Archie had run past his mother, stopping a couple feet from the car, and looked teary-eyed. Then he looked at the car and shouted, “Let her go, you asshole!”

Sandra caught up to him, and pressed her palm gently on his back. “Go in the house, Archie.”

“But, Mom, it—”

“Go in the house,” she said firmly. “Gracie and I are going to have a little chat, sort this out. Okay?”

Archie looked as though he wanted to object, but finally did as he was told, heading for the front door but not taking his eyes off Katie the whole time. He went inside, but almost instantly appeared at the living room window.

The charging stand stood up close to the house, inches away from the Arrival’s front bumper. Inside was the cable that would, once plugged into the outlet right under the car’s headlight, recharge the Arrival in as little as an hour. Clearly, Gracie had made it home before entirely running out of battery life.

“Whom did you call?” Gracie asked.

“The chief of police,” she said. There didn’t seem much sense lying to Gracie. She probably had some Bluetooth feature that allowed her to know what was happening on the phones around her.

“Plug me in.”

“So you can recharge and go around killing people again?” Sandra asked. “I don’t think so. You’re pretty smart, Gracie, but you’re dumb as a shoe if you think everyone on the island is going want to let you guys have another go at this.”

The car moved ahead a millimeter. Katie winced and said, “Mom.”

“Okay, okay,” Sandra said. “Don’t do that, Gracie.”

“Plug me in.”

“Let go of Katie first,” Sandra said, thinking: I am negotiating with a fucking car for my daughter’s life.

Gracie said nothing, which Sandra hoped meant the car was considering Sandra’s request. After several seconds, the car spoke.

“No. After you have plugged me in, I will back up far enough for her to get out.”

Sandra considered her options. Before long, Gracie’s battery would die, her leverage lost. Then, if Sandra could get the car open and somehow shift it into neutral, she and Archie could move it back far enough to free Katie. But could Sandra stall until Gracie ran out of juice? Gracie would know how much power she had left. She might choose to use the last bit of it to break Katie’s legs, cripple her for life, or kill her outright.

Maybe plugging Gracie in wasn’t such a bad idea. Insert the cable, Katie frees herself, and then just as quickly yank the cable out.

And run for it.

But Gracie was no dumbass, and might anticipate such a plan. Sandra was betting the car would not free Katie until it was fully charged.

“Okay,” she said. “But, Gracie, you have to promise me, soon as I plug you in, you’ll let Katie go.”