of course."
She was suddenly as excited as a kid in a toy store. She unzipped her jacket pocket and pulled out a soggy map.
"I'm such an idiot. Monk could have read about the property in the paper, and when Carrie asked him where he was taking her,
he came up with that name. I assumed he was lying. Why wouldn't I assume that? He'd lied about everything else, but John Paul, what if he was telling her the truth?"
Her babbling worried him. "Are you getting punchy?"
She smiled. "Yes," she said. "But it still all makes sense anyway."
"What are you trying to tell me?"
"I think I know where Carrie and those other women are."
Her announcement gained his full attention. "You think you know? How?"
"Carrie told me where Monk was taking her."
One eyelid dropped. "And you're only now mentioning that fact?"
"Hear me out," she said. "I thought he'd lied to her. I told you my aunt left me a message on my machine, and I erased it, and
you heard my question to Cannon, didn't you?"
"I heard you ask him if there was a water problem."
"And Cannon said, no, not at Utopia. I also asked him if the spa owned a house in the mountains."
John Paul nodded. "I remember his answer was no."
"Because he said no, I didn't ask any other questions about the house. Carrie called it a retreat. I assumed that everything Monk told her was a lie. But what if it wasn't?"
"Why would you think he was telling the truth about their destination?"
"It's what you said. Why lie when you don't have to? Lies have a way of coming back to bite you." She repeated his very words. "Monk already had grabbed her, right? And he'd already told her his name. She was meekly going along, probably without a care in the world. But she called me on her cell phone from the ladies' room. And I doubt she would have told Monk she'd made the call. There wouldn't have been any reason."
"If Monk had told her where he was really taking her, he wouldn't have let her out of his sight."
"He couldn't go with her into the ladies' room," she pointed out. "And he might not have known she had one of her cell phones
with her."
"One of her cell phones?"
Avery nodded. "She carries two at all times. Carrie's a workaholic, and it makes her crazy if the battery runs down. Besides,
she uses one for personal and the other for business."
"She could just carry an extra battery."
"Oh, she does," she said. "So what do you think?"
"The truth? I think you're reaching."
"No, I'm analyzing the data, and I think we have at least a fifty percent chance I'm right. We have to check it out."
"You know where this house is?"
While he opened the map, she told him about the old gentleman who sat with her in McDonald's.
"Yeah, I see the circle he made."
Avery then told him about the couple who were fighting over ownership. "The judge is supposed to decide soon which one of
the thoroughly unpleasant couple gets the house. He also told me the place has been vacant for weeks."
John Paul slowly nodded. "Okay, it's worth a look. Break's over. Time to move."
"We've got to get to a phone. That's the first order of business."
"No," he whispered. "The first order of business is staying alive so we can get to a phone."
And that, he knew, was easier said than done.
Chapter 23
Now that the three women were finally ready to leave, they were immobilized with fear.
It was four o'clock in the morning, and they estimated that they had approximately two hours before dawn. They huddled
together at the kitchen table, dressed for the forest in layers of clothes, sipping hot tea to fortify them against the night air.
A frigid breeze poured into the kitchen from the hole in the pantry wall.
"What if Monk put down trip wires or something?" Carrie asked. "What do we do then? We won't see them in the dark."
They all worried about the possibility, and then Sara said, "I don't think he'd take the time to climb up the side of the mountain.
I'm sure he thinks he's got us locked in tight."
Carrie was so scared, she was trembling. "Listen," she whispered. "If I don't make it…"
"Don't talk like that. We're all going to make it," Sara said, but her voice lacked conviction.
"Let me say this," Carrie insisted. "If I die, I want you two to promise me you'll make the police find Avery and protect her.
Call my husband," she added. "Tony will want to help keep Avery…" Her voice caught on a sob, and she couldn't go on.
"Focus on one worry at a time," Sara suggested.
"That's right," Anne said. "Concentrate on climbing down the rope."
Carrie nodded. "Yes, all right." She pushed her teacup away and stood. "We should go now. No more stalling."
Anne grabbed Carrie's hand. "Everything is going to be fine. You'll see."
Smiling, Carrie squeezed her hand. Uh-oh. Anne's eyes were getting that glassy look. She had probably taken one of her pain
pills. When Carrie had searched the upstairs for a way out, she'd noticed the bottles of medications lined up on Anne's vanity. There were enough to start a small pharmacy.
"Did you remember to put your medicines in your jacket?" Carrie asked.
"Yes, of course I remembered."
"I could put some of the bottles in my jacket."
"No need," Anne assured her.
"What about the letters," Sara asked Carrie. "Did you zip them in your pocket?"
"Yes, I've got them."
"Okay, then," Sara said. "Let's do it."
They had already decided that Sara should go first. One end of the sheeted rope was anchored to the kitchen table, which couldn't be pulled through the doorway, but Carrie and Anne were still going to hold the rope while Sara lowered herself to the ground. Anne had tied big knots twelve inches apart so they would have something to grab.
Carrie was the second one to go because Anne had argued that since she weighed the least of the three, she stood the best chance of getting down on her own if the rope came loose from the table.
Carrie had wanted to go last, but Anne wouldn't hear of it. "If the rope doesn't hold or I fall, you and Sara could maybe catch me, but I couldn't help catch you or Sara. I have to go last."
"Oh, God, don't think about falling. You made a good, strong rope, Anne. It's going to hold."
"Yes, we'll all be just fine."
Anne sounded obscenely cheerful. Was she getting nuts again, or was the pain pill responsible?
Sara led the way into the pantry. Carrie and Anne watched as she picked up the end of the rope and tied it around her waist.
"I hope this is long enough."
Sara got down on her knees, then scooted to the opening. "Get down on your stomach," Carrie whispered. "And go out slowly, feetfirst."
"Did you put the penlight in your pocket?" Anne asked.
"Yes, I've got it."
Carrie sat on the floor and braced herself with her feet against the two-by-fours. Anne got behind her to help hold the rope.
Just when Carrie thought Sara was never going to reach the ground, the sheet went limp. Carrie fell back against Anne. Recovering her balance, she took a deep breath and said, "Guess it's my turn."
She rolled onto her stomach and scooted to the edge.
"Wait," Anne whispered. She grabbed Carrie's jacket, shoved a thick envelope in the pocket, and zipped it closed.
"What are you doing?"
"You're the strongest of the three of us, so if Sara and I don't make it, you make sure…"
"Yes?" Carrie prodded. "Come on. What?"
"Just make sure. Now go."
Carrie didn't waste time arguing. She would find out what Anne meant after they'd gotten away from the house.
Her hands were bleeding and raw, and she was too frightened to cry. She slowly lowered herself down.