“The way you looked...” Hanna didn’t finish the sentence. “I didn’t know what happened.”
“You were holding a knife and that confused me even more because why? And why was it so far from the body?” Later I tried to walk through every minute and remember but so many details remained hazy. Too destructive and heartbreaking for my mind to relive them.
Hanna nodded. “I found the knife on the staircase and picked it up without thinking. When I saw you I thought you’d done something terrible and that I’d touched the weapon you used.”
That fit. “My theories bounced all over the place. First, I thought Victoria saw Patrick and had some sort of mental break. Then I tried to convince myself she was innocent, and you killed him in a jealous rage or Aubrey did it and Victoria was trying to cover for her.”
“The knife might have told us the answer.” Hanna’s hesitation only lasted a second. “We’ll never know because I wiped it. I worried my fingerprints were on it, that I’d be implicated and lose Jeremy.”
“Shit.” Stella didn’t offer anything else. Didn’t have to.
“I promise you I didn’t kill Patrick.” Hanna leaned forward. “I didn’t even know he was dead until the police confirmed the remains were his. I left through the mudroom. I never walked into the kitchen or saw his body.”
“I saw the aftermath. The blood pooling around his body. The stark expression on his face.” My life stopped. Not in a moment or a flash. More like a slow sputtering, jagged and raw. I could never rev it up and get it started again. That was my punishment for the affair, for not protecting Victoria, for not telling the truth... for not getting to the house faster.
My world ended when Patrick took his last breath. I hadn’t enjoyed fresh air since.
The last of the secrets poured out of me. “I called Cam. He told me to leave the scene. That he’d take care of it.”
Stella whistled. “So, Aubrey is right about the police screwing up the investigation. On purpose.”
I rushed to defend Cam like I always did. “He was protecting me. He didn’t want me to get blamed for something I didn’t do.”
“I called Xavier.” Hanna blew out a long breath. “I’ve regretted it every day since. I panicked and called the one man I couldn’t trust. I should have called the police and never touched that knife.”
The picture remained fuzzy and out of reach, but at least we could see a few disparate pieces. We needed more. I looked to Stella for clarity. “And you?”
“Xavier called me. He said something happened at the house.” Stella blinked a few times, probably from dragging her mind back to that shocking time. “I rushed over because I figured there was a problem with Aubrey. Knowing what we know now, I assume he got a call from Patrick somewhere during that fight with Victoria. Patrick called for reinforcements. Xavier called me.”
Hanna stared at me. “Aubrey.”
My least favorite subject. “What about her?”
A new energy radiated off Hanna. “What if our timing and assumptions about the marital fight are wrong? What if Xavier did call Stella because of Aubrey?”
“It wouldn’t have been the first time,” Stella said. “But why would we think that about that day?”
“Isn’t it strange Aubrey hasn’t asked you about Patrick or questioned what you knew and when?” I must have looked lost because Hanna settled in. Started explaining. “Think about it. The whole town knows you were brought in for questioning. People think you killed Patrick. Aubrey must wonder, right?”
“A normal person would.” I wasn’t sure if that actually answered the question.
“Despite that, she didn’t confront you when she had the chance. One-on-one with only us to stop her if she lost it. She didn’t ask if you killed Patrick or demand answers. She didn’t blame you when any other person in her position likely would,” Hanna pointed out.
“Shit,” Stella mumbled.
“There’s an obvious reason for her not to go after you or at least demand answers about Patrick’s death.” Hanna didn’t wait for me to catch up. “Because she knows exactly what happened to her family.”
It seemed so clear now, but I still needed to say it out loud. “You think Victoria panicked and really was trying to protect Aubrey? That would mean she used the affair as an excuse.”
“Aubrey didn’t ask us any questions about Victoria or Noah either,” Stella said.
My mind flipped back to that first day in the courtroom. The way Aubrey walked in, drenched in malice and wallowing in the discomfort she caused.
Stella said the terrible words out loud. “It’s still possible Aubrey killed all of them.”
Chapter Fifty
Stella
