Page 90 of The Chain House
“Did that punishment fit his crime?”
He pointed to his scar. “Did this?”
“No, Luther, it didn’t.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Don’t call me Luther. Don’t turn this into a doctor’s visit. I know what you’re trying to do, and this is why you’re in the territory you’re in. This is why you’re with the Untrustables,” he said. “Oliver Crown loathes them most of all. They’re even worse than the rapists and molesters.”
“As a boy, you spoke of a Mr. Mosby,” she said. “You used to run away from home and take refuge inside his bookstore. He taught you how to read, right?” He nodded, and she went on. “He taught you how to immerse yourself in fictional worlds and how to forget the cruelty of the real world. He gave you a place to escape.”
“What about him?”
“Please tell me … you didn’t kill him.”
“No … but I did take care of him. I love him still.”
Beth licked her dry lips and craved water. She’d needed to pee for the past two hours but at the same time felt dehydrated. “What do you plan on doing?” she asked. “After Batise is killed.”
“You’ll see,” he said.
“Will I? Will I still be alive to see? See what, Oliver?”
“See me rise from the ashes and become the leader of men.”
“Does this not make you … disillusioned?”
He studied her like he felt sorry for her, or maybe pity, and then finally answered her earlier question. “I was there to kill you. Specifically you.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a killer.”
“But why me, specifically?”
“Because he didn’t like the way you and your sister-in-law laughed that day at lunch.”
At the mention of Emily, her sister-in-law, Beth’s heart skipped a beat.
He continued. “He knew I’d already taken care of Gavin Hawthorne’s sister. Then why not take care of his wife too.”
“You … what?” She felt the blood drain from her face. “What did you say?”
“Which part?”
“My sister,” she said in a growl.
“In-law,” he said, correcting her. “Sister-in-law.”
“She was my best friend,” Beth screamed, tears flowing suddenly. “What did you do to Emily Hawthorne?”
“It’s more of what she did to Sal Batise.”
“What did she do to poor Sal Batise?”
“She rejected his book,” he said. “The book. Book One. He said it was his masterpiece, and it was to be the first book in a long series, but she rejected it. Sorry, not for me, I wish you all the best with it elsewhere. And just FYI … I only typically take queries from agented authors, but for this I made an exception.
