Page 9 of Shiver

“Your heart necklace.”

Her breath caught.Her locket. She glanced through the window into the corridor outside the room, but the detective was gone. He and Betty must have left to get that cup of coffee.

“I found it under the chair last week,” Joey continued. “I was going to give it to Nurse Jenkins to hold for you, but your friend said he’d give it to you.”

“My friend?”

“Yeah, the man that was here last week.”

Devra’s heart stilled at his words. She’d forgotten about the man Betty had mentioned. She had convinced herself the nurse had been mistaken. That he’d been waiting for someone else.Had he been watching her?

“Did you get it back?” A tinge of anxiousness colored Joey’s voice.

Devra bent down so they were eye to eye and offered him a big smile. “I will very soon. Thank you for telling me.”

His smile went wide with pride.

“Can you tell me what this man looked like?”

“He was big.”

She gave him an encouraging nod. “Uh, huh.”

“And dark.”

“His skin?”

“No, his hair. And his eyes. He had the darkest eyes I’ve ever seen. They looked…” He glanced down at his feet, then looked back up at her with uncertainty playing across his gaze. “They looked dead.”

Devra recalled seeing eyes like that once. The image flashed through her mind. Her stomach turned. She forced a grin through gritted teeth. “Thank you, Joey.”

“Joey, it’s time for your therapy,” a nurse called from the doorway.

Devra waved as he ran through the door. Her knees were beginning to ache and she realized she was still crouched down, her legs locked with irrational fear. Joey had given her locket to a man with dark eyes.Dead eyes.

The eyes of the devil.

She shook off the thought and the fear. Tommy’s death had been a lifetime ago and far, far away. It couldn’t be the same man.

His killer had never been found.

The thought whispered across her mind. She shivered. The world was full of killers, a fact she knew only too well. But why had this one taken her locket? He killed that poor woman and led the police to her. Did he know about her dreams? Did he know her secret?

Evil lives within you, child. We need to flush it out.

Tears of frustration filled her eyes. The police would blame her for this woman’s death, just like before. Just like Tommy. She had to get away from this town. But first, she had to get away from Detective MacIntyre.

“Miss Morgan?”

His voice pulled her from her thoughts. On trembling knees she stood, smoothing down the front of her dress then she looked up into the detective’s face. He thought she was a killer too. That’s why he wouldn’t leave her alone. He believed she was capable of the unthinkable. Just like her family.

“Are you all right? Everyone’s gone.” Concern played around the edges of his voice, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He wasn’t fooling her. He didn’t care. No one did.

She stiffened. “Of course. I’m fine.” She walked past him without a second glance. The quicker she got away, the better. She kept her head down as she entered the elevator, planning in her mind which boxes she would pack first, which rooms. By nightfall, she and Felix would be on the road to a new life. A new beginning. Again.

“Will we be at the station long?” she asked casually.

He looked at her, quiet speculation shining in his eyes. “Not long.”

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