The forest wallpaper. I shut my eyes. God, all those times I felt like the birds were watching me. And maybe they were.
“She wanted to confront Johnson about it.”
I raise my head.
“Really?” I breathe, heart rattling. “Did she?”
Silence. He stares moodily through the windshield, like he’s forgotten he even spoke. I want to reach out and pull on his sleeve.Tell me. Please.
“Darren?”
He brushes a fist across his cheek, and I realize he’s crying. His chest heaves, like he’s trying hard to hold it all in.
“I shoulda done somethin’,” he says through angry tears. I’m about to speak when he lurches forward, smashes a fist against the dashboard. I let out a startled yelp, and he leans back against his seat, tears dripping freely.
For a long time, we say nothing. He lights up another smoke, and I notice his hands are trembling. He takes a short puff, dangles the cigarette out the window.
“She told her neighbor about the bug,” he says softly.
“Jeff Johnson?”
“Nah,” he says. “A different neighbor. The lady who lives down the street from Black Wood.” He frowns, remembering, “She had a little yappy dog, a pug or something.”
I sit perfectly still, heart pounding in my ears. No. No.
“Amanda used to go over to her house for coffee,” he says, flicking the butt of the glowing cigarette. “Can’t remember her name.”
“Kay,” I say quietly. “Her name’s Kay Potts.”
“Yeah.” He nods and puffs. “That’s her.”
I shut my eyes. So, Kay knew there was a bug in my house, and she never told me. I rub my forehead, slump down in my seat. I don’t want to go back to Black Wood House with its secrets and bugs and lies. I stare out the window, cold air blasting me right in the face.
“The last time I saw Amanda,” Darren says shakily, “we were drinking atthispub.” He nods ahead. His breath catches in his throat, and I wait for him to continue. “She’d found the bug the day before.” He puffs anxiously. “And she was all nervous and crazy ’cause the next day she was gonna confront Johnson at Kay’s place.”
I stop breathing. The wind chills my blood, and goosebumps shoot up and down my forearms.
“I asked her if she wanted me to come, but she said she’d be okay. She just wanted it over. She was gonna confront Johnson about the bug, and Kay was gonna back her up.” He stubs the cigarette out, the red glow of the embers fading to ash. “I kissed her goodbye, and she said she’d call me tomorrow.”
“And?”
He looks me dead in the eye. “I never heard from her again.”
Chapter 25
Kay Potts is a bloody liar. I turn the radio on just for the noise and drive silently down the dark streets of Beacon. I think I hate this place. Do they even know about Amanda? Would they even care? Or is the whole bloody town covering for Jeff Fucking Johnson? I want to wind the window all the way down, stick my head out, and scream, “Fuck you all.” Fuck you and your indoor pools. Fuck you and your secrets.
I drive slowly past Kay’s house, my headlights illuminating the orange tree in her front yard. Part of me wants to spill out of my seat, pound on her door, and ask why the hell she’s covering for Johnson. But it’s not the time.
Not yet. But it’s coming. I feel it.
I pull into my driveway, drive slowly up the bumpy road. It’s a starless night, and a sliver of moon offers up weak and murky light. My headlights flash over the dead, quiet land, and a cockatoo glares at me from the blackwood tree. Joe’s car isn’t here, and I haven’t gotten a text from him. I messaged Emily as soon as Darren hopped out of my car and disappeared into the night. He didn’t look back, and I don’t think I’ll see him again.
Emily rang less than ten seconds after I sent the text. “My God, lovie, are you okay? Is he really gone?” Her usually calm voice was strained. She’d hesitated before dropping her voice to a whisper. “If he’s still there, press a number on the keypad, and I’ll call the cops.”
I laughed because the night was finally over and I’d survived it. And…it was nice to know that she cared enough about me to wait for my text. “He’s gone,” I told her. “It’s over.”
But it’s not over, is it? It’s barely begun.
