Page 30 of Grave Stone

I looked down at my coffee and smiled to myself. Stevie would do anything for Hadley or me, but she didn’t like feelings. She had them, but she often described emotions as nausea, especially the warm, fuzzy ones.

“So, what’s the plan?” I asked.

“I guess we need to come up with a new one since a lot has changed,” Stevie said.

“I don’t think we should go back to the lake house,” Hadley said. “Not until we figure out how he found it and how he got past my fence.”

“Is there a reason we can’t stay here?” I asked.

“No, we can stay here if you want, or the apartment downtown,” Hadley said. “Or we can go to one of the other properties, but they’re farther away.”

“I have to work tomorrow, so I vote here or the apartment,” Stevie said.

“You can’t go to work tomorrow! It’s not safe.”

“They’re not after me.”

“Stevie!”

“Whitney!” she returned. “I work at the courthouse. Neither the bikers nor the pawn shop boys would be stupid enough to try anything there.”

“You still have to get there and back.”

“So, we’ll hang out here today and move to the apartment tonight. It’s much closer to work.”

“Then what?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. How long do you think it will take your husband and his friends to do their thing?”

I didn’t bother correcting her. She deemed him my husband in her mind, and that’s what she was going to call him. I just hoped she didn’t do it in front of other people.

“When I asked him how I would know it was safe to go back home, he told me to wait at least forty-eight hours before turning my phone back on. But I don’t know if leaving everything up to them is the right move.”

“Why do you say that?”

“What if they don’t do anything? We could potentially waste two days sitting around waiting for them.”

“I don’t think that’ll be the case,” she said. “But would coming up with some alternative plans make you feel better?”

“Yes!” I didn’t care for the unknown. I liked to have a plan, a backup plan, an extra backup plan, and an inclement weather plan.

“I’ll get the laptops,” Hadley said.

“I’ll get the snacks.”

“I’m not getting shit,” Stevie said.

We spent the rest of the morning coming up with a variety of situations and plans. It was what I needed to feel more anchored, and I appreciated my friends for indulging me. I felt better. Not great, but I felt like I could breathe a little easier for the first time since Friday.

Until Hadley’s estate manager called to let her know three men in a truck stopped by the lake house to speak with her and her guest.

“Wow. Your husband works fast,” Stevie said.

“He’s not … never mind. We don’t know if that’s why he wanted to speak with us. Anthony said there were three of them. Maybe they came back to kill us.”

“Killers don’t usually use the call box.”

“They do if they know how to delete the surveillance footage,” Stevie said.