If It Walks Like A Killer (The Carolina Killer Files #1) Read Free Page A

count one, two, three, jump. It is so fun to jump but I am sad because now there are brown spots on my socks from the puddle. I will definitely be in trouble now.
    Mommy helps Davis into his car seat on their side but Daddy doesn’t have to help me because I am a big girl. I climb into my booster seat and snap the buckle. Davis is yawning because he is sleepy and he has a piece of cereal in his hair which is funny.
    I tell him, “Bubby, we are going to the park.” He smiles at me because he loves the park too. The car smells funny today, and kind of makes my head feel dizzy. Mommy and Daddy are talking a lot and it is rude to interrupt so I cannot ask if they smell it too.
    “Moo-sic,” Bubby says because he wants Mom to turn on the radio.
    She turns it up and we sing along. I look out the window, waiting to see the park. Instead, I just see trees, which are boring. I notice mom and dad have stopped talking so I decide I will ask if they smell the funny smell. Also, the water on my sock is starting to burn me a little bit.
    When I look at mom I laugh because she looks like she has eaten something hot. Her eyes are as big as basketballs and her mouth is wide open. Dad is grabbing the wheel with Mom and he keeps saying, “Pump the breaks, Rachael. Pump them. Pump. Don’t panic. Pump.”
    My mom’s name is Rachael, but I just call her Mom. I don’t know what he is talking about but I notice we are starting to drive sideways and off the road and we are going fast, like the rides at the fair. This is not the way to the park. We should stay on the road to go to the park. Even I know that, and I’m a little girl.
    “Why aren’t we going to the park?” I yell, even though my daddy is talking and I know it’s rude.
    “Park. Park. Park,” Davis screams.
    Mom and Dad ignore me, which is rude. Now I will be rude. I chant loudly with Davis.
    My dad turns to me, he is crying like he is sad. “Stop!” he yells.
    I want to tell him I’m sorry, I do, but then I am turned sideways, and then I’m upside down and I hear a loud bang and then my mommy screams and my bubby cries and then it all goes black.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
     
    Rachael
     
    “It looks like your brake lines were cut on something. From the amount of fluid lost, I’d say it was severed several days ago and it has been leaking for a while. Rachael, you all are lucky to be alive.”
    Rachael kissed her daughter’s head again, sitting in the waiting room of the ER. “Thank you, Emmett. Please let me know once it’s fixed.”
    She hung up the phone, looking around anxiously for Caide. It was nearly midnight and Davis was the last to be released. She picked her daughter up, sitting her in her lap, and squeezing her cheeks between her palms. “I love you so much, Kiddo. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d lost you.”
    “You’d find me.” Brinley smiled at her.
    The hall doors swung open and Caide walked through, carrying Davis who was smiling proudly, clad in a bright blue leg cast.
    “My baby,” Rachael cried, rushing toward them and reaching for Davis who immediately started crying. “What did the doctor say?”
    “He doesn’t have a concussion, just a hairline fracture in his femur and three stitches here.” He pointed to the gauze bandage above his eyebrow. “He’ll be pretty sore for a while, but all in all he’s fine. We’re all fine.” He pulled Rachael into his side, hugging her tightly.
    “What did your doctor say?”
    “No sleep for the next twelve hours for me.” She touched just above her ear where they’d shaved her hair for stitches. “He said it’s a minor concussion. They got the swelling to go down, but he just wants to be on the safe side.”
    “And this?” He ran his finger across the bandage that ran down her neck and onto her chest.
    “Oh, it’s just a cut from my seat belt. It wasn’t even deep enough for stitches. I just have to keep it covered for a while.”
    He looked