Page 36 of No Escape

The two sisters sat in silence for a moment, the bitter taste of defeat lingering in the air around them. The setting sun cast long shadows across the hospital grounds, a visual reminder of the darkness that had visited this place.

As the night deepened, Valerie shook her head. She wasn’t sure what to do next. Then she saw it in her rearview mirror.

“Get down!” Valerie said to Suzie.

They both hunkered down beneath the dashboard.

A black car passed by and drove up to the entrance of the hospital.

“What is it?” Suzie asked.

“Watch,” Valerie said, sitting back up in her seat.

And there they were, her colleagues, her partners, her friends. Dr. Will Cooper and Special Agent Charlie Carlson.

Both emerged from the black car and hurried inside.

“Will and Charlie,” Valerie said. “I wish I could talk to them…”

“We should, Val. It’s time.”

“No, that would make them accessories.”

Suzie sighed heavily, the sound filled with frustration. “Then what are we supposed to do? Just sit here and do nothing?”

Valerie shook her head. “No, we can’t just do nothing. But we have to be smart about this. If we get caught, we’ll only make things worse. We need to find another way to help.”

Suzie looked at her sister, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “What do you have in mind?”

Valerie took a deep breath, her mind racing with possibilities. “We need to find out where John Murphy is going next. He’s still out there, and no doubt he’s going to target another member of his family.”

Valerie started up the engine of the old beat-up truck.

“Can you remember any other names?” Suzie asked.

“No,” said Valerie. “That means we’re going to have to take a risk.”

“By doing what?”

“By visiting Joshua Murphy again. Maybe he can give us a list of all their family members in the area,” Valerie said. “Hell, he might even be able to help us understand why he’s killing them in the first place. That was something we never got to the bottom of when we were originally chasing him a year ago.”

“Well, at least we know where he lives,” Suzie said. “Hopefully it should be easy.”

Valerie wished it were that simple. She sighed.

“Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling me something?” Suzie asked.

“It’s likely Joshua is now being guarded by either the local police department or the FBI in case John comes back for him,” Valerie said. “If we’re going to speak with him again, we’re going to have to get past whoever is guarding him. That means we break the law.”

“Break the law?” Suzie said, sounding surprised. “Isn’t that what we’re doing already?”

“Sure,” Valerie said. “But this is different. We’re going to have to get past any law enforcement officers who are guarding him. That could land us both in jail when the dust settles on this. I understand if—”

“I’m in,” Suzie said, quickly. “I’ve come this far. But how do we do it?”

“I don’t know,” Valerie said. “Let’s just hope he’s not heavily guarded.”

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

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