Chapter 31

31

Evil

I hadn't set out down this road on purpose.

I've spent my life trying to fit in, trying to follow the rules, trying to be appreciated for who I am.

I've built something. A life. I worked hard to be seen—to be needed, wanted.

I don't like feeling humiliated, second rate, second best.

He did this to me.

I pace the congested woods behind the shed as my thoughts spiral in all sorts of directions.

Dusk creeps in, cloaking Sugar Pine Lake in shadows that match the darkness swelling in my heart. I have them both now—Lydia and that meddling gnat from the FBI.

I can set fire to this place and end them.

Two birds, one stone.

The flames will be poetry in motion.

The smell of gasoline stops up my nostrils as I pour a line outside of the vicinity. I won't initiate anything until well into the night. Even better? Early morning.

By the time the fire department arrives, it will be too late for the victims. But I have another party to tend to first—the one at the community center.

I have my weapon of choice set for that good time as well.

There will be victims.

Although my weapon of choice is what it's truly been all along. Revenge.

All I need to do is plant one more seed to finish the setup. The final piece in this twisted puzzle.

The fire will come last.

The FBI will move in. They will think they have it all figured out. I'll laud them on a job well done. And then I'll walk away with a smile on my face. So very satisfied.

A whispered conversation erupts from inside the shed and it sends a shiver of excitement through me.

Speak now or forever hold your peace. In a few short hours, they'll be holding their peace for all eternity.

An expletive-filled tirade flies from inside the room and I know it's intended for me.

Fury boils in my veins because I was forced to do this.

My hands were tied.

I had no other choice.

They made me do this, and now everyone has to pay.

They underestimated me. They thought they could dismiss me.

But soon, very soon, they'll understand the gravity of their oversight.

The sound of soft sobbing filters through the walls and I pause for a moment.

It's almost a shame it has to end this way for Lydia, but collateral damage is inevitable in any great undertaking. And that FBI agent, stumbling right into my hands?

At this point, she's a bonus I hadn't dared hope for.

"I hope you two are comfortable," I call out with mock concern.

No reply, not even the sound of movement.

Good. Fear should keep them in line.

I empty out two gasoline cans and toss them to the side. I won't need them anymore. They've met their purpose. Just like the women behind those walls.

It's time to unleash a little hell.

I head back up the trail as evening falls hard, embracing the darkness. It suits me.

After all, by the time morning rolls around, Sugar Pine Lake will awaken to a nightmare it will never forget.