Page 133 of Forever Gone

Carol Fen descended slowly.

The large knife hung beside her right thigh. Its blade carried a dark coating from point to handle. An empty leather sheath remained clipped inside the waistband of her trousers.

Selena forced herself onto one hip.

“You don’t need to do this, Carol.”

Carol stepped down without replying.

Her movements held none of the frantic energy Selena expected after an interrupted attack. Each foot settled before the next left the tread. Calm had returned to her, the same calm that must have carried her into Karen’s cabin, Ruth’s house, and the barn where Linda died.

“I do need to do this,” Carol said.

“Deb’s alive. Put the knife down, and we can get help for both of you.”

“Help.”

Carol gave a small shake of her head.

“Deb needs to pay like the rest.”

A groan came from the floor.

Deb’s fingers moved near Selena’s knee. Blood covered the side of her blouse, but the wounds appeared to be high along the shoulder and ribs rather than across the throat. Carol had not finished.

“You don’t need to silence her,” Selena said.

Carol reached the middle of the staircase. “She spoke more than the others.”

“She tried to help you.”

“They all said that.”

“You found them through HearthSpace,” Selena said. “You made them trust you, then used what they told you to get close.”

Carol continued downward. “They trusted me because I understood them.”

“You understood where they would be alone.”

“They wanted privacy.”

“You turned it into opportunity.”

For the first time, Carol’s composure wavered. Her lips pressed into a narrow line, and the knife shifted closer to her leg.

Selena shifted her right leg beneath her. The movement dragged her left arm, and nausea rose with the pain.

Upstairs, a floorboard creaked.

Kelly.

Carol heard it, too. Her attention lifted toward the open doorway.

Selena moved.

Her right hand slid across the concrete toward the pistol.

Carol came down the remaining steps faster.