Chapter 62

“Where’s Paul?” Reid asked nobody in particular.

“We haven’t seen him, sir.”

“What did you do to him?” Reid asked. “Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” Eliza mumbled.

“What about his room?”

“Empty. He’s just…disappeared…” The word hung in the air, everybody exchanging nervous, pointed glances, no doubt thinking about the shallow graves behind the house.

“He’ll turn up sooner or later,” Reid growled. “And then…”

“What are we going to do with her?”

“Exactly what we’d planned. Except now, she doesn’t get to have a final meal,” Reid said, shaking his head.

“Oh, that is too bad. I was going to make fried chicken. You liked my fried chicken, didn’t you dear?”

Eliza felt a ball of tears in her throat, despair making her cold, but she almost wanted to laugh. She could feel it all bubbling to the surface, a torrent threatening to overtake her. She thought she must be dreaming. How could any of this be real?