Colin raced inside to update Maria, finding her still on the back porch with Evan and Lily, her parents, and a scattering of aunts and uncles. As Colin related his discoveries, Maria listened silently. By the end, her eyes were closed, and though the revelations were clearly frightening to her, he also sensed a kind of peace in her at finally knowing the truth. Her relatives, meanwhile, remained silent, all of them waiting for her to respond.
“Okay,” Maria finally said. “What’s next?”
“I’m guessing Wright will put out an APB on Dr. Manning and then do whatever else it is cops do when searching for a suspect and building a case.”
Maria thought about that. “But what about the pattern?” she finally ventured. “I mean, if Dr. Manning wanted me to experience everything Laws had done to Cassie, why would he have vandalized my place last night? He had to know that it would make it even more difficult to get to me. And why didn’t Lester grab me when he had the chance to…”
Beat me, maybe burn me alive, and then kill himself, she didn’t need to add. Colin remembered what Laws had done, but knew that Dr. Manning had never planned to kill himself. He’d wanted Atkinson’s body found in the ashes, which would close the case for good, leaving Dr. Manning a free man. All Colin could do was shake his head.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
Seven o’clock now, and the night was growing even darker, with just a sliver of moon above the horizon.
As the family, led by Felix, began making additional plans to keep Maria safe, Colin drifted to the kitchen and retrieved a glass from the cupboard. He was thirsty, but he also wanted to be alone while he pondered Maria’s questions.
Moving to the refrigerator, he set the glass under the dispenser. Filling it with water, he downed the glass in a single long pull and began refilling it, his eyes absently scanning the refrigerator door. There were photos of Maria and Serena over the years, poems, Maria’s confirmation certificate, and a drawing of a rainbow in crayon with Serena’s name carefully etched in the corner. Some of the items had begun to yellow at the edges, and the only recent addition appeared to be the letter Serena had received from the Charles Alexander Foundation. It was in the upper corner, partially obscuring a postcard that displayed the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City. As Colin glanced at the letterhead, he was again nagged by the thought that the name seemed oddly familiar.
Still…
Maria’s questions had left him feeling unsettled. Why had Dr. Manning vandalized her condo? If Dr. Manning wanted Maria to experience everything Cassie had, then why deviate from the pattern now? And why paint the words You will know how it feels in her bedroom when doing so only made her more inaccessible? It was possible, he supposed, that Dr. Manning had panicked or lost control after Lester had been arrested. Colin wanted to believe that, tried to force himself to, but couldn’t quite make that leap. Instead, he felt like he’d overlooked something. Either he was missing a piece of the puzzle, or Dr. Manning no longer cared whether he could get to Maria at all…
But why wouldn’t he care?
Turning from the fridge, he took another drink, consoling himself with the notion that even without the answers, not only was Maria safe, but she’d remain safe until Dr. Manning was apprehended. Colin and her family would make sure of that. They gave circling the wagons a whole new meaning. Hell, all of them were here right now, standing watch…
But in that instant, he realized he was wrong. Not all of them were here. One of them was missing… and Dr. Manning no longer cared whether he could get to Maria at all…