Chapter 22
Despite Jesse’s protest that she was fine, the sheriff and EMTs that belatedly arrived at the boathouse insisted that she take the ambulance, along with Noah, to the local hospital.
Once there, she was poked and prodded and X-rayed once again before a doctor arrived to inform her that she was badly bruised and there were traces of drugs left in her system, but she would recover.
He reluctantly released her, along with Noah, with the promise they would be together in case either of them passed out or became dizzy.
It’d been late by the time they returned to Canton, and neither was in the mood to discuss what had happened. Especially not after Adam Tillman displayed his usual lack of empathy by arriving just minutes after they’d pulled into the driveway, demanding that they give a statement.
Jesse didn’t fight. What was the point? She was no longer worried about Sheriff Tillman, or whether he thought she was somehow involved. Especially not after he’d grudgingly revealed that he was being forced to turn over the case to the FBI.
Missing persons was one thing. Dead bodies popping up around town was something else. The state authorities had decided to send in the bigwigs.
Too late, as far as Jesse was concerned, but better late than never.
They would be the ones to prosecute Tegan and Parker, who were currently lodged in the jail.
After a restless night, Jesse woke early to discover that Noah was already up and out of the house. A quick glance out of the kitchen window revealed he was at the edge of the lake, where a large group of people were standing around a tarp spread on the bank.
Jesse whirled around, refusing to watch. She already knew that Victoria’s remains were down there. She didn’t need to witness them being wrapped up and hauled away.
Not when she had something more important to do.
Drinking a cup of coffee in the hopes of clearing the lingering cobwebs from her mind, Jesse headed out of the front door. It was another beautiful morning, with plenty of sunshine and a nice breeze that was laced with the scent of roses.
Jesse shuddered. For some reason, the roses made her think about death and funerals.
Or maybe it was just her dark mood.
Zigzagging her way through town, she at last entered the alley behind the Tap Room.
The police tape had been removed, although Adam warned her that the FBI would be wanting to do their own investigation.
That was fine with her. She wasn’t planning to stay there.
Probably never again. Instead, she walked past the dumpster and knocked on the back door of the diner.
It took a few minutes, but at last Bea appeared, still wearing her dressing gown, with her hair pulled back in a headband.
She looked like she’d just gotten out of bed.
Odd, considering she was usually up by four in the morning to bake her pastry goodies.
Of course, the diner was still closed, and it was possible she was taking advantage of the opportunity to sleep in.
Or it could be something else. Maybe she’d shared Jesse’s restless night.
“Come in, come in.” Bea waved her into the kitchen, a smile of pleasure spreading across her face. “I’ve been so worried about you.” Fluttering toward the center of the room, she pulled out a seat at the table. “Sit down. Are you sure you should be out of the hospital?”
Jesse hid a wince as she entered the gleaming white and stainless-steel kitchen. The brightness stabbed into the dull ache that lingered in her brain.
“I’m fine,” she insisted, taking a seat. “A bump on the head, but my skull is too thick to fracture. That’s the doctor’s diagnosis, not mine.”
“I’m just glad you’re okay.” Bea grabbed a basket of muffins from the counter before taking her own seat. “I couldn’t believe when I heard that Reese Skylar was actually Tegan. All those years she was missing …”
“I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her,” Jesse said dryly.
“How could you? She didn’t look anything like the girl we knew.”
“No,” Jesse agreed, still annoyed that she’d been so gullible.
She’d assumed she was too jaded to be easily fooled, and then she’d fallen hook, line, and sinker for every lie that Tegan and Parker had fed her.
“But she hadn’t really changed. She was still a selfish, petty brat who always wanted what she couldn’t have. ”
“Such a shame.” Bea pinched her lips. “I blame that mother of hers. Terrible woman. I heard rumors that the authorities found her body in the lake behind Noah’s house early this morning.”
Jesse arched a brow. She wasn’t surprised that the rumors of Victoria being dumped in Noah’s lake were running rampant, but she was astonished that they already knew that she’d been pulled out. There must be someone with binoculars keeping tabs on the FBI.
“I know they were there working when I left,” Jesse confirmed the gossip, watching Bea’s reaction. “Tegan confessed that her mother never made it out of Canton alive. Her ex-husband tracked her down and strangled her after she crashed her car. He was obviously a monster.”
Bea clicked her tongue. “I know it’s not nice to blame the victim, but Victoria had it coming. I mean, when you choose to lie and cheat and manipulate innocent people, bad things are bound to happen, right? I’m just relieved that he didn’t hurt you.”
Jesse wasn’t shocked by the older woman’s reaction. Just … sad.
“I think I was safe enough. His only interest was in Victoria and his daughter.”
“Well, thankfully it’s all over now.” Bea grabbed one of the muffins. “The past can finally rest.”
“Not quite yet.”
“No?”
Jesse reached up to rub the aching muscles at the back of her neck. “I didn’t sleep much last night.”
“Oh my dear. Are you in pain?”
“It wasn’t that. I was puzzling over something Tegan told me.”
Bea arched her brows, taking a bite of her muffin. “I wouldn’t trust anything she said.”
“She intended to kill me,” Jesse pointed out. “She had no reason to lie at that point.”
“What did she say?”
“That she didn’t know how Buzz managed to track them down.”
“Buzz?” Bea furrowed her brow in confusion. “Was that her father’s name?”
“It think it was a nickname. It’s still stupid, but I don’t think he was overly burdened with brains.”
“Probably not.”
Jesse studied the woman she’d known her entire life. “Which makes me wonder how he found them after Victoria managed to stay hidden for a dozen years.”
“Who knows?”
“My first thought was that it might have been Dix. He recognized Victoria as Sylvie Fulton from Little Rock during a birthday party for Sam and Tegan,” Jesse admitted. “It was easy to assume that he was responsible for Buzz’s presence in Canton.”
Bea abruptly set aside her half-eaten muffin before rising to her feet. “We should have some tea. I brewed it fresh this morning.”
Jesse watched the older woman pull out the pitcher of tea and grab two tall glasses.
“But I’d already talked to Dix, and he truly believed it was a case of mistaken identity. More importantly, he didn’t care. I doubt he cares about anything unless he can drink it, smoke it, or get it in his bed.”
Bea poured out the tea before returning to the table and placing a glass in front of Jesse. She settled back in her chair, lifting her glass to take a sip.
“Does it matter?” she asked at last asked.
Jesse’s heart felt as if it had an anchor tied to it, trying to drag it down to her toes. She should walk out of the diner and keep walking. It would be a lot less painful in the end.
But she couldn’t.
She’d come too far.
“You know it matters, Bea,” she said gently. “Did you overhear Dix call Victoria by her real name?”
Bea hesitated before stiffening her spine and tilting her chin to a defiant angle. “Yes. Not that I was surprised. I knew Victoria was a liar from the minute she arrived in Canton.”
“What did you do?”
“I asked one of my college workers to do a search for Sylvie Fulton on the internet. I told her that Sylvie was my niece, and that I’d lost contact with her.
She found a Facebook page that listed her as a missing person, along with a phone number to contact.
” Bea took another gulp of tea, as if her mouth was dry.
“I didn’t know it was her husband. I just wanted her gone. ”
Jesse was confused. She hadn’t seen the Facebook page pop up. Then realization hit with a sickening blow. It had obviously been removed by Buzz after he’d tracked down and strangled his wife.
“Why not tell my dad what you found?” she asked.
“Do you think he would have listened? And even if he had, Victoria would have found some way to make him forgive her lies. He was blinded by his lust.”
Jesse couldn’t argue. Her dad was obsessed with his beautiful young wife. He would have forgiven everything if she’d revealed the truth. Well, maybe not everything. He might have been disturbed by the fact that she’d killed her former husband and burned his corpse.
Not that the what ifs mattered. She was more concerned with what actually did happen.
“You let Dad be arrested.”
“I knew it would never go to trial. It was a charade performed to pacify that ridiculous deputy.”
Jesse made a sound of horror. “He spent months in jail. He was devastated by the time they let him out.”
Bea flushed at Jesse’s sharp tone, but her defiance remained firmly intact. “It gave him time to forget about Victoria. He was dangerously obsessed with his need to find her. I did it for him.”
With an effort, Jesse forced herself to temper her seething frustration. She wasn’t going to get answers by accusing the older woman. She had to convince her to tell the truth.
“Bea.” She reached across the table to pat her arm in a comforting gesture. “What did you do?”
Bea’s gaze lowered to her fingers, which were clutched around the glass. “He wouldn’t listen.”
“Listen to what?”
“To what I had to say when he came to see me after he left the courthouse—”
“He came here?” Jesse interrupted, the breath squeezing from her lungs as she at last understood.