the kitchen, cut your own throat and waited for Naomi to arrive. It was a gamble, but you were betting that she’d call for an ambulance and save you.”
Jacob’s hands trembled ever so slightly. “No one will believe you,” he whispered. “No one.”
“Are you willing to bet your life on that? We have the death penalty in Utah. Four murders, terrible murders, you’ll certainly be a prime candidate.” I let that sink in for a little while. Then I whispered, “Are you willing to take that risk?”
I hesitated to let him stew, then said, “Or would you rather make a deal?”
For a moment, nothing. Then Jacob slowly brought his head around until he faced me straight on. He took a few deep breaths, thinking it all over, I figured. I didn’t rush him. Minutes passed before he asked, “What are you offering?”
Forty
“I couldn’t have proven any of it, except that those were his boots,” Clara said.
Despite the three-hour drive to the cabin, she’d arrived a bale of nervous energy. Max was cooking a very late dinner. His fishing trip successful, he had two good-size trout sizzling in a cast-iron pan. Outside, the icy winds were beginning to howl. They still had one full day and part of Sunday for their stolen interlude, but weather reports predicted that they would be spending most of it indoors. The impending gale carried up to a foot of snow, and Max secretly wondered if they’d be able to dig out to go home. But then again, he didn’t really care. Perhaps the storm would give them a day or two more. After waiting so long to have Clara to himself, extra hours carried the promise of more time to sort through their emotions.
“You should have called me,” Max said. “I would have come.”
Clara smiled. “I didn’t want you there.”
“You didn’t want me? Why—”
She shook her head and gestured as if to wipe away what she’d just said. “Not that I didn’t want you there, more that I didn’t think I should have you there,” she explained. “I needed to do this on my own, to show the locals that I didn’t need your help or anyone else’s to do my job.”
“Oh, the protesters?” Max said. “They’re just a bunch of disgruntled folks who are mad at the world about how the town is changing.”
“Yes, them, but not just them,” Clara said.
Max flipped the trout, the two-bedroom cabin filling with the heavy scent of the hot oil browning the cornmeal coating the fish. He’d mixed together homemade tartar sauce, and he had French fries baking in the oven. Salads were already on the table. The place defined the word “cozy” for Max. Small but comfortable, chintz curtains and hand-stitched quilts on the beds. A sign out front read: The Hideaway, and Max understood why his friend named it that, secluded as the cabin was on ten acres and backing up to a forest.
“Okay, I understand why you didn’t wait for me,” he said. “But what would you have done if Jacob hadn’t agreed to the plea deal? If he hadn’t admitted his guilt?”
A half-hearted shrug, Clara curled her lips into a bow. “I didn’t let myself think about that,” she admitted. “I figured there wasn’t going to be any more definitive evidence than what I already had. When Stef told me that the shoe company said the boots belonged to Jacob, that pointed in a direction. I thought about what that could mean and called the doctor. He sounded surprised, but then he admitted that he’d had suspicions about Jacob’s injuries. Before long, I thought I had it pretty well figured out. I knew the little evidence I had would never stand up in court. I don’t think I could have gotten the DA to take charges with it, but I thought that spun right, what I did know might be enough to get Jacob worried about the death chamber. If he was innocent, he’d tell me to go to hell. If I was right, I figured I had a shot.”
“And it worked,” Max said. “He opened right up.”
“Opened his mouth and let it all stream out like a convert making his first confession,” she said. “Once he talked to the DA, had a paper in front of him signed by her that said she wouldn’t pursue the death penalty, he unraveled every secret.”
“Why, do you think?” Max asked.
“Jacob did a horrible thing, but it was on impulse,” she said. “I think, as cool as