As they inched themselves backwards, Addis was aware that whereas the crawl space was at first the place of her nightmares, she much preferred it to being out in the open with the unpredictability of a crazed killer.

Before shuttering them back into darkness, he said, ‘Don’t worry; I gave you more fentanyl, so you’ll be zoned pretty soon.’ The door dropped back into place with a boom.

Addis drew her legs up. With each tick-tock of time passing, her brain and body betrayed her desire to stay awake and alert. She wanted to move, but her limbs were glued to the ground. How was it possible to feel both sluggish and like her heart was about to explode from her chest? Just before unwillingly tumbling back down the rabbit hole, her jumbled mind drifted from ‘Who’s Alex?’ back to the assembly on drugs the student body was forced to attend every year.

The keynote speaker’s voice had endlessly droned on about how fentanyl was fifty times more potent than morphine, the side effects could be more intense and last longer, and the craving for more could quickly eat at their every waking moment.

All of which begged the question: would this be the time she and Em would be out for good? Would they die before Aunt Grace could save them?

Chapter Nineteen

Saturday, October 5

Not even eleven in the morning, and Alyssa was already feeling like she’d worked a twelve-hour shift. Trapped in the knowledge of the horrible things humans were capable of doing to others, she tried unsuccessfully not to imagine the various types of hell Addis and Emerson could be experiencing right this moment. In what she recognized as a twisted kind of logic, she also fervently prayed they were still alive, even if it meant they were suffering.

Images of Jersey Andrews, Rachel Otis, and all the other victims she’d encountered over her years on the force flitted unfettered through her memory. It took Cord’s hand on her arm to bring her back out of her head.

‘Lys, you okay?’ His voice was low, as if Sandra couldn’t hear the question from the back seat.

Mildly embarrassed though she knew she had no reason to be, Alyssa assured her partner she was fine. ‘Yep, just playing with the angles of this case, trying to see which paths will lead to a common road.’

Since neither Elizabeth nor Rosalyn had yet to return their calls, nor had they answered when Cord had tried again, Alyssa had made the decision to confront Mack. Years of experience and dealing with all types of personalities told her not to let him know in advance that they were coming which is why she’d stopped Cord when he’d pulled out his phone to do just that. Stopping in front of a Spanish-style home with vine-shrouded pergolas, she eyed the red RAV4 parked in the driveway.