Chapter 1 - The Accomplice
The back door opened slowly.
Daniel stepped into the kitchen with heavy, deliberate footsteps.
He did not reach for the overhead light switch.
He walked past my supposedly unconscious body without even looking down at me.
A second set of footsteps followed him inside the dark house.
The sharp clicking of high heels echoed against the cold kitchen tile.
I kept my eyes shut tightly and forced my lungs to take shallow breaths.
Noah remained completely motionless beside me on the floor.
The strange woman stopped near the kitchen island.
She asked Daniel if he was absolutely sure that the poison had worked.
Daniel laughed softly and told her the toxin was flawless and completely untraceable.
He promised her that the coroner would simply rule it a tragic case of sudden cardiac arrest.
I felt a cold, terrifying sweat break out across my forehead.
My mind raced as I thought about the frozen food sample hidden in my waistband.
The woman sighed heavily and complained about the mess in the dining room.
She told Daniel they needed to move our bodies to the car before the neighbors noticed anything.
Daniel agreed and walked over to the hallway closet to grab a heavy canvas tarp.
I squeezed my eyes shut as he unrolled the rough fabric onto the kitchen floor.
He grabbed my ankles and roughly dragged me onto the center of the tarp.
I let my head loll to the side, fighting every instinct in my body to scream.
He dragged Noah over and dumped him right next to my shoulder.
The woman leaned over us, her expensive perfume masking the smell of our dinner.
She told Daniel they had exactly ten minutes before the local patrol car drove past the house.
I wondered why the police had not already arrived from my frantic 911 call.
I had given the dispatcher our exact address and warned her of the immediate danger.
The woman reached into her designer purse and pulled out a buzzing police radio.
She pressed the button and casually reported that the residential area was completely clear.
My heart stopped completely in my chest.
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I recognized her calm, professional voice immediately.
She was the 911 dispatcher I had spoken to on the phone just five minutes ago.
