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emptied onto the floor in front. Avery pivoted toward the bathroom's closed door, then glanced back at
the hallway. She shouldn't be handling this alone. She should call Buddy, the CSPD. Get them over here.
Let them search for Gwen.
She couldn't do that. How would she explain being here? Latex gloves and penlight in her pocket? Last
night at Trudy Pruitt's and tonight at Gwen Lancaster's
Get the hell out. Call the cops from the car. Or better yet, from a pay phone on the other side of town.
Instead, Avery took a step toward the bathroom. Then another. As she neared it, she heard what
sounded like water running.
She grasped the knob, twisted it and pushed. The door eased open. She inched closer, shone her light
inside.
The room was small ared shower curtain circling it. The floor clear.
The sound she'd heard was the toilet running. She crossed to it, jiggled the handle. It stopped filling.
So far so good.
She returned her gaze to the tub. To that flowered curtain. She had to look. Just in case.
She sidled toward it. As if a less direct approach might influence what she found. She stopped within
arm's reach of the curtain. Her heart thundered in her chest. Her mouth went dry, her pits and palms
were wet.
Do it, Chauvin.
She forced herself to lift her arm, grab a handful of the vinyl and yank it away.
"Don't move a muscle or I'll blow your fucking head off!"
Avery froze. Gwen, she realized. She was alive!
"Hands up!" Gwen snapped. "Then turn around. Slowly."
Avery did. Gwen stood in the doorway, face white as a sheet. She held a gun, had it trained on her.
"It's me, Gwen. Avery."
"I have eyes."
"This isn't how it looks. Your door was open...I found the place like this."
"Sure you did."
"It's true. I needed to reach you...your cell number wasn't working and I couldn't call here because I
didn't want anyone to know we were in contact."
The gun wavered. Gwen narrowed her eyes. "You needed to reach me? I seem to remember you telling
me you wanted nothing to do with me."
"That was before Trudy Pruitt."
Her already ashen face paled more. "What do you know about Trudy "
"I was there last night. She called me, set up a meeting. When I got there her door was open, her trailer
ransacked. I found her in the kitchen...on the floor. When I saw your door...your place, I...I thought
they'd gotten you, too."
For a long moment Gwen simply stared at her. As if evaluating her words, deciding if she was being
truthful. Then with the tiniest nod, she lowered the gun.
"Thank you." Avery let out a shaky breath. "That's twice in two days I've found myself staring down the
barrel of a gun."
From the hallway came what sounded like someone climbing the stairs. They both swung in that
direction. Gwen darted toward her door and shut it. She locked the dead bolt, then looked at Avery.
She held a finger to her lips and pointed at the bathroom.
Avery indicated she understood. A moment later Gwen closed them in it, crossed to the tub and started
the shower. White noise, Avery realized. To muffle their words, in case someone was listening.
That done, Gwen crossed to the toilet, lowered the lid and sank onto it. She dropped her head to her
hands.
After several moments Gwen lifted her head and looked at Avery. "I thought I was dead."
Her voice shook. So, Avery saw, did her hands. She clasped them together.
"A woman called," Gwen continued. "She said she had information about The Seven and about Tom. We
were supposed to meet tonight."
"She didn't show."
"No. She was a decoy."
"A decoy? You mean to lure you away from here?"
"To deliver my warning."
"I don't understand."
"I interviewed Trudy Pruitt yesterday. She told me The Seven exist. Past and present. She said they
killed Elaine St. Claire. That they always deliver a warning before taking action. A terrible threat."
"Elaine St. Claire was warned?"
"Yes. She and Trudy were friends. They both served drinks down at Hard Eight. One day Elaine just up
and disappeared."
"She took the warning seriously and left Cypress Springs?"
"Yes. A couple months later, Trudy got a letter from the woman. Apparently a representative of the
group had paid St. Claire a late-night visit. He had made this weapon...a phallus with sharp spines and a
knife blade imbedded in its tip.
"The man told her she had been judged and found guilty of moral corruption. Because she slept around.
A lot, apparently. He told her he would give her what she loved that he would fuck her to death."
Avery pressed her lips together to hold back a sound of horror. She recalled what Hunter had told her
about Elaine St. Claire's death. The two stories jibed.
Gwen stood. Avery sensed she was too jumpy to remain seated. "They warned me tonight. A cat...they
gutted it, left it for me. At the meeting place. They meant to frighten me."
"And they succeeded."
"Hell, yes. I'm terrified."
"You've got to get out of Cypress Springs. Now. Tonight. I'll keep in touch, let you know what I find
out."
"What makes you think you're immune?"
"I don't understand."
"You're not one of them anymore, Avery. If they discover you're onto them, they'll kill you."
"I'll make sure they don't find out."
Gwen laughed, the sound hard, humorless. "It's too late for that. They've seen us talking. You've asked
questions around town. They see everything, Avery. Everything."
"I'm not leaving until I know the truth about my dad's death."
Gwen looked at her. Avery understood. Gwen wouldn't leave until she knew what had happened to her
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