Read Online Curiosity Killed the Kat by Elizabeth Nelson - Free Book Online

lights and I smiled back, but inside I had a dreadful feeling that we were not yet out of danger and the worst was still in front of us.
     

C HAPTER FIVE
     
    It took us 3 hours to get to my childhood home in Danbury. I spent the drive dividing my attention between the road in front of me and the rearview mirror. I saw the faces of Steven and Charlie in the faces of every other driver on the road. I drove in fear that his car would appear behind us and the whole nightmare would begin again. But, it never happened, we arrived at my mother’s without incident. I was never so grateful to pull up in front of the modest little red brick house with my mother’s famous roses growing on the bushes in front.
    I parked in front and we came up the walk, Sandra struggling to carry her bag, exhausted by the events of the day. The house was dark, but I knocked anyway, hoping she was in bed early and would be woken up by our arrival.  I pounded on the door, but it remained stubbornly closed. Where could she be? I could see her car in the garage, so I thought she may be at one of the neighbors or had gone to dinner with a friend. I didn’t have a key, our relationship had been rocky over the years and we had gone long stretches of time without talking. Our mother daughter bond didn’t extend to spare keys, unfortunately.
    “Sandra,” I said. “Have a seat on the porch, I’m going to go next door and see if they have a spare key, okay?”
    She looked at me, a fresh blaze of fear jumping into her eyes.
    “Don’t go!” She pleaded.
    “Sandra, don’t worry. I’m coming right back. We have to get inside and my mother’s not here. I’m just going to step next door and get a key.”
    She didn’t look convinced. Her face was a mask of fear at the thought of being left alone.
    “Would you feel better if you were in the Range Rover with the doors locked?”
    “ Okay,” she agreed.
    I gave her the car keys and watched as she made her way back to the car and collapsed in the passenger seat. She carefully locked the doors and stared anxiously out at me.
    Satisfied that she was safe for the time being, I crossed the lawn and knocked on the door of our neighbor, Cecelia Foote.
    I had known Mrs. Foote since I was a child. She and her husband had lived next door to us as long as I could remember. Last year, when my mother had told me that her husband, Frank Foote , had died I was as sad as if I had lost a favorite uncle. He had always been so kind to me when I was growing up. He taught me how to ride a bike, and he could always be counted on for a few dollars if it was hot out and I wanted a treat from the ice cream truck. I hadn’t seen Cecelia Foote for years, I hoped she remembered me and even more importantly that she had a spare key.
    Every knock on her door sounded like a prayer. Please open, please open, please open.
    And, then it did. Cecelia stood there staring at me. Her eyes were red like she’d been crying and her face looked haggard and tired. She was holding the phone and when she saw me standing there, her face went whiter and she dropped the phone and ripped open the door.
    “Thank god you got my messages,” she said as she grabbed me into her arms. “Oh, honey I’m so sorry . It was so sudden!”
    I was as confused as I’d ever been, but a cold finger of dread was inching its way up my spine and making my stomach start to churn in fear.
    “Mrs. Foote, what are you talking about? I just came to see my mother. It’s an emergency and I really need to see her. I was knocking and no one is home. Do you….” I started to explain but my voice died in my throat to see her just standing there staring at me incredulously.
    “Honey, what are you saying?” She asked, dumbstruck. “I was just calling you again, just this minute.” She pointed to the phone where she’d dropped it at her feet.
    “Are you telling me you’re just here?” She went on, “without hearing my messages?”
    I nodded silently, afraid to ask