Chapter 18
BLAKE
“You dirty girl!” Savannah shouts through the phone so loud that I have to pull it away from my ear. “All three?”
I scoff, keeping my eyes on the road as I drive down Main Street away from the diner. Martha made me eat a salad tonight. She scolded me when I ordered my usual like I was a child. She said that I needed a more balanced diet.
Most unpleasant experience since I returned to town.
“You’re one to talk,” I reply. “And it’s not all three. Just…two.”
“But you want it to be all of them,” Savannah surmises correctly.
My teeth gnaw on my bottom lip. “Maybe.”
Savannah gasps, dramatically. “Oh, God.”
“What?” I sit up straight.
“You’re in love with them,” Savannah squeals giddily.
“I am not.” A bold lie.
Savannah continues to tease me like we’re on the playground in middle school. “Yes, you are. Big, fat, triple dip in love.”
“Triple dip?” My voice rises an octave.
“Three hunks. Triple. Duh,” Savannah explains.
My face pinches. “But ‘dip?’”
“If I have to explain that part to you, then we need to have a whole different conversation.”
I can’t keep a smile off my face at her joke. “Shut up.” We laugh together until my abdomen hurts.
Savannah turns the conversation. “Just…be careful, okay?”
Not ready for the shift, I crack another joke. “Of course. I always stretch before and after.”
“That’s not what I mean, smartass,” Savannah admonishes lovingly. “I know what these guys mean to you, and I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Thanks, babe.”
“I need to go but call me with updates.”
“Promise.”
“Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I’m almost to Moose Gap Lodge when my phone chimes.
Unknown: Did you figure it out yet?
My mouth goes dry. Pulling over on the side of the road, I scramble to type my reply.
Me: Who is this?
Me: I’m going to find you.
Unknown: I know Walker got the ID on the body. Did you figure out why he died?
Did he kill the guy in the field? Or is he talking about someone else?
Me: Who is it?
Unknown: I left you a present at Riverbend Trailer Park.
Unknown: Missing anyone? Have you done a head count lately?
Me: Don’t you dare touch my mother.
I get an automated message in return, letting me know that my text can’t be delivered.
He blocked me again.
Pressing the gas pedal to the floor, the engine revs as I speed through a quiet Evergreen Falls. Thankfully, most of the town is at home and asleep. Weaving in and out of traffic right now would be a pain.
What am I going to find when I get to the trailer park? Another fire?
I can’t let myself drown in all the what-ifs, but it’s hard not to wonder.
Get there first, then worry about what to do.
I’m not even a quarter mile away when I see the flames up ahead. My heart just about stops in my chest, and my stomach contracts into a tight ball.
“No,” I whisper as my throat threatens to close up.
Just getting to the entrance feels like I’m trying to run through knee-deep mud. It’s like I can’t get there fast enough.
When I finally pull in, I find that the flames aren’t coming from Mama’s trailer, but they’re in front of it. The fire could easily spread.
I stop and park my car a few trailers back. Jumping out, I run to Mama’s trailer and pound on her door.
“Mama! Are you in there?” I try opening the door, but it’s locked. “Mama!”
When she still doesn’t come out, I turn to the fire, finding that someone is in there hanging on a cross like a scarecrow.
And they’re not moving.
After this, I’ll never be able to get the smell of burning flesh out of my nose. I hold in a gag as nausea rolls through my stomach.
Pushing past my discomfort, I move to a pile of snow so I can try to put out the fire like last time, but I stop myself and pull my phone out of my pocket.
I don’t need Walker even more pissed at me than he already is, so I start to dial 911. But as soon as I press call, red and blue lights almost blind me. I squint, but still try to see who it is.
Before I can make out the shadowed shapes behind the emergency lights, a voice barks my name.
“Blake!”
Shit.
I would recognize that voice anywhere.
“Walk, I was just calling you.” I motion my hands in a calming gesture.
“You’re under arrest.” He grabs me by the shoulder and spins me around. Cold metal locks around my wrists in less than a second.
“Not this again,” I complain.
Walker doesn’t bother to explain. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be—”
I groan, cutting him off. “Save your breath. I know the spiel.”
The door to Mama’s trailer flies open. Mama, wrapped in a robe, stomps out, yelling and screaming. “What the hell is going on out here?” Her jaw drops as she waves her arms. “Did you do this?” She directs at me.
My face goes slack, and my chest hollows. “No.”
Mama sneers, storming toward Walker and me. “You ungrateful bitch.”
Walker steps in front of me, holding his hand up. “Lor! That’s enough. The fire isn’t spreading. The snow is keeping it in place. Firefighters are on their way. Go back inside your home.”
The implacable expression on Mama’s face doesn’t fade, but she does as Walker directed and goes back inside.
She hates me. She’ll always hate me.
Walker’s hand on my arm guides me to his truck. He opens the passenger door, ushering me to slide in.
Spinning around, I hope Walker has the sense to hear me out. “Walk. Just let me explain.”
“Sure thing. Down at the station.” He lifts me by my hips, sitting me on the seat and buckling me in. Walker shuts me in and marches off to coordinate with the fire department.
I hope he listens long enough to hear the full story, and I pray that he won’t kill me when I tell him the truth.