The Child's Plan by Audrey Walker (books to read this summer .TXT) 📗

sinking with worry. She thought about her little sister and how scared she must be right now.

“I am coming for you, Abby,” Robin thought to herself. “Just hold on.”

Chapter Sixteen

Robin ran as fast she could, her mind whirring. She had an idea that the killer was holding Abby in the basement, but it was just a hunch. It was the place where everything had started, the place that tied it all together. It will be fitting if this is where it all ended, as it began.

Robin wasn’t sure she would even make it in time. The killer was playing a game with her and he was enjoying all this. She thought back to the child she met in the basement. Even after all he had done, Robin didn’t hate him. She couldn’t, she thought. “How could I feel anything more than pity for him? Sympathy for a child who had no family and who just wanted love.”

“Did you manage to eat something?” Robin asked softly as the child crept close to her.

“I miss my Mama,” the kid said. This was the first time he had ever said anything like that, and Robin’s heart melted even more.

“I miss my Mama too,” Robin said.

“Don’t you ever want to hurt him?” He whispered.

“Hurt who?” Robin asked.

“The man who was in the other car,” he said. “The drunk man who crashed his car into theirs. The one that killed them.”

“That’s not how things work,” Robin said.

“Why not?” he whispered. “Why can’t you hurt the one who hurt you?”

“Because it’s not on us to take justice into our hands,” Robin said.

“Then who will do justice?” the kid asked. There was a look in his eyes that made him look more mature than his years.

“Kid,” Robin said sharply. “The justice system does the justice. The court does the justice.”

“Was he punished for killing your parents?” he asked.

“I –,” Robin stammered.

“Don’t you ever want to hurt people?” he asked, his eyes looking dark and soulless. “Don’t you ever just want to kill them? Don’t you ever just want to ruin them all?”

Robin looked at him uncomfortably. He was looking straight into her eyes as if he could read what was going on in her mind.

“There is darkness in you,” he said. “Just like there is one in me. You think you are pure, but you are not. There is an evil inside you. A madness just like me.”

“That’s not true,” Robin said, feeling scared for some reason.

“Can’t you see? Can’t you see your darkness reflected in my eyes? Can’t you see?” he whispered.

“I think that’s enough!” Robin snapped, her heart thudding in her chest.

The child looked away, his face resuming its normal expression.

“I am sad,” he whispered. “I miss my Mama. She made me feel better.”

“It’s okay,” Robin said. “Here, put your head in my lap. I will sing you to sleep.”

As the memory suddenly struck Robin, she realized that the evil had always been inside the child. But it had been worsened, molded, and contaminated by the hate and cruelty he received. Maybe if he had been loved, the good within him would have grown, but instead, the evil in him had festered, and he had become corrupted.

Robin couldn’t help but feel guilty and wondered, “if I had remembered, could he have been saved? Could I have somehow helped him out of this? Would love and care have been enough to save him? Or was he already too traumatized by that point? Was I responsible for what he had become?”

She pushed the thoughts out of her mind and would figure this out later. Right now, she had an urgent matter to deal with. Robin needed to get to the basement and save Abby. But it wasn’t that easy. For one, she had to be careful now that she was back in town. Aware that the police were hunting for her, Robin needed to sneak around and stay out of the public eye. She could see police vehicles passing by and officers posted around street corners. Abby would not be the next victim, but the presence of all the police personnel was really delaying her. She was going to be too late.

Robin had to get across the street, but it would take too long if she took the back alleys. She would have to risk it and hope her disguise hides her identity, and then she will be able to cross the road. Robin had to make sure that the officers were not looking before she made a dash for it. This would have to be timed perfectly.

The moment the opportunity presented itself, she made a sprint for it.

“Stop right there!” Robin heard a voice shouting. “I got you now, Matthews!”

Robin froze, recognizing the voice as Gary Dane’s. She slowly turned around to find him standing there, his gun pointing at her.

“I knew you would come here,” he sneered. “Just can’t keep away, can you? Well, I got you now!”

“Gary, just let me go,” Robin whispered. “Abby’s life is in danger. I have to save her!”

“Sure, you do,” he laughed. “What other things have you made up in your mind, Robin? Hands where I can see them!”

Robin put her hands up, and the next thing she knew, an officer slammed into her. He grabbed her hands and put them behind her back, his handcuffs jiggling as he tried to take them out.

“Robin Matthews, you are under arrest for the serial murders. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time,” the officer said.

Robin looked around her, her heart racing in her