Double Blind by Brandilyn Collins

Author:Brandilyn Collins [Collins, Brandilyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Christian Suspense
ISBN: 9781433678264
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Published: 2012-01-12T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter 22

I STARED AT THE NAME, BLOOD GELLING IN MY VEINS.

Mom took a hard look at my face. “You know who he is, Lisa?”

My tongue would barely work. “CEO of Cognoscenti. Inventor of the Empowerment Chip.”

Air seeped out of my mother’s throat.

“You know that letter I got, accepting me into the trial? He signed it.”

A million thoughts drilled my brain. I didn’t even know where to start. “That man we saw at the house. It couldn’t be him. I researched Cognoscenti before signing up for the trial. I saw a picture of William Hilderbrand then. He looks like he’s in his mid forties.”

Mom absorbed the information.

“Why is it him?” My voice rose. “I knew when I saw the house that he was rich. But this . . . Hilderbrand’s worth millions. He’ll crush me. I can’t imagine the police even approaching him.”

This was too much. No way could I handle it.

“And besides, why would he kill someone? And how could it end up on a chip in his own company? No wonder they’re trying to silence me. It’s not just the chip, it’s the founder!” I buried my head in my hands.

Had Hilderbrand made that threatening phone call to Mom himself? Had he written that note? Had he broken into my apartment? I couldn’t imagine it.

But I couldn’t have imagined any of this.

A stunning realization hit. My head came up. “I didn’t think the killer knew that I know about him. But if it’s Hilderbrand, he does.”

He would kill me too.

It was surprising I was still alive.

Mom drew a long breath. “Maybe he doesn’t know. Maybe it’s what we thought before. You threatened Cognoscenti, so they’re fighting back by insisting your chip is blank. They want to shut you up. But they have no idea about this murder.”

“But I told Jerry and Clair about it. If Hilderbrand heard that, he knows.”

Exhaustion and fear clawed me. Every bone in my body felt beaten. I fell back in the chair. “I have to stop. I can’t fight this man. Whether Hilderbrand knows now or finds out later—I’m dead.”

His hands around her throat . . . Grabbing the knife . . . The suitcase sinking in black water.

I had to leave town. Right away, with no forwarding address. I could call Jerry Sterne and apologize, tell him everything was fine now. It would be a message to Hilderbrand that I was backing down.

Maybe, just maybe, he’d leave me alone.

But I knew he wouldn’t. Every minute he’d think of me, still alive, knowing the truth that could bring him down. I’d jag through my days, wondering when he would show up. Grab me in a parking lot one night.

How could I live like that?

I curled up in the hotel chair, darkness crusting around my head. I should just let it smother me. Maybe I was meant for depression. Meant to lead a miserable life. Maybe the brain chip was a placebo. And now even the power of suggestion was slipping away.

“Lisa.” Mom put her hands on my shoulders.

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