Escape Read Online Free Page A

Escape
Book: Escape Read Online Free
Author: Robert K. Tanenbaum
Tags: Fiction, General, LEGAL, Suspense, Thrillers
Pages:
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kitchen. Today, she'd save her children from that evil man.
    Charlie finished his espresso and gave her a wink. "Well, got to run," he said. "You sure you're all right?"
    Jessica hesitated. A part of her wanted to tell him that no, she wasn't all right—that there was a voice she believed to be the voice of God and it was telling her to do a terrible thing ... that she needed help and he shouldn't leave. But that would ruin everything.
    "I'm good," she replied and pecked him on the cheek. "Really, I am. Now get going to your meeting ... mustn't keep Diane waiting."
    Charlie scanned her face for evidence of sarcasm. Diane was usually a sore point in their relationship. With good reason, he thought, hoping he could still make it across town to her apartment for a quick romp in bed before heading to the campaign office. But his wife's face was the picture of innocence. He shook his head and headed out the door for the waiting cab.
    Jessica walked over to a window facing the street and looked out. It was mid-March, and the leaf buds were opening on the trees in front of the brownstone. Her husband glanced back at the house but didn't see her, then climbed into the cab. She kept her vigil for several more minutes to make sure the taxi and Charlie didn't return.
    Then she picked up the telephone and called the nanny. "Hi, Rebecca, I won't be needing you today," she said. "I'm going to take care of the children myself."
    "Are you sure, ma'am?" Rebecca replied, the worry in her Jamaican-accented voice unmistakable. "Perhaps, I should come over just to help a little bit, dearie."
    "That won't be necessary," Jessica said evenly. "But thank you, Rebecca. In fact, thank you for everything. And goodbye."
    Jessica hung up with a sense of relief. With Charlie gone and the nanny accounted for, the steps of her plan were being checked off like a grocery list. She went down to the brownstone's underground garage where she opened up the back of the family Volvo station wagon and pulled a large footlocker from the interior. Charlie rarely, if ever, drove; he always taxied or had a driver, so the car had been a good hiding place.
    Bumping the footlocker up the stairs, Jessica lugged it into the hallway outside the main floor bathroom and opened it. Inside were her "supplies"—two new pretty white dresses for the girls and a white gown for Benjamin; a padlock still in its packaging from the hardware store; and a hunting knife purchased at a sporting goods emporium in Newark. She picked the knife up and examined the blade; the weight of the weapon felt empowering in her hand. Just like the knife Abraham planned to use on his son Isaac, the voice noted approvingly.
    Jessica left the trunk in the hallway and carried the clothing and the knife into the bathroom. The knife she laid on the vanity, and then she hung up the dresses and the gown before turning on the bathwater—testing the water on her wrist to make sure it wasn't too hot. She wanted the children to be clean and freshly scrubbed for their trip.
    She heard the voice humming—the sort of sound, she imagined, that the universe makes, or how God communicates without words. She turned off the water, but the humming persisted.
    Jessica turned and walked to the nursery and stood next to Benjamin's crib. She looked down at her sleeping child for a moment, then picked him up and held him against her shoulder. He felt warm and trusting nestled against her, making little sounds associated with baby dreams and contentment.
    Suddenly she sobbed, overcome by what she knew she had to do. Murderer/ cried a voice that sounded more like her own.
    Don't listen to that, replied the other voice. Your children's souls are at stake. The sins of their father run in their blood. Send them to me if you want to save them.
    Jessica willed herself to turn to the door of the nursery and begin to walk. Tears clouded her vision. She stumbled to the bathroom, where she sank to her knees next to the tub. Cradling her
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