“Vaughan?”
“Yes, yes, he’s a detective with the sheriff’s department.”
“I know who Vaughan is. Why’d you break up?”
“What?” Diana couldn’t have heard her right. She had no idea where the volume might be, but reflexively she reached for the radio anyway. Her fingers hit the handheld speaker and knocked it off its cradle. It hit the floor. “Damn it.”
“There’s no need for profanity.”
“You can still hear me?”
“I hear everything.”
Diana focused on negotiating a sharp bend in the road. When the pavement straightened out, there were no more houses, just forest on either side.
Now she was really isolated, racing into a wilderness she didn’t know. And back at the house…
“Bobby and Val… Val Ryker… they need help.”
“Val Ryker? My aunt used to work with her. She’s a legend around here. Why didn’t you say Val was in trouble?”
“I just did.”
“Where is she?”
Sunlight blared through the windshield, blinding Diana. She flipped the visor down. Ahead the straight road turned curvy, and Diana slalomed through trees and juts of purple rock. The van fell out of sight, lagging behind on the turns.
“Hello? Diana?”
“Sorry. Can’t talk and drive.”
“You’re not chewing gum too, are you?”
“Uh, no.”
“Thank the Lord.”
Diana frowned. She couldn’t be hearing this right. Was this woman making fun of her? “I’m serious.”
“What happened to Val and Bobby?”
“They were hit by a dump truck.”
“You said you were serious.”
“I am.”
“A dump truck?”
“They need help.”
“No kidding. Where?”
“In a new housing development off of…” She drew a blank.
“Where?”
“Uh… Forest Road. Forest Road.”
“Forest? You sure about that? I have you on Sunrise Ridge.”
“You can see me?”
“I can see the car.”
“How?”
“You’ve heard of GPS?”
“Okay… Yeah… Right… Could you send help?”
“Already did. It was called in a moment ago. Police and ambulance on the way to Forest Road.”
“I mean out this way, too. The Copycat Killer is chasing me.”
“You’re kidding this time, right?”
“Not at all.”
“Why didn’t you lead with that? How close is he?”
“I… uh…” Diana navigated a switchback turn without a glimpse of van behind her. “I think I might be pulling away.”
“Good. You need to head back toward town.”
“I… I don’t know where I am.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll guide you back. Listen. You’re going to need to take the next left and go about…”
Out of the corner of her eye, Diana spotted a road sign and an opening in the trees. She stomped the brake and muscled the wheel to the left. The car skidded, righted itself, and she gunned it down the country road.
“What did you do?”
“You said take a left.”
“I said the next left. You just turned onto a dead-end.”
“You’ve got to be kidd—”
The trees opened up on one side and Diana caught a glimpse of sky and fields. A lake sparkled in the distance. A road ribboned the slope below.
The road she was supposed to have taken.
“Turn around!” The dispatcher yelled. “Get out of there!”
Diana slowed and did a U-turn.
A white spot appeared at the end of the road. Too late.
Think. Think.
For a moment, she just stared at the van hurtling toward her. She had an idea, but it was risky. Dangerous. Oh, who was she kidding? It was entirely insane. But it was better than waiting. Letting him catch up to her, take her to some cabin in the woods…
She shifted into drive, let out a long breath, and stomped on the gas. The car surged forward, pushing her back against the head rest. She barreled toward the van.
Please swerve.
Please swerve.
Please swerve.
It didn’t waver, just raced straight for her.
Closer.
Closer.
Diana gripped the wheel so hard her knuckles ached. The engine roared in her ears, blotting out the pounding of her pulse.
This was crazy. Stupid.
She couldn’t play chicken with a serial killer.
She couldn’t—
Diana screamed—
—twisted the wheel hard to the left—
And flew off the embankment.
Bobby
Even in his shaken-up state, it didn’t take much for Bobby to see leaving through the front wasn’t an option. The truck’s grill protruded through the opening. The home’s red door was bent and twisted and hanging on one hinge.
“Go,” Val scrambled to her feet, her arm cradled against her side. “Hurry.”
Bobby started for the hall that led into the kitchen. Too fast. His vision spun. His feet stumbled. He braced himself against the closest wall.
“You okay?”
He waved Val off and, focusing on the floor one step in front of him, he followed the paper runner through kitchen, mudroom, and out into the garage. He could hear Val behind him, but he didn’t dare turn around. He was so dizzy that one wrong step and he’d be on his knees.
The garage’s overhead door was open. Bobby picked his way through rolls of carpet and various tools. Once outside, he raced around the corner of the house. Pulling his Glock from his shoulder holster, he approached the dump truck.
The driver’s door hung open, the cab empty.
He circled the truck’s bed and took in the street beyond. Service trucks still loitered at the curb. Workers stood in small groups, staring at the house, the dump truck, the mess. A few peered down the street. And beyond them, the spot where he’d parked his cruiser was vacant.
Both it and Diana were gone.
Diana
The front tires hit the ground with a teeth-clanging jolt.
The wheel jerked to the right, threatening to rip out of Diana’s grip.
Brush rushed up fast, then disappeared under the wheels in a tangle of thuds.
Diana hadn’t paused to think before she’d plunged over the bank. She’d just done it. As if she’d be able to make it down the steep slope and land on the road below like they did in the movies. But that was fiction. A combination of stunt driving and quick cuts. And this?
This was crazy.
She cranked the wheel to the right to dodge an outcropping of rock, then to the left to narrowly miss a sapling. The lower road raced to meet her. She only had one chance at this. She had to make it work.
Slow down.
Slow down.
Slow…
The car hit the pavement hard, then slid to the side.
Diana did her best to counter steer. Her palms slipped. The outer tires caught the edge of the road and slid to the shoulder. Gravel skidded under the treads. The car slowed…
…slowed…
…and tipped onto its side.
Diana gasped in a breath and held it. Hanging in her seatbelt, she waited for the vehicle to turn over.
Afraid to move.
Afraid to breathe.
Seconds ticked by and still the car didn’t roll.
Thank God.