“You couldn’t have killed Jake.” Lindsay spoke without thinking.

Bella glared at her. “What makes you say that?”

“He-he was your brother. You loved him.”

“And he loved me.”

What would Bella do if I rushed her? Would she shoot me? Could I jump her before she could fire? If I did, maybe I could wrestle the gun away from her. I have to do something. I can’t stand here against this big red heart and wait for her to kill me.

Holding the pistol in both hands, Bella kept it aimed at Lindsay. “You thought he loved you, but he didn’t. You were as big a fool as the others.”

“You’re right. I was a fool.” Agree with her. Say whatever you think she wants to hear. Lindsay clutched her small evening bag, holding it against her waist.

“Too bad you didn’t realize that twenty years ago.” Bella smiled, the tilt of her lips bordering on a snarl. “I think you should know that I plan to shoot you more than once. I’m going to start with your legs and then your arms and then…” Bella’s sick laughter echoed in the underground dungeon.

Sour, salty bile rose up into Lindsay’s throat. A rush of pure fear flooded her senses. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a horrible nightmare. She couldn’t die. Not now. Not when she and Wyatt had reconnected. Not when they had just found their son.

“What makes you think I’ll stand here and let you use me for target practice?”

Bella stared quizzically at Lindsay. “Because I have a weapon and you don’t.”

“If you’re going to kill me anyway, what do I have to lose?”

“It’s your choice.” Bella shrugged. “If you try anything, I’ll kill you now. Play by my rules and you might live another hour.”

Their tense gazes locked.

“You think maybe someone will find you if you can just buy enough time, don’t you? It’s not going to happen. No one knows about this part of the basement. It’s my little secret. Of course, once the building is leveled, it is possible they’ll find your bodies in the rubble. Yours and Kristen’s and Rachel’s.”

This basement hideaway, the row of old lockers, the music from the past all blurred together, the entire scene surreal. Lindsay’s mind whirled with thoughts and questions and silent prayers.

When Lindsay shut her eyes as she made a final plea to God-I don’t want to die!-Bella screamed, “Open your eyes and look at me!”

Shivering, fear clutching her fiercely, she looked at Bella.

“Now, that’s better.” Bella glanced at the row of lockers. “I think I’ll put your evening bag and maybe your earrings in your locker.”

It’s now or never, Lindsay thought. While she’s not looking…

Lindsay lunged at Bella, who whipped around, aimed the gun and fired. The bullet barely missed Lindsay’s foot, hitting the floor and blasting shards of old concrete across Lindsay’s leg. As the pieces scattered, several nipped her foot and leg. Yelping in pain, she dropped her evening bag as she jumped and quickly backed into the wall behind her.

As her heartbeat thundered in her ears, Lindsay waited for the next shot-the one that could end her life.

Rachel stared at the brick school, dark and foreboding, looking exactly like what it was-an abandoned old building. Dean had sent the patrol officers in pairs to the front and back entrances but had heard nothing from them. It would take time to do a thorough search of every room, including the basement.

Rachel’s phone rang. She answered on the third ring.

“Rach, come to the side entrance of the school, the one closest to the gym,” Kristen said. “We’ve found something in the open corridor.”

Within minutes, Rachel held a lipstick-stained Kleenex in her hand.

“We found it right here,” Ross said, pointing to the exact spot, only a couple of feet from the side entrance. “We tried the door and it seems to be locked.”

Dean shined his flashlight through the panes of the half-glass double doors. “Rachel, come take a look.”

He kept the light pointing straight down on the floor inside the hallway. There lying on the floor was what looked like another tissue.

“We have to get in there right now.” Rachel’s instincts and training told her that time was of the essence.

Using the end of his flashlight, Dean broke the glass in a lower pane, carefully stuck his hand inside, and released the interior lock. “It was locked from the inside,” he said, “which means someone came through this way and locked it.”

When Kristen and Ross followed Dean and Rachel, Dean turned to them and said, “Wait here. And call Rachel if you see or hear anything unusual.”

The couple simultaneously nodded agreement.

“Where do we go from here?” Dean asked Rachel. “Up or down or forward?”

“You check the up stairs and I’ll check the down,” she said. “If we don’t find anything, we’ll move forward into the building.”

“I’ll contact Officer Williams while I’m checking out the stairs,” Dean said.

Rachel opened the door that led into the basement, shined her flashlight on the wooden staircase, and took several steps downward. There lying on the fifth step was what looked like a credit card. Rachel stooped to pick it up, took a good look at it, and hurried back up the stairs. After closing the door, she called out to Dean, who rushed down from the top of the upper staircase.

“Take a look. It’s Lindsay’s driver’s license.”

With her back against the wall and her foot and leg bleeding, Lindsay tried to think rationally. But how was that possible? She was in the clutches of a crazy person, someone who had already killed three other women.

“Bella, you don’t have to do this. You aren’t yourself,” Lindsay said. “You need help.”

Bella’s serene smile unnerved Lindsay.

“I needed help twenty years ago,” Bella said. “If someone had stopped Jake…if they had kept him from hurting me…”

“How did Jake hurt you?” Keep talking. Buy time. Pray that someone finds you before it’s too late.

“Patrick knew. He cared when no one else did.”

“Who was Patrick?”

Bella’s smile widened. Her eyes glazed over. “Patrick loved me. When I told him about Jake…I should have told Patrick first when I found out, not Jake. Patrick wouldn’t have made me do it. He would have let me keep my baby.”

“Baby? You were pregnant? You had a child by this man named Patrick?”

“I wanted my baby, but Jake said I couldn’t have it. He made me have an abortion. Patrick said that was wrong. That’s why he killed…no, that’s not right. Patrick wanted to kill Jake for what he did to me. But I wanted to kill Jake myself. I remember touching the bow, watching the arrow fly through the air. Jake couldn’t believe what I’d done. He just stared at me.”

“Bella, you didn’t kill Jake. You couldn’t have.”

Bella shook her head. “You’re wrong. Don’t try to confuse me.”

“You might have wanted to kill Jake, but you didn’t.”

“I did! I killed him!” Clutching the gun in both hands, Bella walked toward Lindsay, stopping less than three feet from her. “I killed Jake. And I killed Haylie and Aurora and Mandy. And I’m going to kill you.”

Lindsay’s legs shook so badly that she could barely stand. Sweat peppered her face and seeped through her bra and panties.

I don’t want to die.

I’m not going to die!

Dean called in the patrol officers and gave them instructions, then he and Rachel went down into the basement. They followed a trail of items, scattered ten to fifteen feet apart. Another tissue, then the empty tissue pack. A credit card, and then dollar bills.

Good girl, Lindsay. You didn’t panic. You used your head and left us clues.

When the final clue ended near a solid block wall, Rachel clenched her teeth. “This doesn’t make any sense. It’s as if they disappeared into nowhere.”

Dean waved his flashlight all around the area, searching for an opening of any kind. He nudged Rachel when the light fell on the top of what appeared to be a door half hidden behind a stack of mildewed wooden crates.