Betrayal with Murder (A Rilynne Evans Mystery, Book Three) by Jenn Vakey Page A

state. Then when no evidence was found, you created some just to give yourself somewhere to look,” Lori said.
    She looked around the room, but if she was searching for reassurance, she didn’t get it. Instead, people were looking down to avoid her gaze, or giving her hateful looks.
    “We found evidence and it led me to Brooks Hollow,” she said defensively. “Ben told me the trace he found could have come from there. We were in the middle of investigating it when you called me here for this meeting. Just ask him.”
    Again, the room was filled with a burst of chatter. This time, there was a stronger note of anger than before.
    “Ben informed me that you called him to say you were taking a detour to Brooks Hollow. He was concerned, so he flew up to meet you. A few days later, the owner of the bed and breakfast walked into the room after he failed to pay for the day. This is what she found.” Wilcome slid a stack a photos down the table toward her.
    The room in the pictures was identical to the room she had been staying in at the bed and breakfast. The only difference was the color; everything was red. She looked closer and found that the entire room had been soaked in blood.
    “What the hell is going on here!” she yelled as she pushed the chair away from the table. “Are you behind this?” she turned toward Mifflin. “It wasn’t enough for you to kill your own girlfriend, but you have to start coming after me. What did I ever do to make you want to take everyone from me that I care about? It took me so long to even reach the place where I could think about dating again, then you murdered him, too. I’ll make you pay for this you bastard!”
    “You see what I’ve been saying,” Mifflin said loudly as he stood up. “We need to put her away for our safety as much as hers. She’s already killed two people just to support her delusion. We have to stop her before anyone else is harmed.”
    There was a mumble of agreement around the room. Rilynne felt a surge of panic as she threw her chair back and rushed out of the room before anyone could stop her.
    When she stepped through the doorway, she found her path blocked by a large, frosted tree. She pushed past it and ran as fast as she could down the snow-covered hill.
    “You’ll never change their minds now,” Mifflin yelled out from behind her. “Who’s ever going to take your word over mine. You are crazy, after all. The moment I tell them all about your so-called visions, it’ll be you they go after. I was just running for my life. You killed Christopher and accused me. You told me at the hospital that you were going to kill me, so I ran. No one would blame me for a second.”
    Rilynne screamed out of frustration, but didn’t stop running. “How could you do this? Why didn’t you just run? Why did you have to come after me?” she rattled off the questions, not waiting for answers. She had been asking the same question for nineteen months. However, now there was a new one. “Why Ben? He didn’t have anything to do with you; he was no risk to you.”
    “I couldn’t let you get close without stopping you,” he said with a note of laugher.
    As she ran, it felt like the flesh was being torn from her bare feet. It was the pain in her chest that nearly knocked her over, though. The thought of everyone now chasing her was nothing compared to what she had lost. First Christopher, now Ben.
    Another large tree came straight at her, so she spun to the right to avoid it. As she did, she felt a sudden pain spread through her left side.
    When she opened her eyes, it took several minutes to realize where she was. She lay on the floor in her room for several minutes-her heart pounding in her chest as the tears soaked her face-before she pulled herself back up on the bed.
    “Only a dream,” she said aloud to herself. “It was only a dream.”
    She fought the urge to walk across the hall and check on Ben, knowing he was surely sound asleep by now. She also knew