In Strange Woods - Claire Cray Page 0,58

that night.”

“No,” James exhaled, his heart doing agonized contortions in his chest.

Domino didn’t even hear him. “It was just me and him downstairs. He said he hadn’t told anybody yet. I begged him to give me some time to make things right. But he wouldn’t work with me, James. Basically fired me on the spot. After all these years, just like that. I couldn’t believe it. It was a death sentence for me—you understand?”

James shook his head, but Domino didn’t even see him. He was growing increasingly agitated, his eyes darting around as he shuffled restlessly on the dusty bridge.

“I snapped, James,” Domino said, his face crumpling. “I fucking snapped. I was coked up, and I was desperate, and I panicked, and I just snapped.”

“Snapped,” James said in a rasp like nothing he’d ever heard coming out of himself.

“It was just so fast.” Domino was weeping now, tears rolling down his reddened face. “I watched my arm reach for that thing, and I was like ‘whoa, what are you doing?’ But it happened so fast—once I hit him, and he went down, it was like I left my body. Something took over me!”

“Why?” James cried hoarsely. “Why didn’t you stop there? Call an ambulance— “

“Bro, I know! I ask myself the same thing. But I was just berserk. I thought, what if he told them I was coming over to talk? They were gonna know I was there. They’d know it was me. I’m telling you, James, it was an out of body experience, or like, more like it was a video game, you know, like one of those arcade games, where you’re driving, or shooting—”

“Then what?” James demanded, his nails biting into his palms. “What did you do?”

“I got some gloves from the kitchen. You know your mom keeps that box under the sink, the medical gloves, for when she cleans? I thought that was so weird when she busted those out after dinner one time, but she said never liked the normal ones, the yellow ones.” Domino’s voice quavered again. “I went out to the yard, out to the garden shed. Got the hatchet. And I went up to the bedroom. Bryce was asleep. On his back. James, listen. I aimed for his throat. I thought it would be humane.” The haunted look in his eyes said that he was wrong. “I had to hit him again, but at least he—he didn’t scream. And then I…oh, James, I loved your mom.”

James was shaking from head to toe, fury coursing through his body.

“I almost couldn’t do it,” Domino said, his face all screwed up with emotion, tears rolling down his cheeks. “She was in the bathtub. Back to the door. Playing music so loud she wasn’t hearing anything. But I was so fucked up at that point, it was like a bad trip.”

“Domino,” James moaned weakly, drowning in another montage of memories. Domino and his parents over for Thanksgiving. Domino laughing at Bryce’s jokes, talking sports with Robin, hugging Grace on her birthday in Cartagena.

“James, you know I loved her,” Domino said with sudden fierceness. “That’s why I went back downstairs for the knife. I made sure it wasn’t like Bryce. I covered her eyes and did it quick. Just one cut. I swear. Oh, god, but I wish I could forget it, James…”

At this James had to close his eyes for a second, feeling lightheaded as the crime scene photos flashed through his head. But this wasn’t the time to lose his grip.

“Then I went through and took what I could think of,” Domino said through tears, sniffling every other second. “Made it look like a robbery. I didn’t know what else to do, James. And I still thought—fuck, I was sure I’d missed something there, made a mistake, but it worked! Until your fucking boyfriend and his team got on the case, and tipped the police to the gambling, and they got into the accounts…”

James opened his eyes. There was nothing he could say. His mind was full of blood. He wanted to lunge at Domino. Tackle him. Beat his face in. Make him disappear. Make it all go away.

But his eyes dropped to the hand that hadn’t moved from Domino’s pocket.

Domino followed his gaze, looking down at himself, and sighed. He slowly withdrew the gun and let it hang at his side, where the sunlight danced off the sleek chrome barrel.

“You’re gonna kill me now?” James said coldly. “You’re gonna make this look like a robbery?”

“I