She did have the wherewithal to switch out her phone. She couldn’t have the police tracking her.

She would have to dye her hair. Dammit, she wasn’t as cute as a brunette. Maybe...red? A nice strawberry blonde. That: she’d still be cute.

Still didn’t make her happy.

She should have had at the ready a better escape plan, except that Rachel had never actually thought she’d have to leave.

“I hate you,” she said out loud.

Lucas was still unconscious. The chloroform had worked well. Might even kill him, which would make things easier.

Though, bodies seemed heavier when they were dead.

She couldn’t believe how easy it was to create a chemical smoke bomb that cleared out that apartment building so quickly. First, because it was small, and second, because she was smart. A little potassium nitrate, a lot of sulfur, sugar to keep it going, and add the special ingredient of chlorine powder and voilà! Everyone thought it was a fire.

Just enough chaos to grab Lucas and leave.

She waited until she was on a stretch of the highway where she could call Donna without fear of losing her.

“Donna! It’s Rachel Wagner. I hope it’s not too early to call.”

“Oh my God! Rachel! No, you know me, I’m an early riser. It’s so good to hear from you.”

“You sound great. How are you?”

Donna rambled about her husband and two little kids and how happy she was at her amazing job at the casino—the job that Rachel had given her a stellar recommendation for.

“Tell me you’re coming down.”

“Yes, I am! I have a hotel reservation at the Biltmore, but then I thought as I was driving that I haven’t seen you in forever. I have a great bottle of wine in exchange for your guest room.”

“Fabulous! I would love to see you. I can’t wait for you to see how the kids have grown. I can hardly believe Josh Junior is going to be starting first grade next year. What time will you be here?”

“Not too late.” It was seven in the morning now: she’d dump his body by eight thirty, maybe nine, head down the mountain... “Is eleven this morning good? We can go for brunch.”

“Perfect! I know the best place, with the best mimosas. We’ll catch up. Josh will be happy to watch the kids for us.”

“Sold.”

Rachel smiled. Yes, she was going to be just fine.

Regan pulled over to the side of the road when they got into Payson to check Candace’s map. She trusted Lizzy, but she knew the area better. She also took the opportunity to call Brian Hernandez. He was on his way and said the sheriff was aware of her presence and was putting together a team, but he didn’t have an ETA yet.