“Forget the jewelry!”
Chloe shouted.
“We’re talking about a quarter of a billion dollars. Go upstairs, get her awake enough to hold a pen, and get it done now.”
I heard them moving toward the stairs. I had seconds. I turned and sprinted, not back to the bedroom, but to the kitchen. I grabbed a wet dishcloth and tied it over my face to filter the gas. I knew the layout of this house better than Mark ever would. I ducked into the pantry, pulling the door shut just as the basement door swung open.
“Sarah, honey?”
Mark’s voice was back to that sickly sweet tone.
“Are you awake? I heard a noise.”
I watched through the slats of the pantry door as he walked into the kitchen. He looked frantic. He started opening drawers, looking for the specialist’s paperwork he’d hidden.
“She’s not in the room!”
Chloe yelled from the hallway.
“Check the back door!”
While Mark ran toward the mudroom, I slipped out of the pantry and headed for the basement. It was the last place they’d expect me to go. I flew down the stairs, my heart hammering. The basement was thick with the smell of gas. I found the water heater. The wrench was still sitting on the floor. I didn’t know much about plumbing, but I knew how to tighten a bolt. I grabbed the wrench and threw my entire weight into it, praying I was turning it the right way.
Clank. The metal groaned. The hissing stopped. I had bought myself some time, but I was still trapped in a basement with two people who wanted me dead. Just as I was about to head back up, I heard a car pull into the driveway. Headlights swept across the small basement windows. A third person entered the house, a man with a heavy, authoritative voice.
“Mark, Chloe, why is the house smelling of gas? I told you I’m not losing my medical license for a botched arson.”
It was Dr. Aerys, the specialist. I stayed in the shadows behind the furnace, my phone recording everything.
“She’s missing, doctor.”
Chloe was hysterical now.
“She must have woken up. She’s somewhere in the house.”
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