Deep Betrayal Page 0,58

of my heart almost hoped “smug arrogance” had been a satisfying, emotional meal for Maris. I was pretty sure that was the best Brady Peterman had to offer.

But Jules’s last message, and the thought of my friends being on the lake, eradicated any sadistic feeling that justice had been served. Instead, fear coiled in my belly like a little black eel.

“What are people saying?” Gabby asked.

The waitress looked surreptitiously at her manager and let a single word slip: “Murder.”

Jack, Gabby, and I ran outside and down the street toward the lake. A flimsy yellow line of police tape fluttered in the breeze and did its best to barricade the fishing pier. Jack grabbed my elbow and pulled me and Gabby toward the park.

“I want to get a better look,” he said.

“There won’t be anything to see,” Gabby said. “Besides, it creeps me out. I can’t ever remember a summer like this. I’m thinking about moving to Kansas. There’s no water there, right?”

“They won’t let this one go by without some kind of search,” Jack said, breathing hard as he pulled us along. “People knew Brady. They’re going to listen now.” Then he put his mouth to my hair. His hot breath brushed my earlobe. “You tell Calder White the clock is ticking.”

Jack ducked under the yellow tape. Gabby refused to cross, but I went after him. “Jack, we’re not supposed to be this far.”

Jack charged ahead, but I stopped in my tracks. My hand rose shakily to my mouth. A pale arm emerged from under the pier where the deck met the ground. The hand was palm up, its fingers curled eerily toward the sky.

“Hey, now, kids,” Chief Eaton said, standing up and coming our way. I hadn’t seen him there before. He’d been crouched down at the side of the pier with a camera. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice the tape.”

Jack’s face went stony, and Chief Eaton squared his shoulders. “I’m not going to have any more trouble from you, am I, Jack? People in town are going to need some time and space to grieve. I don’t want you flappin’ your lips about any of your cockamamie stories. Respect. Do you understand me?”

“Loud and clear, sir,” Jack said through his teeth.

“I’ve had a mini vacation planned for months,” Chief Eaton said. “This new accident has set me back a day, but I don’t want you ruining my fishing trip with any more unnecessary antics. No more. Got it?”

“I heard you the first time, sir.”

Chief Eaton paused to assess Jack, who stared back unflinchingly, his jaw firmly set. It didn’t take a genius to know what was really going on in his head. Even Chief Eaton could read those thoughts.

“You’d have to be cold-blooded to use a tragedy like this for your own sick gains,” said the chief.

Jack’s eyes burned with anger, and I gently turned him back toward the street. Gabby was standing there with her hands on her hips.

“And you should head on home, too, now, missy,” Chief Eaton said.

“I will,” I said, glancing back over my shoulder at him.

By the time we got to the car, Jack’s mood had withered to a dark gloom. He muttered under his breath about something never being enough. I didn’t want to ask. Instead I slid open my phone and saw I’d missed two texts.

JULES: Are you excited? It’s going to be so great. I thought maybe you and your man could show us around. Phillip’s uncle has a boat. We could check out some of those islands you were talking about.

JULES: Are you still there?

24

CONFESSION

A hand slapped down hard on the kitchen counter. “Tell me,” Mom said. “Don’t lie to me anymore, Jason.”

“You’re getting upset over nothing.” Dad’s voice was a cool contrast to Mom’s frantic plea.

“Nothing? Nothing? What is wrong with you?”

Sophie and I crept down the stairs to listen. I held my arms open, and she crawled into my lap, burying her face in my neck.

“Where are you going?” Mom asked, her voice dropping an octave. “Every day you disappear. For hours on end.”

“I told you, Carolyn. I’m working. Getting ready for classes.” From where I sat, I could see Dad’s face. It was barely recognizable. A person’s soul is in their eyes, and his were all wrong.

“Bullshit,” Mom said, and Dad winced, turning his back on her. I thought a curse from my mother’s lips would make the earth crack open. Instead, the front door slammed with an enormous bang, sending vibrations up the wooden