His words produced a round of applause from his listeners.
“The tricky part will be drawing James out of hiding,” he continued.
Owen waved his bottle of tea at him. “What do you have in mind?”
“Something you’re not going to like.”
Chapter 11: The Wake
“I’m sorry, Halle. I’m going to keep apologizing until you forgive me.” James rattled around the kitchen in the cabin where he was holding her captive. They’d been there for three days. She didn’t know where they were, only that they hadn’t left Heart Lake. The same breezes she’d heard all her life were still whistling down the mountains and gusting against the windows of the cabin.
Blackout curtains covered the windows. Only in the bathroom had she been able to push them aside for a peek at the outdoors. She could see nothing but trees, mostly evergreens. They were so tall and growing so close together that she couldn’t see beyond them.
James had been planning her abduction for a while. The tall woodpile and well-stocked pantry and fridge were proof of it. And anyone who’d spent this much time planning an abduction could’ve prevented the mass tragedy that had taken place at Garrett Farm. His apologies were meaningless.
She pulled the quilt tighter around her shoulders and shifted her weight from one sore hip to the other. Beingconfined for seventy-two hours straight was taking its toll on her health. A steel-reinforced vinyl cord circled her wrist, tethering her to the cedar support post in the living room. She was seated on the rug in front of the fireplace, unable to get warm. The coldness inside her went all the way to her soul.
The big-screen TV over the mantle remained on the local news channel. James had turned down the sound and turned on the closed captions, maybe because he was tired of hearing her weep over what the newscasters were saying. She wished he’d turn it off altogether.
She couldn’t bear to watch the photos of the deceased citizens they were constantly displaying on the screen. The actions of James and his evil family had snuffed out the lives of twelve people. Well, eleven, if she didn’t include herself in the gruesome tally, which everyone else was doing.
The fire marshal’s preliminary report cited a gas leak as the most probable cause of the explosion. The ensuing blast and house fire were blamed for the tragedies that followed. It sounded like Garrett Farm had been reduced to ashes and a few smoldering embers.
She shivered as she named the victims one by one inside her head, vowing to never forget them:
Owen Tolliver.
Ryder and Cooper Tolliver.
Jen Tolliver.
Rex Turner.
Jensen and Kenny Carter.
Rock Hefner.
Sheriff Luke Hawling.
Deputy Wheeler Remington.
Deputy Lincoln Hudson.
And me.
The world assumed she’d perished with the others, and who could blame them? Her wedding had taken place only minutes before Garrett Farm had been transformed into a disaster zone.
Oh, how she wished the part about her dying were true! She wanted nothing more than to be buried alongside her precious family and farmhands. Technically, their bodies weren’t in the ground yet. A wake was being held in Town Square this afternoon for all the victims of the devastating fire. The event was open to the public. A private graveside funeral service would follow for family and friends only.
A sob worked its way up her throat at the realization she wouldn’t be there to pay her respects. If anyone deserved to be there, she did. It was so unfair.
The story of my life.
“Did you say something?” James glanced worriedly at her. The cabin had an open floor plan, so there was no wall separating the tiny kitchen from the tiny living room. He was cleaning up after the lunch she’d refused to eat. She hadn’t eaten anything since arriving at the cabin.
When she didn’t answer, he sighed heavily. “I’m sorry for lying to you about being married. I’m sorry for selling your chicken farm without your knowledge. Most of all, I’m sorry for being related to a group of cold-blooded killers. I never signed up for murder.”
He thought he was better than his wife, father, and sister-in-law, even though it was his own financial fraud skills that had brought them into Halle’s life. He wasn’t blameless. Why couldn’t he see that?
