Breathe Your Last (Detective Josie Quinn #10) - Lisa Regan Page 0,2

sleeping the day away, but I knew that wasn’t smart. I couldn’t call attention to myself in any way. Just like all the other times, everything had to appear perfectly normal. This time, that meant going on almost no sleep, showing up when and where I was supposed to, and putting a smile on my face. Besides, I wouldn’t really know if my plan had worked until much later. I wouldn’t be there when she took her last breath. I rarely was. I had to be patient.

It would be worth it. I imagined the phone call, visualized exactly how I would react, how I would modulate my voice so that people would think I was both shocked and horrified. This one would make the local news for sure. It might even go national, I thought with glee. Of course, there would be a great outpouring of sympathy for her. Everyone thought she was so perfect, which was exactly why she had to die. I knew it was going to annoy me in the coming weeks having to hear about her shocking death again and again—in the news and pretty much anywhere I went because people were going to call her things like “special” and “amazing,” and her death would be touted as a “tragic loss.” But then the news stories would fade, and I wouldn’t have to hear about her supposed greatness any longer. No one should be so universally adored.

She wasn’t the only person who was special or amazing. With her around, it was like no one else existed. I couldn’t take it anymore. Especially since I knew how she lied. She hid things from everyone. Vile things. Secrets that made her just as contemptible as anyone else. So I did what I did, and now I waited for the news to hit. I checked my phone. No news yet, but my plan was underway. The magnificent wave of grief was about to hit Denton in all of its glory.

It was only a matter of time.

Three

They pulled into the parking lot of Tiny Tykes Gardens Pre-K and Daycare Center. It was an old brick two-story home surrounded by roughly four acres of beautifully kept land. An asphalt parking lot sat in front of the building. To the right, Josie could see a gated playground. To the left was a large garden area with tables, chairs, and a small greenhouse in the center. Just like Misty, Josie had researched the place the moment she heard that Misty was thinking of sending Harris there. She, too, had been impressed by all the different programs they offered, including gardening, raising baby chicks, keeping a small koi pond, and generally learning how the environment worked. Josie hadn’t learned so much about the environment in sixteen years of formal schooling. She knew without having to look that behind the large building were more green areas including a small outdoor theater where the children could perform plays for each other and their parents, and a mini petting zoo that was maintained in conjunction with the Denton City Wildlife Rescue Association so that the children could learn about animals.

Josie also knew that the Tiny Tykes Gardens Pre-K and Daycare Center was in full compliance with their legal obligation to conduct background checks on their employees, so she knew none had criminal records. Also, no known sex offenders lived within ten miles of the place. Still, that did little to quell her uneasiness as Harris hopped out of the Escape and hoisted his green dinosaur backpack onto his shoulders. Josie took one of his hands and Misty took the other. He had a nervous habit, just like his father had, of squeezing her hand in rhythmic fashion when he was feeling anxious. If she hadn’t been holding his hand, she knew he would have been clenching and unclenching his little fist. Ray had done the same as long as she’d known him and now, even though Harris had never met his father, he did it as well.

Josie felt the pulse of his gentle squeezes quicken as they walked up the ramp to the front door of the school together. She mustered a bright smile for him and said, “This is going to be fun.”

He didn’t answer. Inside the double doors, the lobby was brightly colored with decorations that mostly seemed to center around learning the alphabet and counting. A few cardboard cutouts of animals stood along the walls. Parents and their small children crowded into the center