Darkest Deceit: A Gripping Psychological Thriller by Michael Layne

Author:Michael Layne [Layne, Michael]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Writer Layne
Published: 2024-05-06T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SIX

GALE

“WHAT THE HELL was Dan talking about?” I say to Mary as we sit there, both tied up, going nowhere anytime soon. “What bar? You two know each other before tonight?”

Mary is quiet, staring straight ahead instead of looking at me.

“I thought I recognized him,” she finally says, her voice flat and without emotion. “But I was drunk, you know? Me and Tommy had just broken up, and I was out at Mickey’s having a few beers, probably a little depressed. And Dan took the seat at the bar next to me. Gave me that smile. Bought my drink. Then bought me a few more.”

“Oh my God,” I say. “Did you fuck him?”

Mary shakes her head and chuckles.

“Didn’t you hear what he said? I wasn’t his type. He was there to talk to me that night. But not about me.”

“Tell me.”

“At first, he wanted to know about the murder that he’d heard happened in Smithfield a few years ago,” she says. “That was pretty normal behavior, honestly. Lots of people have wanted to know about that night over the years. But after I gave him the basics, he started asking a lot about you.”

I raise my eyebrows, pondering what she is telling me.

“I didn’t tell him much, until I got pretty drunk. And I guess, at some point, I did mention that you were living up here. I am truly sorry about that.”

“When was this?”

“About a year ago,” she says.

“Were you going to tell me?” I say. “

“I was going to after I saw who your boyfriend was tonight. But I’ve hardly had a chance to talk to you alone. I figured knowing about Randy was more important. And, I guess I was scared you’d be mad. You seemed so happy. Who was I to ruin your happiness?”

“Fine,” I say, trying to ignore the sting of this revelation. “That doesn’t matter much now, does it? We need to figure a way out of this house and call the cops.”

“With what?”

She has a point. Her phone is trashed, and Dan has mine.

“One thing at a time,” I say. “First, we get loose. We can worry about the phone later.”

“Do you think someone will find us down here? Maybe that homeless guy. Or on Monday morning. They have to send someone through to make sure the place is empty before they destroy the place, right?”

“Probably so. But I’ll give you one guess as to whose job it is to check the house.”

Mary curses and struggles, pulling at the thin, tight rope holding her in place.

My hands are already asleep. Dan did a much better job tying us up than we did with him. Still, I’m not about to give up and sit here for two days, waiting to die.

That is for certain.

I try standing up, but my ankles are tied, too. It makes it hard to get up, but not impossible. After a few tries, I’m on my feet, hands behind me, but at least I’m standing.

The plywood covering the well has some jagged edges to it, along with a gaping hole roughly cut into its center.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.