Chapter 19 Gwen
GWEN
Rhiannon had us wait in the front of the cabin while she made the call to the local police department.
Colleen, “the head of legal,” sat behind the desk up front.
She was the grouchiest person I had met at the ranch.
Middle-aged, with gray hair and thick black glasses that always hung halfway down her nose.
All I knew about Colleen was that she’d gotten me my new identity. She’d sat behind a computer, typing away, and told me that a few days later, I would receive my key card.
Simone and I exchanged a glance that said, Guess we can’t talk about this now.
We sat in the two metal chairs by the door, waiting. This cabin had the exact same dimensions as mine. Only difference was instead of a couch, TV, and coffee table, there was Colleen’s desk and a few metal chairs.
Given the hour, there wasn’t much to see outside the window, aside from some snowflakes and bluish moonlight behind thick clouds. Our only entertainment was the music of Colleen’s fingers on the keyboard.
My mind raced a mile a minute. Primarily over the same few sentences.
Now, the cops are going to know David was here, in Black Pines. They’re going to be looking for him. If they look hard enough, will they find his body?
Someone else sure as hell had.
What had they done with it?
It was the dead of winter. The ground had already frozen. Whoever had found it couldn’t have buried it.
Where the hell was his body?
Only one way to find out.
But I couldn’t send a message with Simone beside me. She would read it over my shoulder, then know that someone else was involved, possibly panic, and tell Edwards what I had done. No. She couldn’t know. Plausible deniability.
Eventually, Edwards arrived. I hadn’t met him before, but he was a decent-looking guy with a dark complexion and medium build. One look at Simone had his eyes softening. Rhiannon greeted him, then ushered him and Simone into her office in the back.
As soon as they were out of sight, I whipped out my phone.
Gwen; Where did you put it?
Their response came a few minutes later.
Unknown; Somewhere safe. Why aren’t you using the phone I gave you?
Gwen; Same reason you haven’t told me who you are or what the hell you did with it.
Unknown; That doesn’t even make sense. You think I bugged the phone? It was still sealed. I didn’t even open the package.
Gwen; I have no proof of that. But you’ve got lots of it.
Their responses came quick.
Unknown; Not really.
Gwen; Wtf do you mean not really? You’ve got the biggest piece of the puzzle.
Unknown; Really wish you would use the burner so I could give you more details.
Gwen; Can’t exactly get to it at the moment. Shit’s hitting the fan.
Unknown; Wdym
Gwen; Thought we weren’t giving away too many details.
Unknown; Then text me on the damn burner when you can.
The door to Rhiannon’s office clicked open. She walked closer and glanced back at Colleen. “Would you mind running over to the cafeteria and getting me a cup of coffee?”
Colleen glanced at Rhiannon, then at me. Rolling her eyes, she stood. “Will do.”
Rhiannon’s eyes stayed on me as Colleen walked out the door. Another deep breath eased through her as she sat beside me. For a heartbeat or two, neither of us spoke. The only sound was my heart pounding in my ears. I prayed she couldn’t hear it.
Rarely was Rhiannon silent. The fact that she was now made my stomach turn. My throat swelled, too.
I couldn’t tell what she thought or felt. Was there a risk of me getting kicked out of the ranch too? I didn’t know what I would do without this place. I had some money, but not enough. It was barely enough for a deposit, let alone first and last month’s rent somewhere.
But I wouldn’t blame her if she did kick me out. Rhiannon had integrity. She didn’t like liars.
Maybe that’s why I felt so sick. Not just because I didn’t know what she was thinking, but because I had been lying to her for weeks.
Unable to take the silence anymore, I said, “Does it normally take this long to make a statement?”
“Statement’s over with.” Rhiannon crossed her legs and leaned back in the seat. “Simone is just giving him some background. Hopefully she remembers something that will lead Edwards to David.”
Biting my lip, I gave a nod. Because that was all I could think to do. Even spitting out those words tasted like vinegar on my tongue.
“I’m not angry with you.” That should’ve eased my mind, but Rhiannon spoke like she was ordering a coffee.
Casual. Blunt. “This place is all about sisterhood. Women supporting women. That’s what you did.
You were there for your friend when she needed you.
Just like I know you’d be there for any of these girls.
I don’t just respect that. I appreciate it. ”
My eyes burned with unshed tears. All I could manage was a glance her way. She wasn’t looking at me either. Her eyes were on the fireplace in the corner.
“I really didn’t want to lie to you,” I told her.
“Then why did you?” Her voice was gentle as she turned my way. Confusion overtook her expression. Like a mother disappointed with her child.
I kept my gaze on my feet and shook my head. “I don’t know.”
“Sure you do. You’re a lot of things, Gwen, but thoughtless isn’t one of them. All you ever do is think. And usually, you come to a good decision at the end.”
I could feel those dark brown eyes surveying every inch of my soul, maybe even my mind. Rhiannon had that gift. She understood people just by looking at them.
“So, what made you think hiding this from me was the right decision?” she asked.
Rhiannon would know if I lied. My shaking hands and quiet voice would give me away. I landed on a version of the truth. “The same reason you don’t tell us how you get our fake identities. Plausible deniability.”
She cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
Shit. Not the best way to say it. If she was the anonymous friend who was texting me a moment ago, would she have wanted that answer?
“You keep things from us to protect us,” I said, voice hardly above a whisper.
“I figured that if this came out at the ranch, it would make everyone feel unsafe. You would be the one to deal with the fallout. Everyone would be scared, and you’d have to assure them that everything was okay, and I didn’t want to put that responsibility on your shoulders. ”
She squinted at me, but a frown tugged at the edge of her lips now. “It’s not your job to protect everyone, you know.”
“It wasn’t yours either,” I said. “Until you made it yours.”
She gave a half smile, shaking her head. “I’ve met my match with you, haven’t I?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be half the woman you are.”
“We gotta work on that.” She tossed an arm around my shoulders and kissed my forehead. “Because you already are, kid.”
How badly I wished that were true.
“But we’ve got a lot to work on,” Rhiannon said, still holding me close. “Group therapy doesn’t seem to be doing much for you. You just listen.”
“I thought that was the idea of group.” I tugged at a frayed hem on my jeans. “We listen and we support one another. It’s about community building.”
“It is. But you’re surface level with everyone, Gwen.
Even your closest friends, you don’t open up to.
” She frowned. “And I get it. I was the same way. Group therapy was good at helping me understand everyone else, but not at helping anyone understand me. So I think you and I are going to start weekly sessions. One hour of your time, you are gonna share with me, and we’ll try to get to the root of some stuff. ”
Considering I already saw Rhiannon several times a week, for several hours a day, that wouldn’t be a problem.
“Alright.”
“And I want a poem.”
“You want a what?”
“A poem.” She stood and propped her hands on her hips. “You used to write songs. I’ve heard you sing them down at the rec center. Those are deep. They talk about the things you’ve gone through and how you felt.”
I cringed. “I wrote those when I was an angsty teen.”
“Yeah, before you shut yourself off from anything vulnerable.” The door to her office clicked open. “I’ve heard about writer’s block, so I won’t give you a deadline. But I want you working on it.”
Edwards held the door for Simone. She came out first, shoulders curled inward, head hung toward the floor. Edwards stayed at her rear, his expression blank. Probably saw things like this every day.
“Report all taken care of?” Rhiannon asked.
“Yes, ma’am.” Edwards hooked his thumbs through the straps of his bulletproof vest. “Honestly, I agree with Simone. From what she said about this guy, he’s probably long gone.”
“In my experience,” Rhiannon said, “guys like this are persistent.”
“Sure. That’s why he came back.” Edwards shook his head.
“But the whole street saw him talking to Simone the way he did. After that, he stuck around for another shot. Then he beat the living hell out of her, and she got away. No way in hell he doesn’t know that she filed a report.
I don’t see him coming back. But if he does, call us.
We’ll take him in. Get you a restraining order too, if we gotta. ”
Everything I had done to conceal David’s murder was because I feared the police.
But had I needed to? Clearly, they had some understanding of what the ranch was.
It stood to reason they knew Simone was living under a false identity.
If they hadn’t run David’s record already, but they did soon, they would learn that Simone had violated a custody order. Would they be back for her then?
“Alright.” Rhiannon raised her hands in surrender. “Thanks, kid.”
They exchanged a few more pleasantries before he headed out.
Rhiannon looked at Simone. “Do you want the ranch to know? Or do you want to keep this quiet?”
“Between us, preferably?” Simone’s tone was as meek as her stance. I had never seen her like this before. “I don’t want anyone else to worry about an ex coming back for them.”