Read Online She Can Tell by Melinda Leigh - Free Book Online Page B

Did everybody have him by the short hairs?

    Terror rose in Rachel’s throat. Sarah was alone up at the house, and Mrs. Holloway was due back with the girls at any moment. Rachel rose onto her knees. Pain burst through her head as she banged it on a piece of pipe. Scant light filtered in through a narrow window high on one wall. Using a chink in the mortar as a foothold, she hoisted herself up to peer out the window. A dark shape disappeared into the woods.
    Thank God he’d run away instead of going up to the house.
    She picked up her flashlight from the floor where she’d dropped it and switched it on. The beam shone on the brown body of a wild rabbit stretched out on the dirt floor. A six-inch metal spike protruded from the middle of its body. The pool of blood seeping into the earth around it seemed way too large for such a small creature.
    Lightheaded, she looked away. Tiny stars swam in front of her eyes as she surveyed the inside of her well house.
    She swept the light around the dim interior; a few broken pipes and some ripped-out electrical wires littered the floor, but the storage tank in the corner was merely dinged. It appeared that she’d interrupted her vandal before he completely destroyed the larger equipment.
    On the wall, words were painted in a dark red substance she doubted was paint.
    Roses are red.
    Violets are blue.
    You’re a nosy whore,
    And I’m going to kill you.
    An image sliced through the haze; a hulking silhouette covered in blood. Her knees wobbled. Straightening, she walked to the door, twisted the knob, and pushed. It was stuck. She pushed harder. No give.
    She was locked in.
    Trapped
.
    She closed her eyes and breathed. Composure, control, and a calm mind were the keys to defeating her fears. Everything would be fine.
    She patted her back pocket. Empty. Her cell phone was in the kitchen. Rachel looked toward the small window. Dust motes swirled in the light angling through the dirty glass. Even if she could climb up there, she’d never be able to squeeze through. The door was the only exit.
    Relax
. Sarah or Mrs. Holloway would miss her eventually. Someone would come looking for her. But the white walls seemed like they were getting closer, the air thicker.
    She tried to insert the blade of her pocketknife between the door and the jamb in the approximate location of the door handle. Too tight. The wood was swollen from therecent rains. Rachel wiggled the blade, her chest constricting as the point refused to go in.
    “Rachel?” Mrs. Holloway’s voice was muffled through the door.
    “In here,” Rachel yelled. She banged on the door with the butt of the flashlight. A few minutes later, the door rattled.
    “Give me a minute,” Mrs. Holloway shouted.
    Seconds ticked by in silence, followed by a bang, some scraping, and the creaking sound of wood being pried apart. The door opened. Fresh air blew in, along with Mrs. Holloway. She clenched a crowbar in one arthritic hand. The older woman was flushed and out of breath. “Goodness.”
    Behind Mrs. Holloway, a thick board lay on the grass. “That was nailed across the door. What happened?”
    “Someone locked me in here. After he did this.” Rachel stepped aside.
    Mrs. Holloway peered into the building. She scanned the damage. Her eyes widened as she read the threatening poem. She pressed a palm to the center of her frail chest. “Oh, my. Just now?”
    “I’m not sure how long ago.” It felt like hours since Rachel had been locked in. She tilted her head to read Mrs. Holloway’s watch. Time did not fly during a panic attack. “Less than twenty minutes.”
    “That’s even worse that the last one.” The flush on her neighbor’s face paled. “I thought Troy was still in jail.”
    “He is.”
    “Oh.” Mrs. Holloway wiped a hand on dark jeans ironed to a sharp crease. “So you don’t know who did this?”
    “No. I didn’t get a look at him either.”
    Mrs. Holloway cast a nervous glance at the tree line, now thick,