Free The Devil's Water: Scenic City Murder Series #1 by Amanda Swafford Page A

of the people?” he asked her.
    “Not tonight.”
    They got back to the car and Clutch crawled in the drivers’ side. “Well, how did you like it?”
    “I don’t know. I guess some of the stories were interesting. I just don’t understand how you consider these people the authority on addiction. Many of them look like they smoke 3 packs a day judging from the folks puffing outside the church. They also drink coffee like it’s water.”
    Clutch laughed which was not the response Tasha was expecting. “Look Tasha. The only requirement in the program is a desire to stop drinking. I don’t consider those folks the authority on anything. We’re all just a bunch of drunks who are trying to stay sober the best way we can.”
    “Could you see yourself going back to a meeting sometime in the future?” Clutch asked.
    “I dunno. Maybe.”
    Clutch pulled up to Tasha’s apartment and let her out of the car. “Call if you hear anything more about the case.” She said as she closed the car door.
    “Will do.”
    Tasha wiggled her key in the front door lock and pushed on the door. As soon as it gave way, she entered her foyer and threw her purse on the kitchen counter. She walked directly over to the refrigerator and opened it. There, she saw two full shelves of beer. She grabbed a Corona, popped the top and took a very long gulp.

CHAPTER 19
     
    He had given her a stuffed animal to hold. She wasn’t sure what it was but she thought it might be a dog. It had long ears and a wide mouth. She felt it sometimes in the night and it made her feel loved. Carol Shipley was staring at the empty darkness. He hadn’t been to visit her in a long time and she figured this was because he had someone new. Carol knew she wasn’t alone. She had heard the cries for help. She had heard the screams when he hit her or when he violated her. She wasn’t the only one stuck in this dungeon hell hole. Nevertheless, Carol knew that the woman’s cries for help were useless. No one was coming for her. No one had ever come before and Carol knew that she had not been the only one. She had heard screams from different women. She’d listened to their plaintive cries. Eventually, those cries went away and she would never hear them again. Now there was fresh meat and he was making her pay for being the new kid on the block. Carol moved her arm, which was bound, and touched her stuffed animal. It was truly the only constant thing she had. The man had been bringing her food twice a day. Lately, though, he had been unchaining her arms and letting her feed herself. It was a little hard in the pitch black darkness and her arms ached from having been tied up so long. Still, she was glad to be able to do that for herself. Carol felt herself getting a little stronger. For one thing, she wasn’t receiving the medicine nearly as much and she wasn’t being raped every night anymore. On days that he didn’t violate her, he didn’t give her the medicine either. She figured that was why her mind was finally starting to clear a bit. Carol had actually begun developing a plan to break free from this hell. If she was unsuccessful, she was sure he would kill her but what did she have to lose? She might as well be dead if she had to live for years, perhaps a lifetime, like this. Carol laid there and tried to think. She knew that it was nine steps from the doorway to the bed. She’d heard him cross that distance many times. She could almost see the door in her mind’s eye. Carol knew the door was unlocked. If she could get to the door, she could just open it and run out of the room   before he got to her. Should she try to help the other woman? No. If she got out of the room she would need to worry about herself and no others. Her only objective would be to get out of the house. Carol closed her eyes and hummed quietly to herself. She could see the black and white piano keys on her grandmother’s huge Wurlitzer piano. Carol couldn’t play the piano but her