Deciding to send Heather a text to let her know he’d changed his mind and that he was waiting outside, he settled onto a bench and typed:
Thought you said you were filming at RED tonight. I’m outside if you still want me to take part. I’ll hang around a bit longer so LMK.
He waited for a response. He knew she was in there—he’d seen her car parked nearby. He’d seen Layla’s car and Ryan’s too, for that matter. And yet, they were inside while he was on the stoop, cooling his heels.
He frowned, checked his phone again, then got up and started to pace when he glanced across the street and saw Detective Larsen watching the building in an unmarked car.
What the—?
Mateo hadn’t even finished the thought, when his phone vibrated with Heather’s reply.
No reason to wait
It’s already too late
Please don’t you worry
Just go now & hurry
You’ve been nothing but sweet
I’m forever grateful we had the chance to meet
I’m going away for a very long while
Though I’ll always think of you with a smile
Despite what you may hear
For me, you were the one true thing I held dear
Mateo’s hands began to shake as he read the message again.
The rhyme reminded him of the ones Layla had been sent.
The picture Ira had taken with Tommy’s phone wasn’t meant to taunt him, but to warn him.
Finally, after all this time, the clues were falling into place in a way that made sense. Though the ominous tone of Heather’s message didn’t bode well for anyone locked inside with her.
He railed hard against the door. When it failed to so much as budge, he started toward the street, intent on alerting Larsen, when someone caught him by the back of the shirt and he turned to find Paul Banks standing behind him.
FORTY-FIVE
HERE’S WHERE THE STORY ENDS
Madison stood wearily before the glass wall, not the least bit surprised to see Heather Rollins holding her gun to Trena Moretti’s head. Though she was surprised to find Heather acting alone. She’d been convinced Heather had help. Then again, considering the body found in Joshua Tree and the one Paul left behind in Death Valley, it was possible Heather was the only one left.
Somewhere in a corner behind Madison, Ryan, Aster, Layla, and Tommy were huddled together, but she paid them no notice. This wasn’t about them. Never had been. They were merely pawns chosen by Ira and manipulated by Heather into her sick, twisted game.
When Aster had asked if any of this would’ve happened if it weren’t for the contest, Madison hadn’t known the answer. Though she’d since figured out a few things leading her to conclude that while Ira and Heather were both playing a game, the games they played weren’t remotely the same.
Heather had been after Madison from the first day they’d met, which wasn’t the date Madison had once thought. Turns out, their connection stretched back a decade or more.
“As you may have guessed, this won’t end well.” There was no use for disguise. Heather spoke in her own voice now.
“It doesn’t seem likely,” Madison agreed.
“I’ll never forget how you looked at me in the car. You weren’t the least bit surprised to find me waiting in the backseat. Tell me, just out of curiosity, what gave it away?”