“I was innocent. Please, listen to me. I am not going to hurt you, or Daisy, or anyone.” I glanced at Tuth. “If you sit back down, I’ll tell you everything.”
Neal flew to Tuth’s side, staring at me, unsure of my intentions. I sat at my desk, staring at my closed hands, trying to gather my thoughts. Should I trust these two withthe truth? Or should I give them the story Dennis told the media?
“I had a rough childhood. My only joy was when I logged onto the internet every night and talked to Daisy. We bonded over our situations. We fell in love.” The weight of my confession caused me to pause and breathe inward. I looked up and found my audience listening attentively.
“We had this dream, where we’d run off together and be happy, in love, and no one could hurt us ever again. But I didn’t have two pennies to rub together. I told her this and she just... wasn’t getting it.”
“Daisy grew up with money.” Neal nodded.
“I began to look for ways to make money. If we were going to leave everything behind, we’d need money. I did odd jobs and saved where I could, but I needed to find something that would put her through school while also keeping a roof over our heads. I was at a loss until, one day, I received an email from a man named Dennis Wolfsheim.”
Neal’s eyes lit up. “Yes! The woman you ate—that was his sister!”
“I didn’t…” I shook my head, and Neal made the motion of zipping their mouth. “Anyway, the email. He’d seen my online pleas for help finding a job and had an offer that was beyond anything I could have ever achieved on my own.” I pushed my chair back and stood, moving to the front of my desk.
“You see, Dennis was sick. Born that way, and all the money in the world couldn’t save him. He had one request before he died, that his sister go before him. If I made that happen and took the blame, when he died, he’d put in his will that it had been him who’d done the crime, and upon my release, I would inherit all of his wealth.”
Neal let out a loud gasp. “So, you didn’t eat her?”
I shook my head and clasped my hands in front of me. “Not even one little bite. Dennis, however, had a real feast.”
I shuddered, remembering that night. I blinked the memory back.
Neal’s, mouth hung open. “He really did it? Confessed and left you all the money?”
I raised my arms and motioned around the room. “He did. And now, I can give Daisy the life she deserves. I just...”
“Let’s do it.” Tuth took Neal’s hand. “We’ll help you.”
“Help? How do you expect us to—” Neal started, and the two of them began a hushed back and forth. Just then, there was a sharp knock on the door, and Dewayne threw open the door and rushed in.
“Sir, there’s—” He froze when he saw my guests. I noted the sweat on his face and the panic in his eyes. “There’s been an incident at dinner. We need assistance.”
Moving swiftly, I went back to my desk, unlocked a drawer, and removed the handgun I stored inside. I nodded grimly to Tuth and Neal as I left with Dewayne to take care of dinner.
“I’ll be back. Feel free to discuss things.”
Chapter 21
Daisy
I putmy feet in the water and stared ahead as the sun slowly lowered below the massive homes. As soon as you couldn’t see it anymore, the green light across the lake flicked on.
“You are my green light.”
I closed my eyes, his words replaying in my mind.
Someday, Gatsby. Some day.
The urge to write to him was strong this week. Dancing with his former cellmate, paired with Max’s outburst and sudden deadline, I needed to talk to him.
When he was first arrested, the silence was the worst part of it for me. If I’d been allowed to contact him, I would have made it through. I could have been a devoted prison wife. But he’d refused to allow that. And now, it felt like too much time had passed. Was his cellmate telling the truth? Did Gatsby still love me?
I pulled my feet from the water and grabbed my shoes. I needed to talk to the stranger again. He was the next best thing if I couldn’t talk to who I truly wanted.I went back inside, moving through the house quietly, trying not to disturb anyone. Max had gone to the city for business again, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have eyes in the house. I took my car out of the garage and drove to the opera house.
I wasn’t sure if he was here. As I parked, I realized it was absurd to think he was. Of course, he didn’t live here, and it was the middle of the week. I should have texted him before I came. I swore to myself at how silly the idea had been. I stared at the building for a long moment before my phone suddenly pinged.
Unknown: Come in.
