Page 19 of No Escape

“You sure know how to pick your timing,” Suzie said, shaking her head from the passenger’s seat.

“Suzie,” Valerie said quietly. “I don’t know how things will go if we catch John Murphy. If the worst—”

“Don’t say that!”

“If the worst were to happen,” Valerie continued, ignoring the interruption, “I need you to know what I know. Otherwise, it’ll be lost forever.”

Nothing more could be said, and Valerie knew there was no sense in upsetting her sister more.

As the truck continued to barrel down the rain-slicked road, the sisters sat in silence, each grappling with the terrible secret they now shared, while the storm outside raged on.

The rain continued to pour as Valerie spotted the turnoff from the main road, a sense of deep unease washing over her as she saw it. With a sharp turn of the steering wheel, the old truck skidded onto the narrow street, the tires squealing in protest. Water splashed up around them, drenching the truck and making it even more difficult to see.

As they drove down the dark street, Valerie tried to keep her voice steady. “John Murphy’s cousin Joshua lives on this street. When I arrested John a year ago, he was in the middle of trying to kill Joshua at the store he ran. I came here to visit him once before the trial.”

Suzie’s eyes widened in horror, but she remained silent, listening intently to Valerie’s words.

Valerie continued, “Back at Shady Pines, John told me he was going to finish his work. He has to have meant Joshua. We need to stop him from killing his cousin. It’s not just about saving Joshua’s life, but also about stopping John from becoming even more dangerous.”

“More dangerous?” Suzie scoffed.

“In my line of work,” Valerie explained, “we talk about escalation. Killers reach a point where the gap between kills lessens and they go into a frenzy of sorts. My worry is that after the murders at Shady Pines and if he kills Joshua, he’ll go on an even larger spree and many more will die. We can’t let that happen.”

The truck rumbled down the rain-soaked street, the beams of its headlights cutting through the darkness and illuminating the row of houses that lined the road. The windows of the homes were like ominous eyes staring out into the storm, the glass reflecting the lightning that cracked across the sky.

Finally, Valerie spotted the house she was looking for and then took the truck around the back to the next street.

“We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves,” Valerie said. “We’ll park here and I’ll walk around.”

The rain pelted the roof of the truck, a relentless drumbeat that almost offset the rhythm of her thumping heart.

“You meanwe’llwalk around?” Suzie asked.

“Sis,” Valerie said softly, “I love you. I can’t keep dragging you into danger. Please stay here and—”

“It’s not only your job to look after me,” Suzie said pointedly. “It’s my job to look after you.”

“But—”

“But nothing,” Suzie replied. “I’m coming with you no matter what.”

Valerie sighed, knowing that there was no way to persuade her sister out of something once she put her mind to it. Instead, she turned to Suzie, her expression grim. “Okay… But look, we need to be careful. If John’s already here, he’ll be expecting us. We have to be smart, and we have to be quiet. If I tell you to run, you need to. If I tell you to hide, you need to.”

Suzie nodded, determination etched on her face. “Let’s do this.”

Worry flowed through Valerie for her sister and for herself. She wondered if she even had it anymore. She was out of practice. That edge could easily go blunt. She’d seen it happen before to other agents. They didn’t seem to know when it had happened to them, continuing on until they were plucked from the field or something terrible happened.

Valerie wondered if her skills had blunted without her knowing, too. But there was no time to wait. If that was the case, she’d find out soon enough.

As Valerie and Suzie stepped out of the truck and into the torrential downpour, they knew they were walking into the heart of danger. But they had no choice—they had to stop John Murphy and save Joshua’s life. The storm continued to rage around them, as if echoing the fierce battle of wills that was about to take place.

Valerie and Suzie moved cautiously through the rain, skulking through several yards, doing their best to stay hidden as they approached the house. Valerie couldn’t help but feel the weight of her missing gun and badge, wishing she had them now more than ever.

As they reached the back of the house, they noticed the rear door was slightly ajar. Exchanging a nervous glance with Suzie, Valerie carefully pushed the door open, and they slipped inside.

The house was eerily quiet, the silence only broken by the relentless pounding of the rain against the windows. Valerie’s gut churned with worry, fearing that John Murphy was already there, lurking in the shadows.

They moved stealthily through the darkened rooms, Valerie leading the way with a kitchen knife she had grabbed as a makeshift weapon. The tension was palpable, the air heavy with dread and uncertainty.

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