“Now,” said Devon, pressing the barrel of the gun so hard into Amber’s skin that she winced and shrank away from it. “I don’t want to do this here. Not with Lilly in the house. I also don’t want her asking too many questions, so the three of us are going to go for a walk.”
Josie thought about the fact that both Finn and Noah knew they were coming to see Devon. Even if Devon hid Josie’s car, as she had with Eden’s, that wouldn’t buy her much time. Noah would come at her hard and not let up until he found the truth. Great, thought Josie, our murders will be solved.
Devon herded them to the back of the garage where another door led to the backyard. They stepped out into the snow, which was now up above Josie’s ankles. She kept waiting for a chance to use her phone or catch Devon off guard so that she could attack, but no opportunities came. Devon stayed behind them, her gun wavering back and forth between their heads as they walked side by side to the edge of the yard and the woods beyond.
Everything was covered in snow and flakes were coming down at a furious pace now, making it difficult to see a few feet in front of them.
“Where are you taking us?” Amber asked. Her teeth had already begun to chatter.
“Somewhere you won’t be found until the spring, and by that time, I will have figured out how to fix all this.”
Josie tried to bring up a satellite image of this area of Denton in her mind. It was more remote than most places in the city, but there were still neighbors to consider. She racked her brain trying to think of what was behind Devon’s house. Before she could figure it out, they emerged from a line of trees into a clearing. Ahead, just a vague shape in the distance, was a barn and corn silo. A farm. Her eyes searched for a house or a vehicle. Any sign of life. Anyone who could help them.
“They’re not home,” Devon said, as if reading Josie’s mind. “They’re in Costa Rica for two weeks. It’s not a working farm. A couple of artists bought it. They use the barn and silo as a studio.”
Josie blinked away the snowflakes gathering on her eyelashes. Her teeth started to chatter as well. Amber’s frigid palm slid into hers and squeezed. She had to do something. Glancing back, she saw that Devon’s finger was still on the trigger. The Glock 19’s safety was on the trigger. Devon need only apply a little extra pressure to shoot and kill one of them instantly. Josie couldn’t risk rushing her or trying to trip her. She just had to wait for the right opportunity.
“Over there,” Devon said, waving the gun to their left. Beside the barn was a slight incline and then what looked like two wooden pillars jutting up from the piles of snow. Beyond them was a rope bridge. It was hard to make out in the whitewash but as they got closer, Josie could see where the snow had fallen through the planks of the bridge. Amber hesitated when they reached it. Turning to Devon, she said, “What is this?”
Josie already knew what it was, and she was trying to figure out how Devon intended to drown them in a pond when it was likely frozen.
Devon pressed the barrel of the gun to Amber’s temple and said, “Shut up and walk.”
The pond was huge. The rope bridge stretched so far away that Josie lost sight of the other shore in the snowfall. When they reached the middle, Devon made them stop. Josie tracked their positions. Both Devon and Amber were now closest to the rope, their waists actually touching it. Josie was on the other side from Amber. Together they formed a strange triangle, Josie being the point and furthest from the side where Devon had chosen to stop. Devon turned her body and looked down. Turning just slightly, Josie followed her gaze. About three feet below them Josie saw what she assumed was the surface of the pond, covered in snow. Devon pointed the pistol down and fired off three shots in quick succession. Amber flinched, her hands flying up to cover her ears. Josie pivoted her body. Using her forearms like a bar, she rammed into Devon’s back, just below the shoulder blades. Devon pitched forward. The gun bobbled in her hands and dropped into the snow below. Josie fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around Devon’s legs, lifting with all her might until Devon’s entire body toppled off the bridge and into the ice below.
The ice didn’t shatter when Devon landed. But when Amber landed on top of her; that did the trick. Josie tried to catch Amber before she went over but she was too late. As Devon tumbled, she snagged one of Amber’s arms and took her along. In horror, Josie watched as the two women sank into the jagged hole in the broken ice. Their heads bobbed once, twice. Devon lurched upward and used her hands to push Amber’s shoulders down. Amber didn’t come back up. Josie knew that once she was under the ice, she’d be disoriented, moments away from hypothermia, and it would be dark. She would not be able to find her way back to the opening.
Josie took a few steps away from where Devon and Amber had fallen and jumped onto the pond. The half-foot of snow padded her landing but under her feet she heard a crack. Devon’s bullets had weakened the integrity of the ice. The closer Josie got to them, the more the ice would crack, and she might be next. Ignoring the cold and the panic sending her heart into overdrive, Josie dropped to her stomach and spread her hands and legs as much as she could, trying to evenly distribute her weight across the ice. The muscles in her arms hadn’t fully recovered from the experience at the church and putting any pressure on them sent pain streaking from her wrists to her shoulders. She ignored it and kept going. As she clawed her way to the opening, listening for the splashes, she heard more tiny cracks. Snow gathered in her mouth, and she spat it out. It clung to her face and ears and the back of her neck. It was so cold it felt hot.
One of her hands touched water, then a fragment of ice. Devon’s head rose up, water sliding off her as if she was some sea creature. She howled and reached out toward Josie, trying to grab on. Josie quickly rolled to her side and kept feeling along the edges of the fragmented ice. Devon sank again. More splashing sounded. A hand shot out of the water. Josie blinked snow away, and with perfect clarity, saw the scar on Amber’s palm. She lunged for Amber, both hands reaching out and clasping Amber’s wrist. Beneath her, the tiny cracks in the ice sounded almost like a symphony. As she struggled to her knees, pulling Amber’s body from the freezing water, Josie felt the ice giving way. Amber’s upper body came out of the opening. She used her free hand to grab at ice that crumbled in her grip.
“Take my other hand!” Josie screamed but Amber was too disoriented. Her palm flailed but couldn’t seem to find Josie’s other hand. Josie felt the area beneath her shift again. She scrambled backward on her knees, still pulling Amber with her, trying to find some solidity.