No, Cera was speechless because it was hard to believe it was actually over. That they were finally safe. And most importantly, her mother was finally,finallyfree.
Tears of relief filled her eyes before falling in twin streams along her cheeks. “He’s really dead?” She needed to hear it one more time to be sure.
Or maybe a thousand.
Because after the last two years, it was so very hard to believe.
“He’s really dead.” Detective McCall nodded. But then, “Cera, can you tell me what you remember from last night?”
She used her good hand to dry her face as she worked to control her stuttered breaths. With James dead, she wasn’t quite sure why her account of the events still mattered. But if her statement helped put an end to the reign of terror her family had endured, so be it.
“It was Family Game Night,” she shared. “We played a few rounds of Uno and then went to bed. Callie, my little sister, was upset about having to go to bed, so I let her sleep with me in my room. A loud noise woke me up a few hours later. I don’t remember the exact time, and that’s when I heard James walking around downstairs.”
“How did you know it was James if you couldn’t see him?”
“I recognized the sound of his heavy footsteps.”
“His footsteps?” McCall’s eyebrows arched with surprise.
“He used to live with us, and his walk was very…distinct.”
Slow. Heavy. Hard.
“That’s impressive. You’ve got a good ear.” The young detective’s dimples appeared when she offered Cera a flash of a smile before returning to her questions. “From listening to the recording of your call, it sounded like you lost your phone during some sort of struggle. Is that correct?”
Cera nodded. God, she didn’t want to go back there. Didn’t want to relive the terrifying horror of that moment. But yeah. Detective McCall’s assumption was right.
“James pulled Callie from under the bed, and I climbed out to try to stop him. When I moved toward him, he shot me.” Her voice cracked from the memory. “The phone must have flown out of my hand at that point.”
Callie. Their mom. Richard.
Those had been the only ones on her mind once the bullet struck. Her family…and the real-life monster who’d blindly attacked them all.
A family she was desperate to see.
“Okay, so James enters your bedroom, grabs your sister and shoots you, and then…”
The woman’s words trailed off as she waited for Cera to fill in the rest. But she was done answering questions. Done saying anything until she got what she wanted.
“I’ll tell you the rest, but not until I see my mom and sister.” She prayed Richard was okay, too.
Of all the men her mom had dated over the years, he was by far the best.
Detective McCall slid a glance in Dr. Randall’s direction, almost as if she were looking to him for guidance on how to respond. When the psychiatrist answered with a silent nod, the pretty blonde’s mouth turned downward with a regretful expression that turned Cera’s stomach inside out with dread.
The woman’s next words would change the seventeen-year-old’s life—her entireworld—forever.
Sadness filled Detective McCall’s hazel eyes. “I’m so sorry, Cera, but your mom and sister…Richard Pike…they didn’t make it.”
The bomb that had just been dropped didn’t register at first. When it did, she vehemently shook her head.
“You’re wrong.” An immediate denial. “Callie was still alive when the cops got there. Isawher. And my mom—”
“Your mom and sister are dead,” Detective McCall announced with firm bluntness.
Tears fell in sorrowful waves with round after round of hard, painful, gut-wrenching sobs. “You’re lying!” Cera threw the accusation at the woman next to her. “You’re aliar!”
Dr. Randall came closer to the bed, confirming the awful, unbelievable news. “Unfortunately, Detective McCall is telling the truth.”