You've Been Warned - James Patterson [40]
How easy it would be to lean over Penley and grab that pillow, place it on her face with my elbows locked and smother her. If I did it quick enough, she wouldn’t even struggle, would she? There would be no violent kicking, no muffled screams. She’d die a quick, silent, 100 percent goose down death.
Could I really do it?
Hell, I can’t even believe I’m thinking it.
It occurs to me: maybe that’s the connection — why Penley’s picture has the same ghosting effect as the body bags from the Fálcon. It’s because she’s in danger.
From me?
I feel dizzy. A rush of cold air hits me and I gasp, only to look over at the curtains and see them billowing. The window over the terrace has been open all this time.
A little shiver travels up through my spine and head, jarring my thoughts in an entirely new direction.
I know exactly what I have to do now.
Shoot Michael.
Chapter 54
CAREFULLY, I REMOVE THE LEICA from my shoulder bag, double-checking to make sure it’s loaded. My hands steady, I aim right for Michael’s head.
Don’t think, just shoot.
“Mommy!”
My head whips around. Oh, jeez, it’s Sean calling from his room.
“Mommy!” he yells again.
I look back at Michael and Penley. They’re waking up. Quick, hide!
I glance at my camera. No, wait. Snap a picture — then hide!
Sean calls out a third time, his little voice screeching like a siren. He not only sounds louder, he sounds closer. Is he out of his bed?
I drop to the floor in a panic. Ten feet away, over by the bathroom, is a small sitting area with a sofa.
I begin crawling toward it on my hands and knees.
I’m completely in the open now. If Penley gets out of bed, the only way she won’t see me is if she trips over me first.
That’s when I hear her mumble to Michael, half asleep. It seems she’s not going anywhere.
“Go see what he wants,” she says.
“He’s yelling for his mommy,” he mumbles back.
“Then let him yell.”
Michael groans and pushes back the covers.
Oh no, he’s getting out of bed! Michael is going to see me in about two seconds.
The couch is still a few feet away. I scramble to hide behind it. The floorboards creak beneath the rug.
“What was that?” asks Michael.
Penley yawns. “What was what?”
“That noise. Didn’t you hear? It sounded like it came from inside the room.”
I close my eyes. I’m toast.
“Mommy?”
I peek out around the sofa. Sean’s standing in the doorway now, his voice barely above a whisper.
I’m saved. At least for the moment.
Michael forgets all about the noise in the room. “Hey, what’s the matter, little buddy?” he asks.
“I had a bad dream. Dumba came again. Can I sleep in your bed?” Dumba is the monster who sometimes invades Sean’s dreams. Is Dumba maybe the monster who invades my dreams?
“Sure you can,” says Michael. He is a nice guy.
“No!” snaps Penley.
“Honey, give the kid a break, will you? He’s scared.”
“I don’t care. He needs to learn that he can’t always come running to us.”
Michael bristles. “Yeah, and he also needs to learn algebra, but neither has to happen at age five.”
As terrified as I am to be stuck there, I can’t help thinking, Good one, Michael!
Not that Penley would ever be denied. “Fine,” she huffs. “I’ll give you a choice. If he sleeps in here, you don’t!”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I’m dead serious. You, Sean, and Dumba can go sleep somewhere else.”
“Jesus, you’re a piece of work, Penley.”
I hear Michael’s feet land on the floor with a resounding thud. His voice sweetens for Sean. “C’mon, buddy, you and I are sleeping in the guest room.”
And off they go.
Leaving me and Penley.
Chapter 55
FOR ONCE I DON’T wake up drenched in sweat and screaming from the dream. That’s because I never go to sleep that night.
No, I don’t hurt Penley, or even say boo to her in their bedroom. I hide behind the sofa, barely moving a muscle, for another hour until I’m convinced it’s safe to slip out undetected. Out of the apartment, that is.
Leaving the building