Chapter 26
I immediately left the booth, not caring if I stuck Pullman with the bill. I just wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. My heart was pounding in my chest as I pushed through the restaurant, past the hostess, and through the double doors into the humid Florida night.
Pullman was Nick.
Pullman had known Alex—and me—this entire time. Alex had given him her number. Had he used it? Had the two of them been sneaking around together?
Had he killed her?
If he had, he also had the perfect cover. I pictured Pullman’s thick, large hands wrapped around Alex’s throat, squeezing the life out of her in our backyard. Who would suspect anyone else with Will sleeping only twenty feet away?
I felt a wave of nausea roll over me. Pullman had read my book, “cover to cover,” he’d said.
He knew I remembered him from the mall, yet he had kept quiet.
Why else would he have done that if he wasn’t involved?
Had he insisted on being put on Hazel’s case too?
Had he been using the investigation to cover up his tracks for both crimes? The questions raced through my brain.
I felt like such an idiot. I had almost agreed to work with this man.
To tell him everything I knew. I had to admit I had been charmed by him slightly, and I was now revolted by myself.
But this feeling was followed by a strike of real, genuine fear as I jogged through the Chili’s parking lot toward my rental car.
It was still two lots away, in Bradley’s visitor spot.
I broke out into a run. I didn’t know how long I had before Pullman got back from the bathroom and realized I was missing, but I wasn’t going to still be here when he did. I hoped he thought I was just being evasive. The way I had been this whole time.
I didn’t relax until I was in the car, doors locked, and speeding back to Loxahatchee. My phone rang twice during the drive. It was Pullman. I pulled over to the side of the road when I saw his third call flashing on my screen.
I had no fucking idea what to do. He was the homicide detective on this case. Who would I even go to with this information? It wasn’t as if Detective Newbury would take me seriously. If Pullman was involved, he could have already destroyed any evidence. I needed to be smart about this.
My phone rang for a fourth time, and this time I picked it up. I needed to calm myself down and make sure Pullman wasn’t suspicious.
My body was completely rigid as I answered the phone and tried to put on the best performance I could.
“Hey.” I kept my voice soft, contained.
“Rose, where are you?” He sounded relieved to finally reach me. “What happened? Why did you leave?”
He could be a murderer. He could have killed Alex and Hazel. And now he could be pretending to investigate the very murders he committed. I swallowed my disgust.
“I’m sorry. This is so embarrassing,” I lied, trying to sound more humble than I ever had before. “But I had to go. I got my period, and I bled through everything.”
“Oh, yikes.” Pullman’s tone changed immediately, accepting the lie. Men were so fucking weird about periods. But I still needed to sell it.
“Yeah, it was like the elevator scene from The Shining. It was getting worse by the minute. I needed to get out of there and change. Sorry I stuck you with the bill—I can Venmo you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Pullman said. “I’m just glad nothing happened to you.”
I felt a lot better about my chances of nothing happening to me now that I was nowhere near him. “Yeah. Thanks for checking.” The words tasted bitter.
“Of course,” Pullman said. “Listen, the community search for your sister is tomorrow. At the park. We’re going to check out the county land and the nature preserves. Your family’s going. Can we talk then?”
The reality of the search was that it was a search for Hazel’s body, and that tore me up inside. But it was also an opportunity, a very public place where I could confront Pullman. Lots of people and cops and witnesses who couldn’t brush it under the rug if something happened.
“Absolutely,” I lied, hiding the venom in my voice.