Final Justice. Marta Perry

as she fumbled for the cell phone buttons, it rang. Shaken, she answered.

      “Get out of the car.” A woman’s voice commanded in a Southern accent.

      “No. What do you want? Who are you?” Please, Lord, protect me. She squinted, trying to make out the color of the car, the shape behind the windshield.

      “Why, Jennifer, don’t you recognize your old college friend?” The voice was taunting. “It’s Penny. I just want to talk. Get out of the car, and we’ll reminisce about old times.”

      “No.” Penny might be crazy, but she wasn’t. “Leave me alone.”

      “Not willing to get out? But I want to be able to see your face. Still, I guess I can manage that.” Another light came on, this one shining full in her face, so bright she put up her hand to shield her eyes. A deer-spotting light, she realized. And she was the deer.

      She wasn’t helpless. She might not be able to move, but she could cut the connection, dial 9-1-1—

      “Now, don’t be stubborn, Jennifer. You can help my daughter, Alexis. That’s what you’re all about, isn’t it? Helping kids?”

      How did she know that? How did Penny know anything about her? She hesitated, pressing the phone close to her ear. “Don’t you mean Josie’s daughter?”

      “Now, you don’t want to irritate me.” Penny’s voice went soft with venom. “I just might be tempted to push your little car right off the road and into the swamp if you do.”

      Jennifer clenched her teeth. Could she? Would she? She really didn’t want to find out. “Tell me what you want and leave me alone.”

      “I suppose I must if you won’t walk down memory lane with me. It’s very simple, really.” Penny sounded satisfied that she was going to get what she wanted. “I want you to carry a message to Alexis’s father. Tell him that for a hundred thousand, I’ll keep quiet about him. No one else needs to know he’s the father. I’ll get in touch with you to tell him how to deliver it.”

      She shook her head, trying to make sense of this. “Who? Who are you talking about? I don’t know who the child’s father is.”

      For a moment the cell phone was silent. Then Penny laughed softly, and dread pooled in Jennifer’s heart.

      “You know, don’t you? You’ve figured it out. Alexis’s father is your good friend. Mason Grant.”