Garrett shakes his head. “That’s what they said, but I knew they were lying. If America had voted me off, then why not just send me home? Wait the two days to make up for the lag in production, and then I should have been good to go, right? But they wouldn’t let me leave.”
“So, you’re saying there was no vote?” asks Harmony, her face twisted in confusion.
“There was no vote,” Garrett says, shaking his head. “They just used that as an excuse to kick me off.”
“And you’ve been here the whole time?” Kei asks. Garrett nods.
“At first, I thought I was going home. They told me to pack my bags, and I was put in this other cabin by myself, with strict instructions not to leave or talk to anyone else. After two days, Tyler came and told me there had been a problem with the network, and they hadn’t gone to air when they’d expected, so I’d have to stay a little longer, until things were on track. I asked him to bring me more food, because I was getting low, but he never did, so a few days later, I took matters into my own hands. I snuck out—not sure what time it was, but it was late. My plan was to sneak into the crew cabins and steal some food. I came through the woods, and when I got there, I could see Gabby holding these two massive suitcases, walking toward the beach path.
“The door to their cabin was wide open, and Tyler was outside, tying a huge duffel bag onto the back of one of the four-wheelers. And I just felt so fucking mad. I should have kept my mouth shut but I couldn’t just watch them leave, so I confronted him.” Garrett sighs heavily and looks down at the ground.
I can feel the blood slowing in my veins, becoming thick and sluggish. My limbs become leaden as I feel myself sinking into the log, rooting me like I might never leave. I watch with dull curiosity as the other campers all have some version of the same reaction—fury and disgust and fear distorting their beautiful faces, crying and sniffling and moaning. But I don’t do any of those things.
I’m frozen. Numb.
“What did he tell you?” Harmony asks.
Garrett indicates to Trina that he needs more water. He takes a long sip and a deep breath. “He said they were in deep shit, that the show hadn’t been picked up by a network, and they’d run out of money. And then when I started asking questions, he just went off.” Garrett stops, closes his eyes.
Trina touches his arm. “We can finish this in the morning.”
Garrett shakes his head. “No,” he sighs. “It’s just—” His voice cracks.
“It’s okay, Garrett, we’ve got you,” Valeria says.
“He beat the shit out of me. I think he thought he’d killed me, because he left me for dead in the middle of the woods.”
This revelation should invoke terror, but I just feel a heavy stone of dread settle in my stomach.
“He left you alone in the woods to die?” Harmony gasps.
Garrett shakes his head slowly, his eyes downcast. “Not alone. There was another body.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
I don’t gasp, or cry, or swear at this revelation, like the others do. I just squint through a haze of confusion, trying to piece his words together into something that has some meaning.
“Another body?” Trina says, her lip quivering.
“Like a dead body?” Harmony’s voice is high and thin.
“Who was it?” Kei says. His eyes flick to mine, but there’s no warmth in them.
“I don’t know. I didn’t recognize him. His face was a mess.” At this, a strangled sob bursts from Garrett’s mouth like a bark. He covers his face with his hands. Valeria quickly moves to his side, and puts her arm around him, murmuring words of comfort.
He composes himself. “I’m okay,” he says to Trina, before she can react. He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and lets out a long, ragged exhale. “His face had been pretty badly beaten, but I don’t think I’d ever seen him, anyway. He was an older guy. Thick white hair. Nice suit.”
An image of the Silver Fox’s crinkly-eyed smile pops into my head, just as Sue-Ellen says “McFarland.”
“Who’s McFarland?” Garrett asks.
“One of the investors in the show,” Kei says. “He recruited me and Cleo. He came for a visit.”
“But if he’s an investor, why would they kill him? Wouldn’t they need his money?” Valeria says.
Garrett shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Let me get this straight,” Kei says, turning to Garrett. “You’re saying that Tyler and Gabby couldn’t find a network, but they started filming the show anyway, what, hoping that they could get someone to pick it up?”
