Page 29 of Say Nothing
Patricia took out her keyring.The largest key, brass, was for the bottom lock and opened the first deadbolt.A small silver key opened the deadbolt she’d had installed eight inches above the first.They were well-oiled and slid open easily.
As soon as she opened the door, the beast came straight at her, running at full speed, a look of mischief in its eyes.Patricia froze for a moment before her instincts kicked in, and she stepped inside the apartment and closed the door before the cat could escape.It stopped before her and mewed before turning around as if it never wanted to get out in the first place.
Patricia watched it go, hips swaying side to side, tail up and alert, and she smiled.She often thought of herself as a cat.She liked attention at times, but would rather be left to fend for herself.
She turned and made sure the door was fully closed before turning the deadbolts to lock herself in.She attached the security chain, then dropped the metal bar into the holder attached to the door and into the small, round hole in the floor.
A security company had once come knocking on her door, advocating for the installation of cameras and motion sensors.Still, she preferred the old-school methods that had been tried and tested for decades.Additionally, there were security personnel stationed downstairs and cameras on the first level, both inside and outside, as well as a fob entry system.She’d considered upgrading her security, but decided against it in the end.
Her cat mewed from the other room.
"Give me a minute," she said.
Her cat was hungry and wanted food, and he made it very obvious.No matter what she said to try to placate the cat, he would stand in the kitchen and mew repeatedly until he got what he wanted.Patricia took off her jacket and opened the front closet, taking out one of the hangers and hanging her jacket before placing it in the cupboard.She kicked off her shoes and put them on the small shelf below the hanging garments.
Then, she went through to the kitchen to where her cat was mewing.Only, he wasn’t in there mewing.Patricia could hear his pathetic calls, but they were coming from somewhere else in the house.
She took the half-full can of cat food from the fridge and placed a spoonful in his bowl on the floor.Then, she tapped the bowl with the spoon to let her cat know there was food, but he continued to mew without appearing.
"Have you got yourself stuck?"she wondered before going off in search of him.
The sound led her through to the bedroom where she found he wasn’t stuck at all, but standing before her closet, mewing at the door.
"What is it?"she asked.
The cat looked at her, then trotted off to get his food, leaving her standing there with a bewildered half-smile on her lips.It took her a second, but the smile soured, and it was as it left her face that the worry rippled through her.
He was mewing the door as if something was behind it.
The door burst open, and the figure leaped out to grab her.Patricia’s scream was cut short when the hand clamped over her mouth.She flailed her arms, trying to escape her attacker’s grasp, but it wasn’t enough; there was nothing she could do.
Then a bag was put over her head, which blurred her vision.Her arms were pinned to her torso, the bag tightened around her neck to strangle just enough that she wanted to pass out, but couldn’t.
"This is your fault."The voice sounded far away through the plastic."You should have minded your own business.I’ll make sure you mind your business from now on and no one else gets hurt."A chuckle."Well, except for you."
Patricia got one arm free and clawed at the bag around her neck, but her arm was quickly pinned to her body again.
As the world began to spin around her and she grew lightheaded, she heard only one noise.The mewing of her cat, over and over.It was the last noise she would ever hear
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
"That was a nice takedown," Alison said.
They were back in the CBI offices, and Raymond Nichols was brooding in the interview room, where they’d left him to stew.
"Thanks," Derek said."I saw the move once in a football game where one of the defenders chased down a running back and knew he couldn’t make the tackle before the end zone, so he swiped one foot so it hit against the other foot and tripped him up.I wasn’t thinking about it as I ran after the suspect, but something overcame me, and I found myself leaning at him."
"Well, you looked good doing it," Alison said.
Derek smiled and held her gaze, and Alison found that her face became a little warmer.
"Okay, so," she started, "we know Nichols has a direct link to Sarah Livingstone, and we have the photographic evidence to prove it.Mary Candlemaker is what started this whole thing when she testified against his brother.Do we know if he has links to other women who’ve testified?"
"We haven’t found anything yet," Derek admitted."That was the most damning photo from the website."
"All right," Alison said, taking stock."So, we have agents calling women who have testified in the past five years, focusing on those who have links to me.How’s that going?"
"It's going," Derek admitted.He smiled."You've helped a lot of women over the years, and I keep getting feedback from the other agents about how many criminals you've helped to put behind bars.You put our records to shame."
