Page 42 of The Perfect Obsession
By the time Quaid turned to see what was happening, she’d broken into a run.There was a gun in her right hand, but she didn’t fire it.Hannah suspected that it was likely because Quaid was so close to her.
The man started to swing the knife at Kat just as she leapt at him, extending her left leg.It connected with the center of his chest, sending him backward.Hannah hopped out of the way just in time.Quaid careened into the restroom's back wall.His head slammed against the wall like a bowling ball being dropped on the ground.
He looked stunned.But he was still holding the knife.As he tried to regroup, Kat rushed him.He swung the knife at her lazily, but the former Army Ranger deflected the blow and landed one of her own, smashing the butt of her gun against his temple.He crumpled to the floor.
His fingers were still limply wrapped around the knife handle.Kat kicked his fist, sending the weapon sliding across the floor.Less than ten seconds later, he’d been rolled onto his stomach with his hands zip-tied behind him and Kat’s knee in his lower back.She looked up at Hannah.Her wig was off-kilter.
“Use a paper towel to grab the knife,” she instructed.“You don’t want to get any of your prints on it.”
Hannah nodded, still shocked at the impressive speed and violence that Kat had at her disposal.She thought she was decent when it came to hand-to-hand fighting.She’d incapacitated her fair share of folks with ill intent, but this was something different.The whole fight was over before she’d had a chance to do a thing to help.
She retrieved the knife, which had skittered next to the toilet in the “out of order” stall.When she turned around, she noticed something she’d missed before: Kat’s leg was bleeding.
“I think he got you,” she said, pointing at the woman’s left shin, where the blood was seeping through her pants.
Kat glanced down.“So he did.”She didn’t sound overly concerned.
“I’ll call for the cops,” Hannah said.“And for an ambulance too.”
“I’ll be fine,” Kat said dismissively.
Hannah shook her head, pointing at Quaid, dazed and bleeding profusely from his forehead.
“It’s for him.”
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
Jessie was tired of waiting.
She and Ryan had been at the hospital for nearly an hour, sitting in the waiting area until the medical folks gave the okay to talk to Alexander Krantz.The nurse had just said “15 minutes” for the third time, and Jessie was close to going in, permission or not.
The only good thing about the delay was that they were able to check in with the research team on the security status of the other Thornfield friends.If Alexander Krantz was their killer, this kind of follow-up was excessive.But if he wasn’t, they needed to stay vigilant.
According to Jamil, both Alannah Murray and Kylie Stoner were safely ensconced at their resort hotels.Even though Jessie had been kidnapped from the latter one, she felt more at ease.Still, she chose to personally reach out to the head of security at The Peninsula, whom she knew well.She asked him to keep an extra eye on Stoner, and he promised he would.
She was less sanguine about the other two women.Even though Tess Singleton and Riley Sinclair graduated a year after the four victims, their association with the friend group, even tangentially, put them at risk.
“I know that Singleton lives in a gated, patrolled community,” she said to Beth.“But I still want you to ask the San Francisco PD to have squad cars go by periodically.”
“Will do,” Beth said.
“And maybe we have a unit accompany Riley Sinclair on her way to her friend’s house,”
“I’ll get on that,” Jamil promised.
“Great,” Jessie said.“While you’re at it, have a unit check on the state of security at her work.I’m not confident that simply having a guard and a metal detector at the main entrance to the Central Library is going to get the job done.”
“Got it,” Jamil said.
After they hung up, Jessie decided to take a brief break to get a snack.Before she did, she looked over at Ryan.
“If the nurse doesn’t give us authorization to see Krantz by the time I get back, I say we go in anyway.”
“We’ll see,” Ryan said, trying to be the voice of reason.
She didn’t argue, instead getting up and heading down the hall to the vending machine.She was debating which bag of junk food to buy when she felt a tap on her shoulder.She turned around to find herself face-to-face with Hannah.
“Hey sis.”
