Page 44 of Little Twisted Things

I wouldn’t tell him about poor Mikela. I didn’t want him starting up again about leaving Key West. He’d hear about it at some point today. But for now, I just wanted to enjoy some peace.

“I have to get to the university. Dinner tonight at my place?”

“Sure.” I smiled.

“Great. I love you.” He brushed his lips against mine.

“I love you, too.”

After he left, I showered, dressed, grabbed my laptop, and sat on the couch. My head started to hurt as I shut my eyes for a moment to try to ease the tension. The cottage appeared the moment I closed my eyes. Why was I here? Usually, Katherine would be sitting on the porch in a rocker, reading a book or tending to her garden. But she wasn’t in either place. I walked past the cottage, my bare feet sinking into the warm sand. Katherine stood at the shoreline in a long white sundress, her hair lightly blowing in the wind.

“Katherine, what are you doing?” I asked, stepping a few feet behind her.

“I think something’s changing,” she softly spoke.

“What do you mean?”

She wrapped her arms around her body as if she were cold. “I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”

“Try!” I loudly voiced.

“It feels like something is pulling me away from this place,” she said.

My heart started racing.

“Come here.” I wrapped my arm around hers and led her back to the cottage. “Look at how beautiful it is here. Look how much your garden has grown since the last time I visited. You have the perfect life, Katherine. You’re happy. You have no worries. The outside world is a very bad place where very bad things happen to people. You’re safe here, Katherine.”

“I suppose.” She smiled.

“Good girl.” I led her to the porch and had her sit in the rocker. “This is paradise. Your paradise. You’re never leaving here. Understand me?”

“I understand.”

“Good.”

My eyes opened as my heart raced out of my chest.

25

One Month Later

All had been quiet in Key West over the past month. No more bodies were found by either myself or The Last Chapter Killer. Perhaps he left Key West. One could only hope. There wasn’t room on this island for both of us.

Alex and I had a romantic dinner and went back to his place for the night. I awoke in the middle of the night, dying of thirst, so I climbed out of bed and went into the kitchen for a bottle of water. I heard a ding. And another. With furrowed brows, I looked around the kitchen and noticed Alex’s laptop sitting open on the table. I tapped a button, and the screen lit up, demanding a password.

“What is your password?” I whispered to myself. I’d remember Alex telling me once that all his passwords were related to literary books. It was the only way he could remember them all. We’d just had a conversation the other night about Shakespeare. I pulled out the chair and sat down, resting my fingers on the keyboard.

Tobeornottobe. Incorrect password.

2beornot2be. Incorrect password.

ToBeOrNot2Be. Bingo! The screen unlocked, and a message appeared from a girl who called herself DaisyMae22.

DaisyMae22

Are we still on for tomorrow?

I clicked the message, and all of their conversations came into view. Her profile picture was of her standing in a sunflower field, with her face partially hidden by the brim of a straw hat.