Rachel mentally went through her checklist.
She had money, but it wouldn’t last forever. Once she dumped Lucas she would head down to Fountain Hills. One of her sorority sisters lived there, and she had done Donna a huge favor...namely, helped her get her dream job. She’d stay there one night, trade her Jeep in for another car, then leave and head east. She wanted to go to Tucson—she knew that area well—but being smart meant avoiding familiar places.
She had another friend who lived in Las Cruces, and Rachel could make that drive in a day. She’d close out her bank account and continue heading east. Or north. A big city where she could disappear, get another identity, rebuild her life. Dye her hair, get a stylish new cut, find a way to lie low.
She needed a better long-term plan, but she’d work on it along the way. She’d never thought she’d have to leave Flagstaff. She’d built something really amazing there, and now it was gone, thanks to the drooling dope in the back seat.
Rachel would be okay for a while. She emailed the department head, saying she had a personal crisis and was going to stay with her aunt in Oregon. She apologized but sent along the rest of her semester plans for her classes and said her assistants could handle everything. She didn’t want to leave anyone in the lurch.
It infuriated her that she had to do it in the first place.
Because of Lucas Vega.
She did have the wherewithal to switch out her phone. She couldn’t have the police tracking her.
She would have to dye her hair. Dammit, she wasn’t as cute as a brunette. Maybe...red? A nice strawberry blonde. That: she’d still be cute.
Still didn’t make her happy.
She should have had at the ready a better escape plan, except that Rachel had never actually thought she’d have to leave.
“I hate you,” she said out loud.
Lucas was still unconscious. The chloroform had worked well. Might even kill him, which would make things easier.
Though, bodies seemed heavier when they were dead.
She couldn’t believe how easy it was to create a chemical smoke bomb that cleared out that apartment building so quickly. First, because it was small, and second, because she was smart. A little potassium nitrate, a lot of sulfur, sugar to keep it going, and add the special ingredient of chlorine powder and voilà! Everyone thought it was a fire.
Just enough chaos to grab Lucas and leave.
She waited until she was on a stretch of the highway where she could call Donna without fear of losing her.
“Donna! It’s Rachel Wagner. I hope it’s not too early to call.”
“Oh my God! Rachel! No, you know me, I’m an early riser. It’s so good to hear from you.”
“You sound great. How are you?”
Donna rambled about her husband and two little kids and how happy she was at her amazing job at the casino—the job that Rachel had given her a stellar recommendation for.
“Tell me you’re coming down.”
“Yes, I am! I have a hotel reservation at the Biltmore, but then I thought as I was driving that I haven’t seen you in forever. I have a great bottle of wine in exchange for your guest room.”
“Fabulous! I would love to see you. I can’t wait for you to see how the kids have grown. I can hardly believe Josh Junior is going to be starting first grade next year. What time will you be here?”
“Not too late.” It was seven in the morning now: she’d dump his body by eight thirty, maybe nine, head down the mountain... “Is eleven this morning good? We can go for brunch.”
“Perfect! I know the best place, with the best mimosas. We’ll catch up. Josh will be happy to watch the kids for us.”
“Sold.”
Rachel smiled. Yes, she was going to be just fine.
Regan pulled over to the side of the road when they got into Payson to check Candace’s map. She trusted Lizzy, but she knew the area better. She also took the opportunity to call Brian Hernandez. He was on his way and said the sheriff was aware of her presence and was putting together a team, but he didn’t have an ETA yet.
“Give him my cell number, though reception out here is going to be spotty.”
“Nicole Bergamo is out of her coma. Your dad is already there, and her doctor says I can interview her this afternoon.”
“He’s an early riser, and he was worried when I woke him up this morning and told him Rachel had Lucas. He wanted to make sure Nicole was safe.”
“We have a police officer on her door.”
“Yeah, but I’m not going to tell former Sheriff Merritt no.” She loved how her dad always stepped up. He was everything she wanted to be and hoped she was worthy of the Merritt name. “Let me know when you get here,” she said to Brian, then ended the call before he asked her any more questions about her plan. She said to Lizzy, “What if we go this way?” She pointed along a narrow road.
Lizzy looked it up on her Google Earth map. “Yeah, it’s going to be rough, but it looks clear.”
“Let’s go.”
Her phone beeped. It was a text from Brian that said the Gila County sheriff would have a team at the mine in twenty-three minutes. She gave him a thumbs-up and typed I’ll be there in fifteen.
And she hoped they had picked the right mine, otherwise Lucas would be dead before they caught up to Rachel.
“He’s going to be fine,” Lizzy said. “I know it.”
“Yes.”
“You don’t sound like you believe it.”
Regan wanted Lucas to be alive and well, but hoping for something didn’t make it true.
She learned that the hardest way possible.
“Please, tell me no one else is going to die.”
“I’ll do everything in my power.” Her voice cracked. Her best wasn’t good enough.
It hadn’t been good enough to save her son.
“What’s wrong?” Lizzy asked.
Regan didn’t look at her as she drove over the rough terrain of the fire road. It was muddy from the recent rain, but she trusted her truck and tires to do the job she had paid for.
They bounced heavily on the suspension. Another vehicle had very recently come through here, based on the tracks. That gave Regan hope that they were right about the location.
“Regan?”