I could concentrate better on my own. I shook my head and left Josh sitting by Mary’s body, talking softly to her, thanking her for encouraging him to cook again, thanking her for being there for him when he needed someone to talk to. The pain in his voice almost broke me again.
I felt numb as I walked along the hall toward the bedrooms. White-framed pictures hung along the wall. Snippets of her life, the people she loved. A smiling young Mary wearing a long-sleeved wedding gown wrapped in the arms of a short, black-haired man with an Elvis-style haircut. A young Mary with a baby in her arms. A young boy running through long grass. A picture of an older Mary beside her husband, smiling around a Christmas table.She’s joined him now, I thought with a fresh lurch of emotion.
I opened the door to Mary’s bedroom, which was painted white with cream carpet. Beige curtains framed a white-netted window. A neat floral bedspread covered a double bed. Two wooden bedside drawers sat on either side. One had a beige-covered lamp, a book, a radio clock, and a framed picture of Mary and her husband. Another picture grabbed my attention—it was Mary at around twenty, wearing a long, sleek gown, her hair twisted up and her arm linked through Karson’s. The way she leaned into him made me wonder if their friendship had at one time been more. I picked up the picture and tucked it into my pocket. It felt wrong, but I couldn’t leave it. Mary’sson would come home for her funeral, and if he saw the picture with Karson, he would wonder how he hadn’t aged. Karson lived forever. He was my whole world. But for him, we were just fleeting moments. Passing fish in an endless sea. Maybe he’d admire our colors, maybe he’d fall in love for a while, but then we’d be gone and he’d still go on.
What a tragedy that kind of life must be.
Chapter 65
He Will Kill
Ipaced the floor of the ballroom. Karson had been gone for hours. Ethan had rung Bob and urged him to fly here. I wasn’t sure what was said, but when Ethan hung up, his face was pale.
Sarah might not even still be in Portland. She might not have killed Mary. Sending others to do her dirty work was a trait she reveled in. Regardless, Mary’s blood was on her hands.
And soon, Karson would drown in Sarah’s.
Mary was probably murdered early this morning after the paper came out.
Tired from all the crying, trying to wrap my head around it all, I sat on the edge of the chair and rubbed my hands over my face.
Georgie stroked up and down my back. Her eyes were bloodshot from crying, her fingers shaking around the glass of wine Josh had poured her.
“You need to go,” Ethan growled for about the tenth time. “You can come back later.”
I lurched back to my feet, annoyed. “Why does everyone always think the worst of him?”
“Because he is a cold-hearted killer,” Janice said, removing the hood from her rain jacket as she strode in.
“Janice,” Michael warned. “There is no need to bring up the past.”
“She deserves to know,” she snapped. “Everyone knows but her.”
“Knows what?” The room stilled. “Tell me,” I insisted.
“He killed his fiancée,” Ethan said.
His fiancée. Karson was engaged? I knew he’d been in love before, but I never knew he loved someone so much he would marry them. And he had killed her.
I closed my eyes, trying to process it all. He wouldn’t harm someone he loved. I saw the way he crumbled when Mary died. Saw his love for her. He’d do anything to protect her, protect me, protect us all.
“Ethan,” Michael growled. “It is not your place to tell her. You were not there when it happened.”
I opened my eyes and shook my head. “He wouldn’t do that.”
“He did, Amy, he did.” Ethan paced across the room. “One moment of pure rage and he stabbed her.”
All this time, Ethan had tried to warn me away from Karson. But he wouldn’t say why. This was the reason.
“Oh my God, Amy,” Georgie whispered, her eyes darting to Josh for confirmation. He shook his head, looking perplexed.
“I don’t think he will hurt her,” Rodney said casually. He was sitting on the stage, one knee bent up, polishing a small, sharp-edged blade.
“I don’t care what you think, I know him.” Ethan’s voice dropped to a low snarl. “And put the fucking blade away. What are you, heartless?”
Rodney looked down at the blade slowly, as if it had just dawned on him, then placed it in his pocket. “I know him too, and he always keeps what he needs. Until he no longer does.”
His words struck me like a punch. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t show him any emotion. Fuck him. I looked to Michael, my heart in my throat. His face was grim. “It was years ago and there were reasons for it, but he needs to tell you.” He threw a hard look between both Janice and Ethan. “It is not our place.”
