Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90472 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 452(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“Once we stop, you’ll text your mom that you’re home,” Noah ordered.
I prayed my dad wasn’t too busy not to take a glance at my house cameras and double-check when my mom got my text that I had gotten home. He’d see that wasn’t the case. I could only hope. He could track my vehicle’s location, Noah had to realize my vehicle could be tracked. I figured he was counting on the text to give him enough time to kill me and take off before anyone was the wiser. And with this snowstorm, he might just make an escape.
“Tell me what you’ve deduced so far, Pepper,” Noah said as if he was entertained by the situation.
I obliged him, hoping he’d clarify anything I got wrong to use later against him, since I didn’t intend to go down without a fight. “I didn’t put it all together until I spoke with William.”
“Glad to know I was right about that,” Noah said, pleased with his narcissistic self.
I continued. “Once I realized you were here in Willow Lake at the time of the murders, things started falling into place rather quickly, though I thought myself crazy for thinking my best friend’s dad was a murderer.”
“Come on, Pepper, you can say it… Amy’s dad is a serial killer.”
At that moment, I thought I just might lose whatever was in my stomach. His return had been difficult enough on Amy. Whatever would she do when she discovered her dad was a serial killer?”
I was so angry I spit out,” “You’re a jackass.”
“Your mom would not approve of such language,” he scolded with a laugh.
“Believe me, I’d say much worse, but it would do little good since you’re such a narcissistic whacko.”
He laughed again. “You are much like your aunt, telling it as you see it.”
“I imagine she saw you for what you were worth.”
“Actually, your aunt confirmed for me what I already knew. She made it clear one day to me that Nancy and Amy would be better off without me and that I would only bring them never-ending pain. She was right and her advice made my decision that much easier. Regardless of what you think, Pepper, I love my daughter very much and surprisingly, I loved Nancy. I don’t know how she captured my heart, since I never thought I had one, and kept it, but she did. It was that love that made me realize I couldn’t stay with them. I would have brought them constant disappointment and pain. The urge to kill was growing in me and killing too close to home was not an option. I had already killed a few towns over during the few times I left my family for days on end.”
“Then why come back after all these years when you continued to kill?” I asked, and it suddenly dawned on me.
“The shock in your eyes tells me you realize why.”
“You wanted to know if Amy was like you… a killer.”
“Strange as it may seem, I was growing lonely in my old age. I thought my daughter might have inherited my propensity for…”
“You can say it, Noah… murder.”
“Exactly,” Noah said, “And with age catching up on me, it would have been nice to have her join me in the family business.”
“Amy would never—”
“You’re right,” Noah agreed. “I could tell as soon as I met her. She’s far too kind-hearted like her mom. It’s why I asked her to invest in a scheme when I didn’t really need the money. It freed her to stop thinking I could be what she wanted me to be.”
“And yet you intend to kill her best friend since kindergarten.”
“Survival, Pepper. I intend to survive and not worry about law enforcement tracking me.”
“And continue to kill,” I said.
He shrugged. “What can I say? It brings me pleasure.”
“And did Travis and Rita’s murders bring you pleasure?”
“Those are the only two murders I regret. They were a good pair and shamelessly in love. But I had no choice. Travis and Rita came upon me ready to bury Deanna’s body. One look and Travis knew I couldn’t let them live. He yelled for Rita to run and get help, and she did. He charged me and I had enough time to grab a rock and smash him in the head. I must have hit the right spot because he went down. Another hard smash and he was dead. I went after Rita and caught her. She fought but I killed her rather quickly. I got no satisfaction out of it like I did with Deanna. I moved her body farther away to be easily found, knowing Travis would be blamed for it once he couldn’t be located. Then I buried him with Deanna, though obviously not deep enough. I was in a hurry to get out of there. It hadn’t been what I planned, and I wanted to get as far away as I could.”