“I decided…and now, hear me out first before you go all crazy, okay? I decided to get rid of it.”
I can feel how my eyes grow wide. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I keep thinking it’s a bad dream. It has to be. It’s the only explanation.
“What do you mean you got rid of it? Ryan? What have you done?”
“I threw it in the creek. The water will carry it far down the stream to the big river. No one will ever know, Laurie.”
“But…but why…why would you do that?”
“Don’t you see? To protect you, of course,” he says, smiling gently at me like I’m a young child who needs everything explained. He grabs a lock of my hair and puts it behind my ear.
I shake my head in disbelief. “Me? Why…”
“Sh, sh,” he says and places a finger on my lips. “Don’t worry. I told you it’ll be just fine. I was scared you’d get in trouble.”
“Why would I get in trouble?” I say. “He was trying to kill me. You shot him. It makes no sense, Ryan.” I stand to my feet, pulling my hands out of his. “You’re not making much sense here, do you know that? I mean…first of all, why are you even here? It was you I saw last night outside our window, wasn’t it? What were you doing out there? What are you doing here?”
Ryan tilts his head and smiles again. “What am I doing here? I’m saving you, of course. Aren’t you glad I was here?”
“Of course, I am, but why, Ryan? Why did you come? How did you know we were here at all?”
“I followed you, of course. I knew this guy was bad news. I needed to protect you.”
I narrow my eyes, trying to think. What exactly is he telling me here? “You were following us? How long have you been following me?”
He wrinkles his forehead. “What do you mean? Are you telling me you aren’t happy I just saved your life? I did you a favor, getting rid of that body for you, so you wouldn’t have to go through all that trouble with the police.”
“He was the murderer,” I said. “He killed Sandra, Ted, and Vera, and he tried to kill Duke too, making it look like suicide. Did you know this?”
Ryan’s face grows serious. He nods with an exhale. “I did. I started suspecting him after Ted’s death. I knew both he and Sandra had given testimonies in the report investigating Clarice’s death. That gave him a motive. I tried to warn Duke, but he wouldn’t believe me.”
My shoulders come down. “You knew? And that’s why you followed me? Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugs. “Would you have believed me?”
I scoff. “Probably not.”
“I figured as much. After Sandra died, you changed, and suddenly, I couldn’t talk to you at all. You kept rambling on about all this crazy stuff, and you wouldn’t listen to me. I know I’m not well; I know things have been difficult, but I’m still the same man. At least most of the time. I am no longer drinking and no longer doing drugs. But the thing is…you wouldn’t believe me, no matter how much I tried to warn you.”
I sit down. “Oh.”
He puts his hands on top of mine. “Listen. I know you wanted to go to the police and everything, but I got scared. I’m sorry I did this, that I got rid of the body without telling you, but I just…I panicked. I feared one of us might have to go to jail, and I just hoped…well, I hoped we could find one another again. It might be too late, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be. I hoped there still was a chance for us. I miss you, Laurie. I can’t live without you. I hope you know this?”
He is squeezing my hands, and tears spring to my eyes. I am so tired, so confused. I look into his eyes and see them grow soft. I feel like such a fool for all I have put him and us through.
“We were a family, Laurie. We are a family.”
“I know,” I say and let the tears roll down my cheeks. “I know, and I’m not sure I can live without you either.”
He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “And now, you don’t have a choice. We’ve committed a murder together and covered it up. That binds us together forever. This will be the secret we take with us to the grave. Together.”
He leans over and kisses me, and I let him while wondering if what he said was meant to be romantic or if it was a joke. To me, it sounded more like a threat. The thought brings shudders to my stomach as Ryan pushes me down on the couch and leans on top of me.
Chapter 54
The rain has grown fiercer outside and is whipping against the windows. Ryan is lighting the fireplace while I sit on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and my thoughts. I am calmer now, yet my hands are still shaking terribly. But my mind is calmer, and I’m thinking clearer now. I watch Ryan as he puts firewood in and lights it. He uses an old newspaper we found between the books. I’m wondering what to do next and whether I really trust Ryan or not. He seems out of sorts like he’s not completely there. I keep thinking I should get away from here as soon as possible—go to the police station in downtown Bryson City. Tell them everything.
Will they believe me? Even if I tell them we got rid of the body?
Probably not.
They’ll think you’re trying to cover up a murder.
I exhale and rub my forehead excessively. Ryan comes to me and sits next to me. “We should get something to eat,” he says. “Maybe I should cook? You’re in no state to; that’s for sure.”
I send him a weak smile. I’m starving now that he mentions food. But I fear my stomach is in too many knots to be able to eat.
“That sounds wonderful,” I say.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he says and leans closer.
“Oh, really? And what’s that?” I ask nervously. Does he know I’m thinking about running to the car right now and driving away? That I want to find my phone and call nine-one-one, that I am terrified of him and what he might do? That I have just seen him kill someone in cold blood and then dump the body like it was nothing, and that scares me to the core? Yes, he was saving my life, and I am grateful for that, but there’s just something wrong; something tells me to run for my life.
He pokes my nose. “You’re thinking we should get out of here before the police come and ask questions, am I right?”
I smile again, trying to seem like that is what I was thinking. “Well, yes. They’ll find Frank’s body soon enough.”
He grins. “Well, that’s why you need me, honey. You see, with all the rain that has been pouring down over the past day or so, no one will find him till he’s far away. The extra water rushing through the creek and into the river will carry him very far before he’s found. Besides, we can’t really leave now. The rain outside has turned the area into a mud pile, and there’s real danger of a mudslide. Flash flooding and mudslides are not something you want to meet out on a dirt road going down a mountainside, just sayin’. We’d do best by staying here and trying to enjoy ourselves. The rain will probably end tomorrow, and then we can get going, okay?”
He doesn’t wait for my response. He kisses my nose, then gets up. “All right. Let’s see what we have that I can make for dinner. Did you buy any meat?”