Page 113 of The Murder Club
Eric licked his lips, his eyes a weird shade of ash in the flickering light. “He’s not a stranger,” he confessed. “We’ve been chatting for over a year. He’s the one who invited me to join the Murder Club in the first place.” Bitterness laced Eric’s words. “He’s the one person who actually appreciates how hard it is for me to live in this place, surrounded by inbred jerks who think that milking a cow or driving a fancy truck makes them special.”
Bailey narrowed her gaze. Wait. Maybe Eric wasn’t making up PJ. Maybe it was Logan. He could have been setting up Eric to not only take the blame for the thefts but for the murders as well. She wasn’t sure how, but it made sense.
“Tell me about him.”
Eric took a jerky step backward, as if startled by her request. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m sworn to secrecy.” Eric held up his hand as her lips parted to ask why. “But I will warn you that he’s in a position to know that Dom is a brutal criminal.”
She shook her head. He seemed to genuinely believe what he was telling her. Then again, he’d obviously been hiding his true nature for years. She couldn’t trust anything coming out of his mouth.
“He’s lying to you, Eric.”
“No.” He made a sound of frustration before he resumed his pacing. “PJ sent the proof.”
Bailey resisted the urge to argue. Let Eric think whatever he wanted. The only thing that mattered was that he’d moved far enough away that she could continue her painful attempts at escape.
“What else did he tell you?” she asked, keeping him focused on the mysterious PJ.
“That you’re in danger.”
“From Dom?”
“Yes.” He nodded. “PJ warned me that Dom never stayed in town with his intended victim for more than a couple of weeks. And that he was making plans to leave Pike tonight. He said if I didn’t do something quickly to save you, there would be another dead woman in Pike.” He sent her a pleading glance. “You see, I had to do something. Even if it seems drastic to you.”
Bailey tugged her hand another inch through the handcuff. She’d reached her knuckles. Another tug or two and she’d have her hand free. What she intended to do after that wasn’t something she’d considered.
One problem at a time.
“When did he tell you that?” she asked, genuinely curious.
Eric had been sending threatening texts, but he hadn’t tried to get her alone. Not until now. Had the mysterious PJ deliberately tried to prod Eric into searching for her? Maybe even kidnapping her?
“Twenty or thirty minutes ago.” He shrugged. “I’m not sure. I just know that I got in my car and went looking for you. I had to find you before something terrible happened.” He turned to face her, his expression impossible to read. Once again she was struck by the suspicion he wasn’t telling her the full truth. “Then I got a call saying that you were at the nursing home. I knew I would never have a better opportunity.”
A warning voice nagged at the edge of Bailey’s mind. There was something about his words that set off fresh shivers of fear. It was a voice she forced herself to ignore. Right now she had to concentrate on Eric. And how the hell she was going to escape.
“To kidnap me?”
“To rescue you,” he insisted.
Eric stepped forward, as if he intended to force her to believe his wild claims, but before he could reach her, there was a dull click and the overhead light abruptly shut off. They were instantly plunged into a darkness so thick it was impossible to see anything.
Fear blasted through Bailey as she struggled to get her hand free. She didn’t know what was happening, but she wasn’t stupid enough to assume it was someone rushing to her rescue. Or that the electricity had gone out randomly. Assumptions were a good way to end up dead.
Eric seemed equally confused as he muttered a curse and she heard him cautiously shuffle his way through the darkness. She didn’t know where he was headed; the sound echoed weirdly through the empty room, but just in case he was searching for her, Bailey lay back and rolled to the side. If he intended to do something to her, she wasn’t going to make it easy.
It wasn’t until she heard the squeak of the doorknob being turned that she realized he’d gone in the opposite direction. A brief flare of hope surged through her. If he left to check on the electricity, it would give her the opportunity to escape.
The thought was still forming in her mind when there was the creak of door hinges followed by a startled cry from Eric. What the hell? She held her breath, pressing herself against the floor as there was a heavy thud, as if something had fallen, followed by the echo of a hard object banging against the tiled floor. Was it Eric? Or the intruder? Impossible to say.
She squinted her eyes as if that could help her peer through the gloom, but before her sight could adjust to the darkness, the overhead light was flicked back on and she was blinking against the abrupt glow.
Her heart desperately wanted to believe that she was being saved, but her logical mind understood that if it was a rescuer, they would be calling out to reassure her that everything was going to be okay.
No. Fear might be making her thoughts fuzzy, but her instincts warned her that she remained in danger. Perhaps even more danger.