The Border Part Seven Read Free Page A

seconds, she felt him slide the envelope from her hand.
    “Do you promise you’re not a cop?” she whispered, on the verge of tears.
    He nodded. “Do you promise you’re not a cop?”
    She nodded.
    “We’re both in the same situation,” he replied, looking down at the envelope and briefly opening it to see that there was cash inside. “So you have my -”
    Suddenly a police siren rang out in the distance. Shocked, they both turned, only to see a patrol car speed past the diner. After a moment, their faces drained now of all color, they turned back to face one another.
    “So you have my number,” Luke continued, clearly a little shaken as he checked his watch. “It’s 9:15am. If, in twenty-four hours from now, I have received no message from you, I will go ahead. At that point, I will strike fast.”
    She nodded.
    “And don’t be afraid,” he added, getting to his feet. “You mentioned in your email that you have a daughter. You seem like a nice woman and I’m sure you’ve raised the girl well. If your husband is such a fiend that he has pushed you to this point, then the fault is his, not yours. Get him out of the way and start a new life.”
    “He…” She paused. “Yeah, he…”
    “There is no more to discuss,” Luke replied, taking a step back, “and you know how to contact me if you want to cancel our arrangement. I hope you don’t, though. I hope the twenty-four hour cooling-off period merely lets you realize how normal all of this is. And it is , you know. Welcome to the real world, Mrs. Hague. This is how people fix the problems in their lives.”
    Nodding, she watched as he turned and made his way to the door. Once he was out in the parking lot, she realized she’d begun to hold her breath, and she tried to stay calm as she exhaled. Looking out the window, she watched as Luke disappeared from view, and then she looked at her watch. Twenty-four hours… Suddenly that didn’t seem like a very long time at all, and she told herself she still had time to change her mind. Then again, the thought of Bob being gone from her life was liberating. Even if she eventually canceled the deal with Luke, she figured that she’d enjoy spending a whole day filled with the feeling of imminent freedom. And if ultimately that moment of freedom didn’t transpire, the anticipation would be like a Christmas gift to herself.
    Feeling her phone vibrate, she pulled it from her pocket and saw that Alex Gordon was calling.

I I
     
    “Bowley police are expected in the next twenty-four hours to arrest the prime suspect in the murders of Mel Armitage and Hayley Maitland. The suspect is a local man, known to police, and his arrest is expected to lead to progress in a number of other unsolved cases, including the death several years ago of Caitlin Somers.”
    Leaning back on the porch, with the newspaper in his hands, Ben couldn’t help but smile as he continued to read out loud.
    “Sources close to the investigation say that the suspect has been under investigation for some time, but that this is the first time it has been possible to make a move. Police are bound to face questions about why this individual was able to remain free for so long, and why earlier concerns were not acted upon.”
    He chucked to himself.
    “Oh Jack,” he continued, lowering the paper for a moment. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to go to press with accusations like this? Everyone knows that Joe Baldwin killed those two girls.” He smiled. “You’ve just made yourself look like a class-A fool.”
    Hearing the porch door starting to creak open, he turned just in time to see his father stepping out of the house in a dressing gown.
    “Hey,” Ben said after a moment, “did I wake you with my raucous laughter?”
    “It’s barely nine in the morning,” Harry replied, clearly unhappy to receive a visit so early. “What the hell are you doing sitting on my goddamn porch at such an ungodly hour, talking to yourself and laughing like