My ears rushed with noise, panic bubbling up through my chest. I knew it was a message from Liz, wherever she was. She was asking us, specifically, for our help.

But how on earth (or in hell, I supposed) were we supposed to do that?

I had no idea how, but we had to step up our efforts to save her, and all of us.

CHAPTER
23

Do you think I can call the regular police line, or is 9-1-1 appropriate?” Melissa paused over her phone, index finger pointed at the screen.

I held up the photo for proof and tapped it. “ ‘Help me.’ She wants our help. The police or EMTs can’t do that. She’s asking us, Melissa. She needs us.”

Melissa lowered her chin and pursed her lips, the beginning of a glare. “How are we supposed to do that? She should try contacting a priest. Or an exorcist. Or a therapist.”

“We are her friends. Don’t you care—”

“Guys, enough,” Jess said from the backseat. She leaned forward and put her elbows on the sides of the driver and passenger seats. “Enough,” she said again. “Being assholes to each other isn’t going to help.”

We were in my SUV, parked in my driveway. After I’d fed the kids breakfast and tried to scrub the dried maple syrup off the edges of my kitchen island before I gave up and let Rocky have a go at it, I texted both of them the picture. Melissa said she would stop home on her lunch break, and Jess agreed to come at the same time.

I met them in my driveway and pointed to my car, as it was the only place I could guarantee we wouldn’t be heard. I wasn’t comfortable talking in the backyard, with the specter of Liz’s house casting a shadow over us.

Melissa made a harrumph sound and adjusted the air-conditioning vent so it pointed at her face. It blew her hair back, and she closed her eyes. Her makeup was still perfect, her lipstick unsmudged. She wore a black sheath and black-and-white pumps, in contrast to my Target leggings and tank top with small holes in the front. Jess wore a bathing suit, since she was apparently about to inflate the baby pool in her front yard. Of course she hadn’t put on a cover-up. It was pointless, she said, like washing your car during a rainstorm.

I swallowed hard. “I’m really worried about Emily. For whatever reason, this is all affecting her, too.” I felt the beginning of tears forming in my eyes. “Please, just hear me out.”

“So what do you suggest?” Melissa said, eyes still closed.