Just Take My Heart - Mary Higgins Clark [103]
The van was in the complimentary parking area next to the lodge. Luckily, the clerk had not asked him for the license plate when he had checked in. If the police ever came here looking for him, some?body might be able to tell them the make and color of the van, but he doubted that anyone would remember the license plate number.
Frantically weighing his options, Zach decided to pull down the shades, turn on some lights, and leave. At least until tomorrow, that would give the impression that he was still here.
Immensely frustrated, he knew that if the clerk hadn't noticed him, this cabin might have been relatively safe for at least a few weeks. It was better to get down to North Carolina, find a place to stay, and then drive back up to Glen Rock to take care of Emily in a few months, when the heat was off.
But then something told him again that his luck was running out. Wherever he went, he knew that at any moment there could be a police car behind him, with flashing lights and siren blaring, forcing him to the side of the road.
He thought back to Charlotte divorcing him, and getting a judge to decide she should get his house. He thought of Lou and Wilma, and how good he had been to both of them, and yet both of them had left him.
By now Emily must know he had been spying on her and going through her house. He hoped she understood the reason that he had left the intercom system in his kitchen: It was his message to her that he would be back.
He could imagine what was happening there now. Emily's sure to have a guard outside, in case I come back looking for her. But who's to say that I won't find her someplace else? And who's to say I can't sneak back into the neighborhood again?
Zach had not unpacked a single thing from the van. Now as he got into it, having decided that he would drive through northern New Jersey to the New York Thruway and find a motel in one of those sleepy hamlets on the way to Albany, he had a thought that pleased him.
He had taken Emily's fancy nightgown with him last week. It was obvious she'd never worn it. She should wear it, Zach thought. Maybe it would be nice to tuck it around her after she's dead.
Just Take My Heart
71
Emily pulled down the shades in her kitchen and put on water to boil for pasta. Energy food, she told herself. That's what I need. Bless Gladys for trying to make sure that I don't starve. Her cleaning woman sometimes brought in containers of her homemade pasta sauce or chicken soup and left them frozen in the refrigerator. Now the pasta sauce was defrosting in the microwave oven.
While it was cooking, Emily made a salad and set it on a tray to take into the living room. Tonight was not the night to start on the Aldrich files, she decided. Her nerves were simply too raw. Yesterday afternoon I walked past Madeline Kirk's house and thought how I didn't want to end up a recluse like her. While I was thinking that, she was wrapped in plastic bags in the trunk of her car.
The pleasant autumn day had turned into a sharply cold night. She had changed into pajamas and a robe and turned up the heat, but even so could not get warm. What did Nana used to say? Emily asked herself. I know: “I'm chilled to the bone.” I think after all these years I finally know what she meant.
Bess was asleep now on a pillow on the kitchen floor. As she took warm Italian bread from the oven and poured herself a glass of wine, Emily kept glancing at the dog for reassurance that she was still there. If that guy Zach tries to come back, Bess will warn me, she thought. She'll bark her head off. But of course the police officer is outside guarding the house. My own private bodyguard, she thought. Just what I needed.
Then she wondered if Bess might actually be glad to see Zach. She'd probably think he was there to take her for a walk. He even took care of her while I visited Dad and then Jack. My helpful neigh?bor. Emily shivered at