Suddenly, he grabbed her by the neck and slammed her body against a tree. The blow forced all of the air out of her lungs. Beth coughed, desperately gasping for air. She tried jabbing a finger into his eye, anything to gain some space from the monster squeezing the life from her. But he dodged her attempt easily. He brought his other hand up to her neck, tightening his grip. He had an evil grin on his face as his eyes bore into hers. The pressure on her neck was so intense Beth felt as though her head would pop. Her arms were weak from the drugs pumping through her veins. She grabbed at his arms, flailing and slapping him in the face. But her feeble blows were useless against him. Beth tried pulling his hands off her throat but her fingers slipped off the gloves’ slick exterior. Blackness crept into the edges of her vision. She felt like she was floating away from the man. The circle of her vision grew smaller and smaller. She looked to the right of his head. The hawk landed on a nearby branch to watch them. She smiled at the bird until her heavy eyes closed of their own accord. The hawk squawked loudly as she felt life draining out of her. She took comfort in the fact that another living creature bore witness to her final moments. She wasn’t alone.

CHAPTER 27

Standing on Cris and Rosie’s front porch, I rethought my decision to come back here. This was the most Andie-esque thing I’d ever done, impulsively coming out alone against everyone’s wishes. I’d called Rosie and casually asked if they’d be around today as I might have time to stop by. I didn’t want to risk running into Cris, it felt too dangerous at this point, but I needed to get into their house again. When Rosie mentioned Cris would be at work most of the day I knew it was the best chance I had to look around for more clues without him hovering nearby. I would hope that Andie, at least, would understand my bold decision and appreciate that I did it at a time when it was only Rosie at home. I pulled out my phone and tapped out a message to let Andie know where I was. Before I hit send, I thought about what her reaction would be. No matter how much I wanted her to be on my side, I knew Andie would be upset. She’d tell me I was crazy and that I should have waited until she could come with me or not have gone at all. She’d want me to get back in the car and go home.