"But once he's gone, I'm selling the house. Moving to Arizona to be near my sister. I've already made the arrangements."
There was something liberating in the way she said it, as if she'd planned her escape for years and was finally seeing it come to fruition. Ben wondered what it was like to count down the days until freedom while watching someone you once loved wither away. The complexity of it made his chest ache, and reminded him that life was fucking complicated.
"Mrs. Whitfield," Ben said gently. "Do you think your husband might know who killed Lori?"
She considered his question, her lined face thoughtful.
"I don't think so. He mentioned once, years ago, when he'd had too much to drink, that the bruising on her neck was unusual. That whoever did it had to be someone she knew well. Someone she trusted enough to get that close to."
"That could be almost anyone in a town this small," Kelly said, but Ben could tell her mind was racing, fitting this new piece into the puzzle.
"Yes. That's the trouble with places like Bergen, isn't it?" Mrs. Whitfield stood, smoothing her dress with practiced hands. "Everyone knows everyone. But no one really knows anyone at all."
She offered them a small nod, a gesture of dismissal that somehow managed to be both firm and polite.
"I should get back to Mason. The nurse will give him something to help him rest, but he'll be asking for me."
"Thank you for your honesty," Kelly said, rising from the bench. "It means a lot."
"The truth deserves a chance," Mrs. Whitfield replied, her voice suddenly fierce.
With that, she turned and walked back down the hallway, her posture once again straight, her steps measured and precise. Ben watched her until she disappeared into her husband's room, the door closing softly behind her.
"Let's go," Ben said quietly, placing his hand on Kelly's shoulder. "We have a lot to think about."
They walked in silence down the corridor, past the nurse's station where the woman with gray curls glanced up briefly before returning to her computer. The automatic doors opened with a soft whoosh, and then just as quickly closed behind them. Neither spoke until they reached the car, the weight of what they'd learned settling over them like a heavy blanket.
Lori had been pregnant. The secret had been deliberately covered up.
And somewhere in Bergen, a killer had been walking free for a decade, perhaps thinking they got away with it.
They thought wrong.
Chapter
Eighteen
The bellabove the door of The End Zone jingled as Kelly stepped inside, the strong aroma of food hitting her immediately. Her stomach twisted in her abdomen, but she tried to ignore the physical reminder of her current mental anguish.
Everything in her world had tilted on its axis since yesterday, and she didn’t know where to turn or what to cling to.
Did I ever really even know Lori? Am I remembering it all wrong?
It didn’t feel like she was misremembering things. If anything, some of those memories from high school were as sharp and clear as the day they’d happened. Lori’s untimely death had placed a stark bookmark in Kelly’s life, segregating the before and after.
Lori, why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have judged you.
Had Lori been so used to being judged by family and their uptight little town that she’d assumed that Kelly would do the same? Or had she been going to tell her secret that day they met at the mall?
Kelly would probably never know.
Ben followed close behind as they headed to a quiet corner booth, his hand lightly brushing her shoulder. That simple touch anchored her, reminding her she wasn't facing this alone. They'd barely spoken on the drive from the nursing home, both lost in their own thoughts about what Mrs. Whitfield had confirmed. But what was there left to say?
Lori had been pregnant.
The words kept repeating in Kelly's head like a skipping record. Eight weeks along. Her best friend had been carrying a child when someone strangled her and left her in a ditch.
"Kelly! Over here!"
