Chapter 19 Gwen #2
“Got to figure out what we’re going to tell them then,” Rhiannon said. “How about something happened at work? You had to file a report about an angry customer who didn’t pay.”
“That should work.”
“Wait,” I said, standing. “Wait, are we sure Simone’s not going to get in trouble for violating her custody order? If the cops know she did that, they could arrest her, couldn’t they? Surely she has warrants by now.”
Rhiannon’s shoulders, her eyes, everything about her demeanor was so casual. Like she had been here before. “Don’t worry about it.”
“The local cops are in on the ranch?” I asked.
“If they weren’t, the ranch wouldn’t be running.” Rhiannon gestured outside. “It’s late. We should all turn in. I’m sure Margaret’s waiting for you to pick up Junie, Simone.”
“Probably.” Simone headed for the door. Over her shoulder, she said to me, “Call me when you’re back up to your cabin.”
I had already planned on it. I needed to know the exact story she gave Edwards. But since the day I’d gotten here, I had wondered how this place ran. Simone had mentioned once that the billionaire’s backing covered more than just fees at the ranch. Now, I had to wonder…
I caught up to Rhiannon as she started outside. “Are you saying you own them?”
Rhiannon scoffed. “Excuse me?”
“The local cops,” I said. “You pay them to look the other way, don’t you?”
She pulled the door shut. “I do.”
For a few heartbeats, I just looked at her.
“Are you judging me for that?” She propped her hands on her hips. “Do you find it hypocritical or something?”
“No,” I said. “Not at all.”
“Then what the hell is that face for?”
“Respect.” I shrugged. “Mobs and gangs have been buying local cops for decades, maybe centuries. It’s about time a good person does it for good reason.”
A half smile. “Goodnight, Gwen.”
Maybe it would’ve been a better night a few weeks ago if I had just told Rhiannon the truth. Maybe no one would’ve worried about going to jail for David’s murder, and I wouldn’t have thrown out my back lifting him into the damn trunk.
“The exact same story,” I said into the phone. I propped it between my shoulder and ear, prying open the burner phone from its box. “You gave Edwards the exact same story as Rhiannon?”
“Didn’t miss a beat,” Simone said on the other end. “It’s fine, Gwen. I know Edwards. He didn’t suspect anything.”
“Why would he? No one’s going to suspect I killed the guy.”
Still tearing at the plastic that lined the burner phone, to no avail, I tossed it onto the couch. This job would require scissors. I padded to the kitchen and grabbed a pair from a drawer.
“That’s not what I’m worried about,” I continued, returning to the living room.
“What the hell else is there to worry about then?”
“If his family filed a missing persons report, then no one would have connected him to Black Pines yet.”
Shoving the scissors around the plastic wrapping, I chopped at the case until it peeled open. “But now, he’s been connected to this place. They could be looking for him. God only knows what they’ll find if they look hard enough.”
“What could they find?” Simone lowered her voice. “I thought you said you took care of everything.”
The cardboard box emerged from the open plastic casing, which I tossed on the couch. “I did. I think.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Terror tinged Simone’s voice. “You think? This isn’t something you just think about, Gwen. If you were gonna think about it, maybe you should have just called the cops.”
“Maybe you should have told Rhiannon in the first place. Then neither of us would be dealing with this right now. Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve.”
“I’m sorry.” I could hear her pout through the phone. “I’m not trying to point fingers.”
Running my hands through my hair, I let out a deep breath and lowered myself to the sofa. Honey hopped up beside me. Stroking my fingers through her fur slowed my racing heart.
“I’m sorry, too. I know why you didn’t. I’m just stressed.”
“And I get it.” Her tone sounded softer now, calmer.
“But I don’t think we have to worry. We’re so close to the Canadian border, Gwen.
I’m pretty sure if you walk through the woods around the property long enough, you’ll end up in Canada.
That’s probably the assumption. David was a bad dude.
It makes complete sense that he would’ve made a run for it. ”
Was that common? American criminals running to Canada? Everyone had heard of them running to Mexico or Columbia, but Canada wasn’t known for harboring American fugitives.
“Alright.” Prying the cell phone from the plastic innards, I re-situated mine between my shoulder and ear. “Alright, until further notice, we go back to what we’ve been doing. Pretending it never happened.”
“You don’t sound eager about that.”
“I’m not eager for any of this.” I rubbed my eyes with my thumb and forefinger. “It’s just—I thought we were in the clear. Now, I’m worried we’re not. But you’re right. There’s a good chance no one will ever suspect a thing.”
So long as they didn’t find a body, they would never be able to convict me anyway.
“I think we’re fine,” Simone insisted. “Just relax. Have a drink, read a book, and go lie down. You’ll feel better in the morning.”
“Sure do hope so,” I said. “And I know that was the polite way of telling me you need to get Junie ready for bed, so I’ll let you go.”
“I do, but if anything comes up, or if you start to panic, call me, alright?”
“Will do. Sleep tight.”
I set my phone on the coffee table and turned my attention to the burner. Straight from one phone to the other. I went through the setup process. Made a fake account, with a fake email address, and a fake name. Jane Doe was taken, so I became Jane Dobe.
It looked ridiculous across the screen, but all that mattered was that I had a way to contact this ‘friend’ anonymously.
Once the thing was up and running, I headed to the text messaging app.
Gwen; On the burner now. What did you do with it?
The response came in heartbeats.
Unknown; Burned his personal effects and buried the body.
Gwen; So you have a Ripper attachment on an excavator, a hydraulic hammer, and a Hydra back truck?
Unknown; Guessing you have no idea what any of that is, so I’m assuming you googled what it takes to dig a hole through frozen ground.
I had done exactly that. But what was their point?
Gwen; I’m just having a hard time believing that you went through all that effort for a stranger. But you knew it was me, so we can’t be strangers. You call yourself a friend, and you hide behind an anonymous number.
They read it. They began typing. They stopped. Then they began again. When that went on for a while, I took Simone’s advice. Maybe a drink would ease my racing mind. Just as I was finishing pouring a glass, the burner phone dinged again.
Unknown; You’re right. I didn’t go to all this effort for a stranger. We are friends. But I have shit to lose, too. Sorry I’m not willing to throw my whole life away.
Gwen; Yet you buried a body for me.
Unknown; Yeah, and made sure no one knew it was me.
Gwen; How did YOU even know it was me?
Unknown; Recognized the raincoat and tennis shoes while you were dumping him over the bridge.
So, furthering my theory. It could’ve been someone from the ranch or from town. But it had to be a woman. Men didn’t pay so much attention to shoes and raincoats.
Gay men did, though. More times than I could count, Axel had complimented or condemned an outfit choice of mine.
Those very tennis shoes once, in fact. They were Hokas.
The most comfortable shoes I’d ever worn, purchased because long hours at the bakery were killing my feet, but they were bulky and big.
Axel had said it looked like I had clown feet.
Could this be Axel?
Gwen; Why would you even be in the woods at that hour?
Unknown; Who said I was in the woods?
Gwen; You weren’t on the bridge and you weren’t on the road. I would’ve seen you. So you had to be in the woods.
Unknown; Fine. I was in the woods.
Gwen; Again, why?
Unknown; It clears my head.
Gwen; So you’re not a hunter, then?
Unknown; I’m not telling you who I am.
I rolled my eyes.
Gwen; How did you bury it?
Unknown; Built a fire. Let the ground thaw. Put the fire out. Dug until I hit frozen ground. Lit another fire. Rinse repeat.
Damn. Why the hell hadn’t I thought of that?
Gwen; That had to have taken hours.
Unknown; A couple.
Gwen; Why so much effort?
Unknown; I googled the guy. Took me all of two minutes to figure out why you did it.
Gwen; And why did I do it?
Unknown; Simone. He showed up, either threatened or hurt her, and you defended her.
I respect it. Probably would’ve done the same thing in your position.
But you didn’t know what you were doing, and you screwed up.
It looked like you were coming from the ranch.
If I were you, I would’ve just incinerated it there.
There’s one at the meatpacking plant, you know.
No. I sure as hell did not know. And even if I had, I wouldn’t have known how to get inside the meatpacking plant.
Could I have figured out a way? Sure. If I told Rhiannon I was curious about how to process meat, gave her a spiel about my desire to live off the land, she would have given me a job at the plant.
But I wouldn’t have had time for all that while hiding a decomposing body.
Still, something about their attitude put me off.
Gwen; You’re too calm about this.
Unknown; You’re too panicked. That’s what could get you caught.
Maybe they were right.
Gwen; The only way your reaction makes any sense is if you’ve done this before.
Unknown; I assure you, I have never seen a friend drop a body off an overpass, then drug it out of the creek myself, only to spend my entire day burying the damn thing.
Gwen; Maybe not. But you’re too calm about a murder to have never been involved in something similar.
Unknown; Could’ve been manslaughter for all I know.
In the eyes of the law, that may have been what I did. I didn’t know, and it didn’t matter.
What mattered was how comfortable they were with all this.
If it were Rhiannon, was it possible that she’d killed a man like David before? I could see her capable of it. Most people, under the right circumstances, were capable of killing.
But Rhiannon had looked genuinely shocked by Simone’s bruises. Whoever this was wouldn’t have been.
Unless that had been a ruse too.
Axel still seemed more likely. A man his size would have an easier time moving the body than Rhiannon or I would have.
While Axel and I weren’t the best of friends, I knew a thing or two. Like how he’d gotten this job. His mom had left his dad and came to live at the ranch. I’d never met her, so I wasn’t sure if she had passed or moved away after getting back on her feet.
But was it possible that she had killed her husband? And that coming to the ranch was about escaping more than just her trauma?
Gwen; Fine, I won’t pry. But I need to know where he is.
Unknown; You really don’t. You do need to tell me what you meant earlier though. What shit hit the fan?
Gwen; Rhiannon saw bruises on Simone’s face. She knew it was David. We didn’t tell her exactly what happened, but she made Simone file a report. The cops are gonna be looking for him.
Unknown; Oh. That’s fine. They won’t find him. As long as you did a good job of getting rid of the car.
Gwen; I did.
Unknown; Not gonna give me any more context there?
Gwen; Nope.
Unknown; Why not?
Gwen; Why won’t you tell me where the body is?
Unknown; Because it’s handled. And it’s safer for both of us if neither of us know. Then we can’t incriminate one another.
Gwen; Then you better accept my answer too.
Unknown; Which wouldn’t be a problem, if you hadn’t dropped a body over an overpass without so much as weighing it down.
Gwen; I was in a bit of a hurry.
Unknown; Were you in a hurry to get rid of the car?
Gwen; No, that took me all morning.
Unknown; Then I have faith you didn’t screw it up.
I jumped at the loud knock on my front door.