One Way Or Another You Will Pay by Eve Rabi Read Free Book Online Page A

didn’t know our neighbours.”
    My jaw drops.
    She looks in her element, happy to be surrounded by cameras, lapping up the attention.
    “Yes, it is scary indeed, because we’ve known them for a while now and they came
    across as, well, normal .” She laughs.
    When she finishes and walks back inside, I run up to her. “Meredith, why did you do that?”
    “Why did Bear do what he did?” she snaps, arms akimbo. “Shouldn’t you be asking your husband that question?”
    I’m stunned by her coldness. Where did this come from?
    “Meredith, he didn’t do anything!”
    “Oh, really now?”
    “I bet they paid you,” Fatima says.
    Meredith just shrugs.
    “I think we should leave this place,” Fatima says to me.
    “I think that is a good idea,” Meredith says.
    All I can do is stare at Meredith, my friend and neighbour. How quickly did she
    turn on me? Bear and I have been really good to them.
    “Bear being arrested for murder of his own child – we’re church members, we have to disassociate ourselves from people like you. I’m sure you understand.”
    “Really NOW!” I say, ready to snap.
    “Don’t you yell at me!”
    Hearing the commotion, Ritchie runs up to me. “Hey, hey, hey! What’s going on?”
    Fatima explains.
    “You’re throwing them out?” Ritchie says, looking annoyed. “Bear didn’t kill his child, you moron!” He takes my hand, his nostrils flaring. “Let’s get the fuck out of here, Arena. Come to my place.”
    Having no choice, I take my family out of the Simons’ and make my way to Ritchie’s place. The problem with Ritchie’s place is, 1) He has a houseguest, his wife’s brother from the Ukraine, 2) He and Olga appear to be experiencing marital discord, or at least I think they are. 3) Olga hasn’t shown up at my house as yet to offer support or sympathy, even though it has been hours since Savannah was snatched, 4) his house is three streets away from mine, which makes it too far.
    Right now, I want to see my home. I need to see my home for … whatever reason. I just need to remain connected with it. Badly.
    The television is full of Savannah’s kidnapping and they speak of her in the past tense, as if she is already dead. Photographs of Bear during his time as an undercover cop, in shabby homeless-man’s clothes, big, unruly beard, and busy eyebrows are the only photographs that grace newspapers and television screens. More like mug-shots than photographs.
    A poll taken by a television station shows that 93 percent of viewers believe Bear killed his daughter.
    Some believe that because he’s a former cop, he knows how to manipulate the system to avoid getting caught.
    What is wrong with these people? They don’t know Bear. And if he was such a seasoned murderer, why would he leave a knife at the scene of the crime?
    I sit with my head in my hands at Ritchie’s dining table, my head swarming with concerns and fears.
    How did Savannah’s blood get on Bear’s knife?
    Is Bear going to be arrested? Will he be convicted of Savannah’s murder or killing or kidnapping?
    After losing Sasha, staying positive is near impossible.
    But I know one thing: Bear did not kill Savannah.
    He fell in love with her when he first set eyes on her. During her delivery by caesarian section, he helped the doctor lift her out of my belly. Other than the doctor, he was the first person to touch our daughter when she entered this earth.
    He doted on her. Liked to sleep with her on his chest. Waking up when she cried at night was never a problem for Bear.
    With Amy, he was away on assignments a lot and felt robbed of her early days. Not wanting to make the same mistake with Savannah, he overcompensated, not wanting to close his eyes for fear of missing out.
    Bear loves his children. Dotes on them. They are enough for Bear. Me and the kids, we’re enough for Bear.
    But right now, try telling people that. Try convincing people.
    I’m trapped in a nightmare again.
    Tom.
    Later that afternoon,