CHAPTER 32
Maria
Colin was driving so fast that the images beyond the windows were blurry. Despite the seat belt, Maria was being flung from side to side whenever he made a turn or braked or accelerated. And yet, all she could think about was Serena and that she’d been the target all along. And he’d toyed with her…
The fake scholarship. Interviews. Slowly earning her trust…
But all the while, he’d been planning. Following Serena. Stalking. Not just in person, but on Serena’s social media, too. He’d come to dinner with the family because he’d known Maria wouldn’t be there… Serena had told the world that Maria had a date. He’d known Maria would celebrate their mom’s birthday because Serena had posted about that, too. As the reality of what was happening sank in, Maria felt a mounting sense of panic that began to take on a life of its own. It was getting harder to catch her breath as the muscles in her chest began to compress. She tried to will the sensations away and from past experience knew she was having a panic attack, but she kept thinking about Serena. What if they were already too late? What if Dr. Manning had already abducted Serena and would do to her what had been done to Cassie?
Maria’s mind flashed on the photos from Laws’s crime scene and her lungs suddenly constricted even more, making breathing almost impossible. She told herself again that it was simply a panic attack, but as she tried and failed to draw a breath, she knew that she was mistaken. This wasn’t a panic attack. It wasn’t like this the last time. All at once, she felt a searing pain in her chest that traveled down her left arm.
Oh my God, she thought. I’m having a heart attack…
Colin hit the brakes and the momentum flung Maria hard into the shoulder harness. She was flung again moments later as he made another turn, her head banging the window. Maria barely registered the pain; all she could think about was the pressure in her chest and the fact that she couldn’t breathe. She tried to scream, but no sound came out. In that instant, she was only vaguely aware that her phone had suddenly dinged and vibrated with an incoming text, the thought immediately vanishing as the world began going black at the edges.
“Maria? What’s wrong?” Colin called out. “Are you okay?”
I’m having a heart attack! Maria tried to say as her eyes began to close. I’m dying! But the words still wouldn’t come. She couldn’t breathe, her heart was giving out, and though she heard Colin calling out her name, it sounded both underwater and far away, and she couldn’t understand why Colin wasn’t doing anything, why he wasn’t helping her. He needed to call an ambulance and rush her to the hospital…
Her thoughts were disrupted as she was suddenly shoved upright in her seat and felt pressure on her shoulder; a moment later, her body was being shaken.
“Take control of this, Maria!” Colin commanded. “You’re having a panic attack!”
It’s not a panic attack! her mind screamed as she fought for every breath, frantically wondering why he wasn’t helping her. It’s real this time, can’t you see that?
“Maria! Listen to me! Maria!” Colin shouted. “I need to know where Serena went! Manning is with her right now! I need your help! Serena needs your help!”
Serena…
Maria instinctively opened her eyes at the mention of her sister’s name and latched on to the sound, focusing on it, but it was too late…
“Maria!”
This time, it was the sound of her own name that jolted her. She thought; Colin is talking to me. She thought; Serena. She thought; Dr. Manning. Somehow, she was able to hold her eyes open, though she still couldn’t breathe and she was dizzy. But… Serena… oh, God, Serena needed…
Help.
Every cell in her body continued to hammer its death omen at Maria, drowning out the reality of the situation. She fought to regain clarity; she forced herself to think about Serena and knew they were going to the waterfront to save her sister, and that her phone had vibrated with a text.
It was all she could do to turn the screen faceup and focus, but she was somehow able to make out the words…
Sorry. Ringer off. Walking to interview now. Wish me luck!
Serena. Her sister was still alive, and they were racing to save her. Maria forced herself to draw a long, steady breath, and then another. A panic attack, that’s all, she thought. I can get through this…
But her body was still rebelling, even if her mind had begun to clear. Her hands shook and her fingers weren’t working right. She was able to hit the redial button, but the call went to voice mail. Meanwhile, Colin continued to shout at her from the driver’s seat, even as he skidded through another turn…
“Maria! Are you okay? Tell me you’re going to be okay!”
Though it took her a moment, she realized they’d reached South Front Street and were headed in the right direction.
“I’m okay,” she mumbled, still catching her breath, amazed she could speak at all, realizing that breathing was no longer impossible. “Just need a minute.”
Colin quickly glanced over at her before facing forward again, pressing down on the accelerator. “How much farther?” he asked. “I need to know where she is.”
“I don’t know,” Maria answered, her voice still weak, her body struggling to recover. “A few more blocks,” she huffed, feeling dizzy.
“You sure?”
Was she? She looked up the street, wanting to make sure. “Yes.”
“On the left or right?”
“Left,” Maria answered. Straining, she forced herself to sit higher in the seat. Her body continued to tremble.
Colin sped through the next intersection. Staring out the window, Maria vaguely noticed a half-dozen shacks and boathouses closer to the river, looking dark and shadowed. Streetlights barely cut through the darkness. The car’s momentum began to decrease as Colin lifted his foot from the accelerator, and they coasted the next block and through another intersection. Here, the architecture immediately shifted; the flat-roofed buildings were now sandwiched together like row houses, some of the buildings in better condition than others. There were office lights blazing on some floors but most were blackened, and the cars on the street were separated by wider gaps. There was no traffic in either direction. As they drove through another block, the area suddenly began to feel familiar and Maria knew they were close, even as she struggled with a sudden rush of anger and guilt she felt for having a panic attack at the worst possible moment, when Serena needed her most.
She reminded herself that she’d been here before, and despite her body’s continued rebellion, she forced herself to take long breaths as she scanned the buildings. It was hard to tell for sure which was the one they wanted, since she hadn’t been paying that much attention the first time she’d come here. She vaguely recalled that Serena had been standing at an intersection and there’d been some construction workers staring from the opposite side of the street… She squinted, spotted scaffolding on a building at the corner, and then, on the opposite side of the street, Serena’s car…
“There!” she said, pointing. “The four-story brick one on the corner!”
Colin immediately pulled over, braking hard. He jumped out of the car and took off running, not waiting for Maria as she struggled to open her door, furious that her body had gone into revolt and needed to recover. She didn’t have time for that. Not now. Especially not now. Finally pushing the door open, she willed herself to stand and start moving.
By then, Colin had already reached the lobby door. She saw him struggling to open it, finding it locked, then jabbing at something beside the handle. When Maria looked up, there were seven or eight offices still illuminated on various floors, and she watched as Colin pounded the glass. She could tell from his body language that he was debating whether to smash his way in, but Maria instinctively knew that Serena wasn’t in the office building. Nor was Dr. Manning. He’d been far too careful to this point to make that mistake now; he’d been far too meticulous, and there were too many people in the building, too many potential witnesses, too many things that could go wrong. She guessed that Dr. Manning had been waiting for Serena on the sidewalk in front of the building and probably had a story about a pipe that burst or whatever, so the interview would be held elsewhere. She knew that he wanted someplace private, where he knew he wouldn’t be caught, a place that would burn.
“Colin!” she tried to shout. The sound came out weak. She tried to wave her arms, but the dizziness came back in a rush and she stumbled. “Colin!” she called out again, and this time he heard her voice and ran toward her.
“The door has one of those key-code locks! There’s no listing for the foundation, so I just hit all the buttons, but no one’s buzzing.”
“Serena’s not in there,” Maria forced out. “Manning took her someplace else. There are too many people inside, too many people still working.”
“If she got in his car…”
“She texted that she was walking to the interview.”
“Then where’s his car? I don’t see it.”
“Check around the corner,” Maria wheezed, still fighting waves of dizziness. “He probably parked there. If he’s looking for someplace deserted, he took her to one of the shacks or boathouses near the river. Hurry!” she said, feeling like she was about to fall over. “Just go. I’ll get my phone and call the police…” And my parents, my relatives, Lily, everyone who jumped in their cars to follow us, she thought.
By then, Colin was already backing up toward the intersection, uncertain, wanting to trust her, but…
“How do you know that’s where they’ll be?”
“Because,” she said, wondering when the police would arrive, remembering the lakeside cabin where Cassie had been murdered, remembering the shacks and boathouses common to this portion of the Cape Fear River, “that’s where Laws would have gone.”