Chapter 35
Brooke
Tyler paced near the window, occasionally pulling the curtain aside to look at the street.
“Maybe we should just call him,” Brooke said.
“He’ll reach out when he knows something.”
“It’s been hours since we’ve heard anything.”
Tyler turned from the window. “I know.”
The waiting was getting to her. Joe had told them to stay at the house, but they’d changed into their running clothes anyway, hoping to squeeze in a few miles before sunset.
Now the light was fading fast. The sky had already taken on that deepening blue that warned night was close, and her nerves still hadn’t settled since the attack.
She was far too skittish to run in the dark, even with Tyler beside her.
And Joe’s last message had been clear: stay inside until they knew more.
“I think I’m going to go on the treadmill,” Brooke said. “Better than sitting here waiting. You could use the walking pad if you want. I have them both set up in the office.”
“Sure. That might be good. Not exactly the same as going for a run together, but close.” He smiled as he dropped the curtain.
Brooke’s phone buzzed. Joe’s name flashed on the screen.
“It’s him,” she said, answering immediately. “Joe? What’s happening?”
Tyler crossed to the couch, sitting beside her. She hit the speaker button so they could both hear.
“Sorry it took so long,” Joe said. His voice sounded strained.
“It’s been a long day. The sheriff didn’t believe us at first. Took forever going through the evidence, asking questions, trying to poke holes in our theory.
Then he had a meeting he couldn’t miss, and we had to wait, and . . . ” Joe sighed. “Anyway.”
“But he believes you now?” Brooke asked.
“I’m not sure believes is the right word. Let’s say he sees enough to have concerns. Enough concerns to bring both Adam and Edi in for questioning. He agreed that both have been acting suspiciously and there needs to be a proper investigation.”
Tyler’s hand found Brooke’s. “When?”
“Immediately. Only . . . ”
“Only what?” Tyler asked.
“It seems Edi might have gotten wind of what was going on. She heard something or figured it out somehow. By the time they went to find her, she was gone.”
Brooke’s chest tightened. “Gone where?”
“No one knows. Her car’s missing. Phone’s off. She just disappeared.” Joe paused. “But that pretty much confirms it was her, right? Innocent people don’t run. I’d love to see what the sheriff thinks now, see if he believes us, but he’s unavailable.”
“Where’s Adam?” Tyler asked, taking Brooke’s hand.
“He’s here. They questioned him, and while no one told me directly, he’s no longer a suspect. Especially not with Edi missing. Everyone’s looking for her. City police, highway patrol . . . everyone. Adam’s going out soon to help them. I wanted to call you right away, though. Just in case.”
“In case what?”
“So you’d know. While they don’t know where she is, they found things. Things in her desk. Her locker. Even in her patrol car.”
“Things?” Brooke leaned toward the phone. “Things that suggest she’s guilty?”
“Nobody’s saying that. Not to Steph and me, anyway. But yeah. That’s the impression I’m getting. Really, though. Stay inside. She’s desperate. And desperate people do unpredictable things.”
They talked for a few more minutes, Joe promising to call if he heard anything else. When Brooke hung up, the house felt too quiet.
“It’s almost over,” she said, trying to convince herself as much as Tyler.
“Yeah. Almost.”
Neither of them moved from the couch. The relief Brooke had expected to feel hadn’t come. Instead, there was just tension, a sense of waiting for something else to happen.
Tyler stood suddenly, his head tilted. “Did you hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Outside. I thought I heard— ” He moved to the window again, peering through the curtain. “There. Movement. By your SUV.”
Brooke joined him at the window. The early evening light made it hard to see clearly, shadows lengthening across her driveway. Then she saw it too. A figure moved near her vehicle, crouched low.
“Go upstairs,” Tyler said, his voice urgent but controlled. “Lock yourself in your bedroom. Call 9-1-1.”
“Tyler— ”
“Now, Brooke. Please.”
The fear in his voice galvanized her. She grabbed her phone and ran for the stairs.
Brooke reached the bedroom and closed the door, turning the lock. Her hands shook as she dialed.
“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”
“Someone’s breaking into my house. I’m at 412 Elm Street. My boyfriend is downstairs. The intruder . . . we think it’s— ” Her voice caught. “Please hurry.”
The operator’s questions blurred together. A crashing sound came from downstairs. Heavy footsteps shook the floor. Tyler’s voice cut through, above all else.
“Edi. What are you doing here?”
Edi’s voice was too quiet for Brooke to make out the words, but she caught the tone. It was off, almost sing-song.
Brooke opened the bedroom door and crept into the hallway. She leaned against the hallway table and nearly knocked over a lamp, but managed to catch it. She stepped toward the top of the stairs and peered down. The front door hung open at an odd angle.
“You need to leave,” Tyler said. “The sheriff knows. This is over.”
“It’s not over.” Edi’s voice rose, sharp and desperate. “It’s never been over. Not since you came back. Not when you were gone either. It’s always been you.”
“Edi, please. Just leave. We can talk about this at the station.”
“Talk?” Edi let out a harsh laugh. “I’ve been talking to you for months. Years, even. You never heard me. Never saw me. Just like in high school. Just like always.”
“I don’t understand— ”
“I loved you!” she screamed. “I’ve always loved you.
And you never even looked at me. Not the way you should.
I mean . . . why not? You were always so nice to me.
I thought . . . I thought, maybe . . . remember how we used to always talk?
When I worked at the county office, and you’d need to get your titles changed over for your latest project car? ”
“I do, Edi. You were great. Always very helpful.”
Brooke pressed her hand over her mouth, phone still to her ear. The operator was saying something about units being dispatched and staying on the line, but Brooke couldn’t respond. If she said anything, they’d hear her.
“I was so certain.” Edi’s voice took on a new quality, something almost nostalgic.
“That day when you brought in that old Jeep, you said how you’d got it for a song and it was going to be beautiful when you were done.
I understood you, Tyler. I understood what you were saying, even though you didn’t say it. I knew your wife would understand too.”
“My wife? The old Jeep? You mean . . . Edi, what did you do?”
“It was an accident. I went to tell her the truth. That you loved me. That you were going to leave her. But she laughed at me. Laughed.” Edi’s voice broke.
“We fought. She fell. Hit her head. I panicked. Set the fire to cover it. I didn’t know Garrett was there.
You said you were taking him hiking. You told me just the day before you were taking him hiking. ”
“He was sick.” Tyler’s voice was raw. “He was home sick, and you killed him? Killed both of them.”
“I didn’t mean to! I loved you! Everything I did was for you!”
“They thought I did it. Did you . . . you framed me?”
“Only a little bit. I had to. Don’t you see? If they arrested you, you’d need me. You’d need my connections. My family’s money. But they didn’t have enough evidence. I didn’t do things right, and you left instead. You left, and I had to put my life back together without you.”
“I’m sorry, Edi. There was never— ”
“I took care of you after Sheila too. Remember? The lawyer who showed up? I sent him.”
“You sent the attorney?”
“I tried to take care of you. Even with Brooke.”
Brooke heard the way Edi said her name. Full of hate.
“When she wouldn’t stay away from you, I tried to warn her. Tried to scare her on that trail. But she fought back. She always fights back.”
There was a sharp noise, followed by the scrape of furniture moving across the floor.
“No, no, no,” Edi sang, the words almost playful. “You stay right there. Keep your distance.” She gave a soft, almost pleased laugh. “You think I didn’t notice those muscles you came back to Irma with?”
Her tone sharpened. “They’re not going to do you any good. Not when I have the gun.”
“Everything’s fine, Edi.” Tyler’s tone was placating. Brooke could almost imagine him raising his hands, trying to calm her.
“Fine? You really think so, Tyler? You think it’s fine?”
“It can be, Edi. We can— ”
Edi laughed, a kind of laugh that sent a sick feeling through Brooke.
“It’s not fine, Tyler. It won’t ever be fine again. When that reporter walked in today, along with the prissy woman who teaches at the college, I knew.”
Brooke leaned against the wall. They should’ve planned better. Steph should’ve arranged for the sheriff to meet her and Joe at a different location. It was too late for that now. It was now up to Tyler to keep Edi calm and talking until help showed up.
“Where’s your little girlfriend? That’s what she is, right? Your girlfriend?”
“She’s safe. She went out the back door when you came in the front.”
Glass shattered as Edi let out a string of profanity. “No, no, no. That is not how this is supposed to happen. She must be here. I planned it so it ends here.”
A wave of understanding rushed over Brooke. Edi didn’t plan on any of them walking away. Not Tyler. Not Brooke. Not Edi.
Tyler must have understood too. “Edi, let’s talk about this. We’re just having a conversation, right? Two old friends.”
“Old friends? Sure. You know, I was over you. I really was. Then you came back. And I thought finally. Finally, we could be together. But you wanted Sheila. I saw you at the bank. The way you looked at her.”
“I didn’t want Sheila. We were just talking.”