Chapter 21
I stood there, watching the sun set across the rolling fields of the ranch. Orange and pink hues painted the skies, complementing the lingering green of the grasses, dotted with horses and cattle. There were so many good memories from my childhood, riding and working cattle with my dad and brother... Yet somehow, I struggled to recall anything before that May of my senior year. I wanted to move on past what happened to Sam, and honestly, I had accepted the fact that he was gone...
It was just the regret that lingered.
And that was on me—I knew that.
It was my fault Sam was in the front seat that night, and whether or not I remembered, I believed Garrett’s story about what happened. And if I had just remembered, maybe I could’ve made his life better. But how could I have testified for something I didn’t recall?
Letting out a sigh, I glanced back over my shoulder, my mom’s silhouette visible through the window. She was cleaning up the kitchen from a silent dinner between the two of us. She was still waiting on me to explain what Garrett was shouting about in the church, and I was still trying to decide how to tell her my long-kept secret.
Just as I considered going inside, I saw a sheriff deputy’s truck pulling out to the barn apartment, and I hesitated as I saw Blaze get out of the driver’s side door. If anyone knew where Garrett was now, he would. I charged down the steps, and headed toward him, waving him down. He rolled his eyes, his shoulders dropping.
Yikes.
He raised a peculiar eyebrow at me, pausing at the entrance of the barn. “What can I help you with?”
“Did anything come of the funeral?”
“What do you mean? If you ask me, you would know just as well as I would about the whole funeral.” He chuckled, shaking his head, though there was something off in his voice.
“Yeah, I know about the whole drunk Garrett incident, I was just wondering how the case was going, I guess.” I shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but my heart was racing. “And if you know if he’s okay?”
“Beth...” his voice trailed off as he glanced up toward his apartment, before letting out a sigh and turning back to me. “I don’t think I should be sharing any information with you.”
“What, why?” I demanded, offense filling my voice.
“Well, for starters, we’re still not sure if you or Garrett were the last person to see Sarah. On top of that, your alibi is not exactly rock solid, Beth. You seem to have a grudge against this town, and honestly, the information I just got… I don’t know.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“Listen,” Blaze put his hands up in some sort of surrender gesture. “I don’t know what you want me to say. You’re a criminal defense attorney for heaven’s sake. You know as good as I do that things aren’t always black and white with these cases. We can’t rule anyone?—”
“Just stop.” I shook my head at him. “I can’t believe you actually think that I could be involved.” I turned to go, my chest burning with frustration.
This is ridiculous.
He grabbed my wrist before I made it too far, his grip startling me. “Beth, don’t go running off like that.”
I ripped my arm away. “What do you expect me to do when you’re accusing me of being involved in a murder, Blaze? I didn’t have anything to do with Sarah’s death. I want answers, just like you. That’s it. I feel horrible over what happened—like why didn’t I go after her when she cut out and said she had to go to the bathroom? I knew something was up,” I continued, my voice straining as the guilt returned. “And why didn’t I look harder for her? Why didn’t I call the police? I mean, yeah, I had no idea what she was doing—or where she was going, but I knew that something was wrong with the way her phone was blowing up.”
Blaze’s face didn’t budge. “We haven’t been able to find her phone and still are waiting for the documents from the phone company—and for the record,” he hesitated for a second. “I don’t think you did it. I just have to be careful. There’re some things that aren’t making a lot of sense.”
“Like the fact that Sheriff Myers ignored that I saw Garrett in the same area as Sarah would’ve been?”
He shrugged, but there was hesitance. “I don’t know. There’s also the estranged relationship that she had with Lucas. Something is fishy with that whole mess. I know that Lucas is involved in some shady dealings that happen around here—but that doesn’t make him a murderer. There’s also Ty Miller, too. No one can account for where he was. But there’s more.”
“Like what?” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“I can’t tell you all the stuff we’re investigating, Beth. You know that, and as much as I respect you, I need to walk the straight and narrow on this.” The way he said the last bit caused me pause.
“I get it,” I said, forcing a somewhat pleasant smile. “I know that you have to keep it confidential.”
“Yeah.” His voice had a hint of defeat in it. “I’m sorry, Beth. But you know, if you had anything that might help with the case, that would be great.”
My mind flickered to the information about the phone that Garrett had given me, and I opened my mouth to say something—and then stopped. There was no good way to present that information and not be suspicious. Besides, if Garrett had found a phone, wouldn’t that mean the investigators missed it? That would be a major misstep.
“You got something to tell me?” Blaze’s voice was sharp. “Because, you know, impeding an investigation is a real thing.”
I met his gaze, his hazel eyes boring into mine. “Um, no.”
“That sounds really confident,” Blaze snorted. “But can I take a stab at what you might have on your hands?”
I furrowed my brow, my heart jumping to my throat. “What’s that?”
“A .45 caliber pistol, just like the one used in the murder of Sarah Armitage. And I’ll bet,” he leaned in, his voice low. “I know exactly who gave it to you.”
I shook my head, struggling to make sense of it. “I don’t…I…”
Blaze laughed. “For a lawyer, you’re a horrible liar. So, why don’t you do us both a favor. You go inside, get that gun, and bring it to me. We can say you found it, stumbled across it in the pasture—I don’t care to pin this on you. Your mom needs you, Beth. This guy, whatever he’s done, doesn’t.”
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “A lot of people own that caliber of pistol.” There was no reason for me to defend him, but there I was… doing exactly that.
“We both know he ain’t supposed to have it, Beth. Just get the gun and bring it to me. Then, we can have a beer, talk about how crappy this is, and life can move on.”
“Okay.” I squeezed my eyes shut, spinning around and trekking back across the yard. Blaze followed me, staying hot on my heels as I climbed the back porch steps. Mom was at the door as I entered, avoiding eye contact.
“What’s wrong?” Her voice called from behind me.
“Nothing. I just have to get something for Blaze.” I glanced back at the cowboy, still in his sheriff’s uniform.
“I think I’ll come along,” he said, meeting my gaze.
But my mom’s hand stopped him from coming in. “Whatever it is, you can wait here.”
I smiled to myself at her innate tendency to protect me, even with knowing I had undisclosed secrets. My boots thudded up the stairs to my room, and I swung open the door. I reached under the bed, grabbing the .45 Smith and Wesson.
And then I did something I knew was wrong.
I wiped the gun down with my shirt. Thoroughly.
Then, I headed back downstairs, gripping it by the hem of my T-shirt. My mom looked bewildered as I reappeared, gun in hand.
“Here.” I handed it over to him as soon as I reached the door. “There ya go. ”
Blaze narrowed his eyes, pulling out a pair of latex gloves to take it from me. “Thanks for giving it up. You want to have that beer now?”
I shook my head. “Not tonight, Blaze. I have some things to do.”
“Well then, have a good night.”
Mom shut the door, and then spun around to face me. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Why did you just walk down here with a pistol and give it to Blaze? I’m not an idiot. Tell me what’s going on. I can’t help you, if I don’t know what’s going on.”
I chose the truth. “Garrett gave it to me, and before you say something, no, I don’t know anything more—other than my feelings are so messed up right now.” My voice cracked as I met her gaze. “He swears he didn’t do anything, and I want to believe him.”
“You and Garrett are a lot closer than I thought,” Mom said, her voice soft. “I knew the two of you were… Well, I had my suspicions when you were a senior in high school. Your dad once caught the two of you out on the bridge sitting together.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed, nostalgia bringing unwanted tears. “I thought we were sneaky back then.”
She smiled, though it was solemn. “I don’t know how Sam didn’t know, but he was oblivious to a lot of things, unfortunately. He didn’t realize the damage he was doing to himself with all his partying.”
“Maybe, I just know I want answers…about Garrett.”
“If you believe him, then you have to trust him.”
I sighed, shaking my head as the phone came back to mind. “ I think I’m going to go for a drive if that’s okay. I’ll be back in a little while.”
Mom gave me a funny look. “To see Garrett?”
“No,” I shook my head. “There’s just been a lot going on since I came home. Losing Dad was hard enough, but all this with Sarah... I don’t know. I just think I need to get some air for a while.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “Just be careful, okay?”
My heart squeezed. “Always. You don’t have to worry.”
“I will anyway. It seems like everyone in the whole town has lost their minds. I saw in the paper that they’re wanting to change the curfew for the young people to be home by ten instead of eleven.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I think everyone is just shaken up over what happened. It’s probably an isolated event, but it’s a normal knee-jerk reaction to something terrible.” She nodded as I grabbed the truck keys from the hook. “Everything will be all right, Mom.” I said the words like I meant them—even if I wasn’t so sure.
She gave me a soft and short hug. “Love you, Beth.”
“Love you, Mom.” I took off down the steps, heading toward the old blue truck parked out by Blaze’s. He was nowhere in sight, thankfully, which meant I could leave without him asking any questions. I unlocked the driver’s side door and slid in, starting the engine.
The truck was louder than most, and I had always been able to recognize the distinct sound when my dad would come into town to pick Sam and I up from school. I backed out and headed down the gravel driveway, trying to keep my breaths even. Heavy silence filled the cab as I took a right instead of left, heading down the road that led to Hollow Creek Bridge.
I just wanted to see if I could find that phone myself.