Chapter 65
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
“How long?”
The driver squints at the phone on his dashboard. Outside, all I can see are trees. Though I lived here for an entire summer, I still don’t recognize the roads leading to Pine Ridge.
“Five minutes.”
It’s just after 7 a.m. He’ll be awake before noon.
The meter clicks over to $100 as he pulls into the driveway.
The place is transformed. The driveway has been resealed, and the trees pruned back.
I pull out my cash and count it on the seat before handing him the fare.
I couldn’t risk using the app, because it would leave a record in my bank account for Neil to find.
“Can you come back here at ten?” I ask.
I can’t be late.
I can’t let him find out.
Last night, Neil came home and said he had been promoted again. I insisted we celebrate with drinks. I made him cocktails, but kept the alcohol out of mine. A trick I learned from Grace.
Neil talked incessantly about his plans for our lives. I wouldn’t need to work another day in my life.
“How many kids do you want?” he kept asking. “I want three, at least. We have time if we act fast.”
I could tell he wanted to start that night, so I kept making the drinks stronger and stronger.
We brainstormed names for children, then moved on to pets. Neil wanted two dogs and a cat. He said he would build a playhouse in the garden.
It was a strange fantasy. Deep down, surely he must have known it would never happen. There were only two ways this could end.
In the early hours, I dissolved four sleeping pills in a glass of water and forced him to drink. I said it would help with his hangover. He tried to pull me into bed, but by this point, it was easy to fend him off.
As soon as he was asleep, I began making plans.
I knew that I couldn’t do this on my own. I was no killer.
I needed help.
The house is unchanged. The garden is overgrown, but otherwise it feels like stepping back in time.
I remember coming here at the beginning of summer, that initial thrill of freedom. Then, the intoxication of seduction.
Falling in love.
Bradley has been dead for weeks. I wonder when I’ll mourn him.
I walk up to the veranda and see a black witch’s cat lurking among the flowers. Gabriel. I’m about to call him over when the door opens.
“Brie,” she says.
“Like the cheese.”
“So I hear.” Grace doesn’t move from the doorway. Though she must have expected to hear from me, I feel like an unwelcome guest. “What are you doing here?”
“I got a letter from your lawyer.”
She smirks. “Ah, I forgot about that.”
“You forgot about spending ten million dollars to create a nature reserve in my name?”
“I have other things on my mind.” She’s looking at me as if this is another chess move, rather than a ludicrously generous gift. It occurs to me that this is another one of her games. Another scenario she has contrived, just to see how I’ll react. “Have you signed?”
“Not yet. I have a problem.”
“Yes, what is it?”
“Neil.”
“The breeder? Are you back with him? That’s very disappointing.”
“He’s making threats. About us.”
A pause. The implication sinks in.
“I see. So what do you want to do?”
“I just want to be free.”
“I can’t promise that.” She senses my frustration and steps to one side. “Come on. I’m sure we can figure something out.”
“We can’t let him get away with it,” I say. She’s too calm, too casual. If Neil tells the police what he knows, we’re both finished. “He could put us both in prison for the rest of our lives.”
“He won’t,” she says sharply as I step into the living room. “Because we won’t let him, will we?”