person is behind this, donât you?â
âI know it sounds crazy, but Iâ¦do you think it could be?â
Dalton pulled her closer, shooting a narrow-eyed glance at the other man. âItâs highly improbable, I should think.â
âThatâs right,â Bill agreed. âWhy would Kurt come after you now? So much time has passed.â
âUnfinished business,â she whispered. âTo get even with me for screwing up his plans.â
Again her friends fell silent. This time, Bill spoke first. âLetâs think this through, Anna. I understand your fears and why you would feel threatened by this man. But why would he want to force you out?â
âThatâs right,â Dalton spoke up. âIf Kurt wanted some sort of revenge, why not just have it? Kidnap you again? Kill you?â
âThanks a lot, Dalton.â She forced a weak smile. âRemind me to have burglar bars installed.â
Bill frowned. âKurt coming after you simply doesnât make sense, Anna. Look at the facts. Twenty-three yearshave passed. This Kurt has no doubt gone on to other crimes. He may be imprisoned. Or dead.â
She rubbed her fingers over her deformed hand. âI want to believe it, butâ¦I have this awful feeling heâs found me.â
âYou have to go to the police.â Dalton looked at Bill for affirmation. He got it and returned his gaze to Annaâs. âThe sooner the better.â
âThe police,â she repeated. âAnd what do I tell them? That someone is sending cryptic notes and copies of my novels to my friends? Come on, Iâd be laughed out of the place.â
âNo, you go to them with your suspicions. With your past and the recent turn of events, I hardly think theyâll laugh.â
âI agree,â Bill said. âIf nothing else, itâll serve as a kind of heads-up. What do you have to lose?â
Truth was, she didnât have a lot of confidence in the policeâor in the FBI. If not for their bumbling, she believed Timmy would be alive today.
But Anna didnât tell them that. Instead, she murmured, âIâll think about it. Okay?â
âPromise me,â Dalton said, tone fierce. âI donât want anything to happen to you.â
âAll right, Iâll think about it. I promise.â
They talked a while more, then after Anna assured them she would be fine alone, they stood to leave.
On his way out the door, Bill stopped and looked over his shoulder at her. âHow did Jaye take the news?â he asked. âShe can be so sensitive.â
Anna froze. Amazingly, until that moment, she hadnât thought of Jaye. And from the calls sheâd received, it seemed all the important people in her life had been contacted. Had Jaye?
She swallowed hard, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Jaye, whose trust had been so hard to win. Jaye, who had been lied to by everyone she had ever loved or trusted. Jaye, who would perceive Annaâs secret as a lie and yet another betrayal in a life filled with them.
Anna said goodbye to her friends and ran for the phone. She checked the answering machine, found her young friend had not called and quickly dialed her number.
Jaye refused to come to the phone.
Devastated, Anna told Jayeâs foster mother that she was coming over. It was imperative that she speak with the girl as soon as possible.
Anna flew to Jayeâs, making it to her mid-city neighborhood in record time. The entire way she gripped the steering wheel tightly and repeated a prayer in her head that it was going to be okay, that she could make Jaye understand why she had kept her past a secret from her.
But she saw right away that she couldnât make Jaye understand, that she couldnât make it okay. âI can explain, Jaye.â
âThereâs nothing to explain.â Jaye hiked up her chin. âI trusted you and you lied to me.â
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