I try to process what she’s saying. “And?”
“The police showed up. Jesse took Neil’s phone, but Neil has a work phone, too. He managed to secretly dial 911.” The tears come back, and this time my heart fills with pity for this poor woman. I’ve put her through so much.Don’t worry, I want to say.The end is near. “After that night, the police dropped the investigation.”
I feel the blood drain from my face. No investigation. What does that mean? I search for a response, but I feel like an actor on stage, grasping for his lines.
“They’ve ruled it a suicide. The detectives think I did it, I can tell. But there’s not enough for a case. And the coroner’s report said suicide. And with someone like Neil and the lawyer he hired, I guess they thought it wasn’t worth the risk.” She wipes her eyes. “So that’s why I’m here. I’m a free woman. But I couldn’t just let you get away with it!”
“You scared me half to death,” I say, smiling—and it’s for real, this time. No acting. The case is over. Jesse is in custody. No one knows what really happened, except for me and Brie.
Soon, just me.
“Good. I was done, by the way. I was leaving. I knew it wouldn’t be much longer till you found me.”
Her hands haven’t left the steering wheel. She’s scared of me. That means she doesn’t believe me. Not yet.
I place the knife on the floor and touch her arm. “Brie, I was acting. You have to know that. I was doing it for both our sakes. I knew it would all work out.”
“They were going to lock me up for life.”
“No. Never.”
“You made me look like a crazy person.”
Movement up ahead. A hundred feet away, a deer walks onto the road and then pauses. Could I do it here? No. The body. The car. The hotel. Her belongings. Does Neil know where she is?
Too many questions. Go slow. Be safe.
“I feel terrible,” I explain. “But I couldn’t stay. If it seemed like we were too close, then I’d look guilty. There was nothing I could do.”
“You could have said you did it.”
“You’d be in jail, too. That wouldn’t solve anything. Plus, you didn’t do it, Brie! That’s the best defense. And it clearly worked, because you’re here. They didn’t convict you. They barely suspected me. And now it’s over.” I lean in closer. “Brie, baby, it worked! I have the money! We’re free!”
She glances at me with uncertainty. “What do you mean?”
“I mean this.” I touch her face with my hand, then lean in to kiss her. She lets me, just for a second, then pulls away. “OK, we don’t need to rush. But I love you. I was worried I’d lose you forever. I know it was hard, but we did it!”
She looks ahead, staring at the deer as though it had something to tell her, some scrap of earthly wisdom beyond its own blundering idiocy.
“Come to the hotel with me at least,” I say. “Hear me out.”
The uncertainty is in her eyes, but so is that yearning, that desperate hope for a different life. It’s still enough, I can tell. She’ll come around.
And soon enough, she does.
“I can do that.”
CHAPTER SIXTY
Do I need to kill her? We’re sitting in the bar the next day, eating a late breakfast, and she looks astonishing. I let her walk ahead of me from the room, overwhelmed by her beauty. She’s wearing a flowing white dress that hugs her body. I want to touch her. Hell, I want to grab her. Push her against the wall. Take her.
Soon.
She slept in my room last night, though she wouldn’t let me near her. The wrong time of the month, she said, though I knew better. She’s still not sure of me. She might even be scared of me. I need to tread carefully.
“How long will it take?” I ask over coffee. “What do I have to do?”
“What?”
