“They couldn’t say for sure. It all went by so fast, they both said. He was yelling, and they never heard Ryan yell before. My mom leaned toward it being him, while my dad said it was way too vague to be certain.”
“Sounds like a scary experience,” Jonathan says, then turns off the dictation app and smiles at Laurie. “We’ll leave you for now and see you in the morning.”
“You think she’s pulling our leg?”
Grande asks Jonathan this as they meet for breakfast at Emmet’s Diner the next morning. Jonathan ate his dinner there too, and now he’s having the best bacon he’s had in many years. Joanne is behind the counter, refilling his coffee, and smiling at him every time she does. Jonathan is beginning to like it in this town. It’s growing on him. He loves the small cabins in the mountains, like the one where they found Laurie. One day, Jonathan wants one of those cabins and to wake up to the fog covering the mountaintops while he’s drinking his coffee on the patio, overlooking the valley below, listening to the sound of the rippling creek. Maybe one day he’ll see a bear or a wild boar, and once in a while, he’ll rent a boat and go sailing on the lakes. Maybe he’ll even learn to like fishing. In the distance, he can hear the old steam train as it takes off from the town’s center, carrying tourists on the long trail ride through the beautiful mountains. It has finally cleared up after it has been raining for almost twelve hours in a row. Jonathan’s shoes are wet at the tips from stepping in a puddle this morning. The creek is overflowing in several places, and they have been warned about the great risk of mudslides.
“You mean she’s lying?” he asks and takes a bite of the crunchy bacon.
As usual, Grande is only having coffee. She sips it and looks at him with a smile. Even she is growing on him. There’s something to the glint in her eye that makes him want to get to know her better.
“That’s exactly what I mean,” she says. “I mean this story, isn’t it a little too…much? All this housewife-turned-detective routine?”
“But why would she lie to us?” he asks, then sips more coffee.
“Because she killed both of them?”
That makes Jonathan laugh. “Up to now, we don’t even know if a crime has been committed in that cabin.”
She tilts her head. “Really? The body they found downstream in the river; that’s the same man as in the picture on her phone…”
“Frank.”
“Yes, Frank. He was found with several gunshot wounds. And you don’t believe there’s been a crime?”
“It could be self-inflicted. It could be suicide.”
“You don’t believe that.”
“Okay, maybe not. But there are other circumstances that would explain this better than murder. Let’s just wait and hear her entire story before we make any conclusions. I can’t wait to hear where she’s going with it.”
“There’s something else,” Grande says.
Jonathan places his cup on the counter again, then shakes his head when Joanne is on her way to refill it. They’re running late and should be going. Jonathan hopes to get the rest of Laurie’s testimony today. Hopefully, they can wrap this investigation up soon. Not that he is in any hurry to get away from this town. He will miss it once he leaves. And he’ll miss Joanne’s dimples when she smiles.
He leaves a bill, enough to make sure there’s a huge tip for Joanne included, then winks at her, grabs his jacket, and puts it on.
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” he says and walks outside into the cool wind. He loves the way it nibbles at his skin. He turns to face Grande as she follows him, putting on her raincoat.
“She’s pregnant. I talked to the doctor yesterday after we were done, and he said the child is fine, despite the stress her body has been through.”
Jonathan widens his eyes and nods. He puts on his hoodie as the drizzle hits his head. The clouds are hanging heavily on the mountaintops, and it’ll be raining again in a short while.
“Let’s see what Laurie can tell us about that.”
“So, who’s the father?”
Grande goes straight for it as soon as they enter. They have barely said good morning before Grande asks. A little too aggressive if you ask Jonathan. He would probably have chosen a slightly calmer approach, one that would make Laurie comfortable enough to talk about it. But that isn’t Grande’s style.
“The father of your child, the child you’re carrying?” she continues. She’s tapping her pen on the notepad.
Laurie gives them a sad expression.
“You knew, didn’t you?” Grande asks and takes out her chair, then sits down. Jonathan opens the app and starts recording again. He sits down as well.
Grande continues, “Was that why you went to the cabin with him? Because it was Frank’s?”
“We’re getting ahead of ourselves here,” Laurie says. “Let me rewind a little first.”
Part IV
Chapter 44
My dad returns from the hospital, and my mom takes care of him. I visit almost every day, and my dad slowly grows stronger. Meanwhile, I am a mess, and it gets worse every day. I don’t pick up my phone; I stay inside the condo, doors locked, and only leave when I absolutely have to, like to take Damian to school. Isabella is done with her physical therapy and is going to return to her school next week. I am thrilled about that, even though I’m very anxious too. This means I can’t keep an eye on her twenty-four-seven like I have since she was shot. I can’t hinder her dad from coming to the school and trying to talk to her. I can tell the front office that there’s a restraining order out on him, but he could find a way if I know him. The police have told me they spoke to him about the night my parents were attacked, and according to them, he had an alibi. I’m not sure I buy it, though, since it’s probably Chip or one of his other war buddies who are covering for him.
Isabella still uses the crutches to ease her walking, but she will soon be able to walk without them, her doctor promised me. She just needs to build up her muscles and keep doing the exercises she has learned. She is all caught up on her schoolwork. So, she should be able to get back with no issues. I just need to get used to the thought of letting her go out on her own again. I have been obsessively protective of her since it happened. I find it natural, but she isn’t too fond of it. She keeps telling me to back off and let her live her life. She’s probably right, but I am just so terrified she’ll get hurt again. It’s harder than you think to let go of something like this.
I barely sleep at night. I wake up so many times, it’s ridiculous. I sleep with my gun next to me, ready to grab it should something happen. I am terrified of what he might do next. Getting to my parents was a clear signal to me. He can get to me anywhere, and he will. So, I have done what he told me to. I have backed off. I can’t fight anymore; I can’t risk the people I love anymore. I am no longer trying to warn people, nor am I writing articles or even talking to the police. I simply don’t dare.
During the day, I stare at the picture of him on my screen saver, and I am reminded of the warmth he filled me with when we were still together before everything went down the drain. I thought I knew him so well. He was my second half, my better me. I hated being apart. But now I realize I was a fool. It’s so obvious he’s a killer when you look into his eyes. Even his smile makes me shiver now. He has the smile of a killer, I tell myself. And when I look at him, my stomach crumbles into a hard ball, and my heart rate skyrockets. He’s so dashingly handsome, so calm and patient. He can be the sweetest man, so trusting and innocent, but underneath all that, he’s really a predator, a vicious killer, a true psychopath. He has been fooling me for all these years, and I feel so stupid for not seeing it earlier. It’s so obvious. I see him clearly now.