Jessie laid her gun down on the floor. Then she raised her hands above her head.

"If you really read about me, you also know that I've worked hard to keep my promises to the people who surrendered to me. I've even testified on behalf of some of them in court, describing how the indignities they faced in their lives might have led to their acts of violence. You would know that I was married once before myself, to a rich wealth management advisor who was secretly having an affair, and who tried to kill me. I know what it's like to feel betrayed by someone you love. If anyone can understand what you're going through, Rachel, it's me. But I can't help you if you won't let me. So please just take a step away from Amanda, and let's all take a breath."

Thompson, the knife still gripped tight in her gloved hand, stared back at her, as if probing her, trying to gauge whether she was telling the truth. Then she did take a deep breath. Jessie tensed up, sensing a decision at hand but unsure what it would be. When Thompson spoke, her voice was loud and clear.

“Alexa, activate emergency sprinkler system.”

Almost immediately, water began spurting out of sprinklers embedded in the ceiling. At the same time, Thompson darted to her right. For a second, Jessie thought Brady might fire at her. But he must have come to the same conclusion as Jessie: because the woman was moving away from Amanda, she wasn’t an immediate threat.

Amid the spray of water suddenly drenching the room, Jessie saw Thompson continue moving right, scampering behind a half-wall. She was still holding the knife. Jessie reached down, grabbed her weapon, then followed.

"Wait," Brady barked, "Let's deal with Amanda first. Once she's stable, we can go after Thompson."

“You stay with Amanda,” Jessie countered as she moved toward the wall where Rachel Thompson had disappeared. “If Thompson gets away, she could go anywhere or after anyone. We can’t let that happen.”

“Where’s she going to go?” Brady demanded.

“Are you kidding?” Jessie said as she neared the wall. “She lived in this house. That means she knows all the ways out. She could be through a side door and down the block before we know she’s gone. There’s no more time to argue. Help Amanda. Call for backup. I’m going after Thompson.”

“Don’t go!” Brady shouted. “Ryan will kill me!”

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO

Jessie could hear the panic in his voice but chose to ignore it.

Instead, she focused her attention on the half-wall that blocked her view of where Thompson had gone. But with time running short and water spraying everywhere, she didn't have the luxury of caution.

Without hesitation, she dived past it, rolling into a somersault and popping up, her gun in front of her. But Thompson wasn’t there. What she saw instead was a false bookshelf built into the connecting wall. It had swung open to reveal a darkened narrow stairwell, which seemed to be a secret route upstairs.

Jessie pulled out her phone and turn on the flashlight as she made her way carefully up the steep stairs. She couldn't see anyone. As she neared the top, she turned off the light. She didn't need to give Thompson any extra warning that she was close.

She knelt down so that any knife swing coming her way would hopefully go over her head, then shimmied to her left once she reached the landing. In the dull light, she saw that the hallway she was facing was empty. She stood up and moved forward through the threshold of the doorway, realizing that this too was a faux bookshelf that served as a hidden entry point to the stairs from the second level.

---