Chapter Twenty
Evangeline
S OMETIME AROUND TEN o’clock the next morning, there was a knock on my hotel door, and thinking it was Shep, I raced to open it.
“I didn’t expect you to answer so fast,” Clarke said.
I tried to slam the door, but Clarke wedged his foot inside the door before I could close it.
“I don’t care that you’re a cop. Remove your foot, or I swear I’ll remove it for you,” I hissed.
“Five minutes, that’s all I want. You can time me, I swear. Give me five minutes to talk and I’ll get back into my car and drive back to Black Sheep Hollow today.”
“You stay right there, I stay inside. Five minutes, and the clock is ticking,” I said, checking the time.
“I need to know your answer before I go back home,” Clarke said.
“You haven’t left me with much of a choice, have you?”
“I believe you know what the right thing to do is in the situation. Not for me or even for you, but for all the children you’re fighting to protect. Partnering with me is the only way to ensure that you are allowed to continue your work.”
“I know,” I said, and this time I wasn’t lying. Clarke’s plan made a lot of sense, and I could work with far more freedom, knowing I had him and his badge to hide behind. I was also confident I’d be able to manipulate Clarke into just about anything, especially once I finally let him have sex with me.
The bottom line was, choosing a life with Shep was selfish and ultimately doomed to fail. It would also likely put an end to my work, as Shep clearly wanted me to stop, and I was afraid that my love for him would eventually cause me to acquiesce.
A life with Clarke meant continuing the work, which was the most important thing. Not just for me, but for all future victims. Clarke was right about that. He was also right, that without someone to help cover my tracks, I would eventually be caught. Choosing a life with Clarke meant working with someone who understands me and the importance of my work. It also meant the avoidance of heartbreak down the line.
“Look, Evangeline. I meant what I said about taking care of you and protecting you. I’m not trying to push myself on you. I’m trying to pull you to safety.”
“You have four minutes left.”
“Yeah, but you don’t. What’s it going to be? Are you going to stay here with the cook? Put down some roots here in Nashville. Have some kids. Wait for the day a couple o’ boys in blue show up on the doorstep to arrest you in front of them? Or start a new life with the only man who will ever fully understand you?”
I nodded. “You’re right. I know you are and I’m going to go with you, but you need to give me a day to break things off with Shep. Just one more day here in Nashville and then I’ll be on a plane back home to Boston. Once you’re home in Kentucky we can discuss how our relationship is going to work. Agreed?”
Clarke smiled and nodded. “On all points except one.”
“What’s that?”
Clarke craned his head into the doorway. “You need to get rid of the cook.”
“I told you I’m going to break things off with him right away.”
He shook his head. “You know what I mean. The cook knows too much. About you, about me. I want him gone for good.”
“I don’t kill innocent people.”
“No one is innocent,” Clarke said. “He’s a liability. A boy Scout like that will go running to the local cops the minute you dump him. Besides, that’s my price for helping you. I want Shepard Waller dead. After that, I’ll know I have a partner I can trust.”
“Fine, but if you try and alter this deal one more time, I swear on my dead mother’s grave, you’ll need to dig two holes. One for Shep and one for yourself.”
“Once he’s out of the picture, we can begin finding you your next target.”
“I call them projects, and I work alone. I research and pick my own projects, and do not want or need your help. I will let you know when I’m ready to work again. Until then, go home and wait for me to contact you. You have one minute left.”
“Don’t worry, I’m leaving, but not before giving you this,” he said, reaching into his coat pocket.
“What is it?”
“It’s a buttonhole spy cam. One of the smallest on the market.”
“What am I supposed to do with it?”
“You’re going to conceal it somewhere on yourself, when you’re going to kill Shep. It’s linked up to a live feed I have running back at my place. So, I’ll be able to watch you get rid of Shep in real time while I’m safely one state away with plenty of alibis. All of which happen to be in law enforcement.”
“You’ve really thought of everything haven’t you?” I asked.
“I’m telling you. My brains and your beauty are going to keep us safe.”
“I hope you’re right,” I replied before closing the door.
* * *
I told Shep to drive East on I-40 for twenty minutes until we reached Woodland Point. A public use stretch of waterfront land on Priest Lake.
“Jesus, Lina, what the hell are we doing here?” Shep asked as we climbed out of his truck.
“It’s beautiful out here, isn’t it?” I asked, casually scoping out the area for other people. Happy to find none. I’d vetted the area earlier and found it to be the perfect location unless some nosy hiker happened to stumble upon us.
“I wanted us to talk in private,” I said. “Someplace where you could yell at me without drawing attention.”
“Why would I yell at you?” Shep asked.
“Let’s take a walk over to that bridge. There’s something I want to show you,” I said, pointing to an area a few hundred feet from where we were standing.
“You’ve been here before?” Shep asked.
I nodded. “The first time I came to Nashville. I signed at an event held here while on my first book tour.”
We reached the small bridge just as the sun was beginning to set. A fitting time of day for what I had to do.
“This bridge was built in 1864, by hand. Isn’t that something?”
Once we’d reached the halfway point across the bridge, Shep stopped us and took my hands in his. “Are you going to explain why we’re here, and why you think I’d yell at you?”
“Because I have something to tell you that is going to make you unhappy.”
“There’s only one thing that could make me unhappy and that’s you leaving.”
I said nothing.
Shep shook his head. “Lina, don’t do this.”
“You have to understand why I’m doing this. I have no choice.”
“You can’t go with him. You can’t seriously tell me that you’re going to take Clarke’s offer.”
“I already have,” I said, tears streaming down my face.
“No, no, no way,” Shep growled, before letting go of my hands. “He’s using you, Lina.”
“I know he is. That’s why I have to go with him.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means that I love you, and that I want you to have a happy life. One devoid of serial killing girlfriends and blackmailing cops. One that ends in ‘They lived happily ever after,’ not ‘I hereby sentence you to...’”
“I promise I’ll protect you.”
“And I believe you, but I can’t protect you , and a real partner should be able to do that. I don’t care what happens to Clarke. He’s a means to an end and a current necessary evil. As soon as I can get him out of the picture safely, I will, but until then, he’s my best shot at long term survival.”
“So, that’s it. You’ve decided we’re through and I just have to deal with it?”
Tears flowed freely now. “I’m so sorry, Shep. We have to say goodbye, right here and now and I need you to promise that you’ll never come after me or tell anyone anything about our relationship.”
“Lina—”
“This is important, Shep,” I said, sharply. “Life or death important. You need to swear you’ll stay absolutely quiet about me and Clarke.”
Shep nodded.
“And you have to forget about me. The sooner the better.”
“I love you, Lina. I can’t imagine there ever being a time when I don’t feel that way.”
I wiped the tears from my eyes and swallowed hard. “I’m going to walk that way, over this bridge, and I need you to turn around and walk the other way to your truck. Get in and drive away.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll call for a car. I just need us to walk away from each other. No goodbyes and no goodbye kisses. We turn and walk. That’s the only way I’ll know you’ll be able to leave me alone.”
“That’s really the way you want this to end?” Shep asked.
“It is,” I said, turning to leave.
I’d only taken two steps when Shep grabbed my hand, spun me around and kissed me so hard I felt it down in my soul.
“I wish you hadn’t done that,” I whispered softly.
“I will never turn my back on you or let you go,” Shep said. “Ever. Do you understand me?”
“I know,” I replied, producing the knife hidden in my jacket pocket and thrusting it deep into Shep’s abdomen. His back was against the bridge’s railing, giving me the leverage I needed to slice his belly wide open. His entrails spilling out onto the bridge’s historical planks.
I crouched down, and using all of my strength, grabbed Shep’s legs and heaved him over the side of the bridge and into the water below. He thrashed around for twenty seconds or so before either taking in too much water or losing too much blood. Either way, he was gone.
“I hope you’re happy now,” I said.
I watched Shep’s dead body float, motionless, face-down, for five minutes before I made my way down to the water’s edge to clean up. Once I was spick and span it was time for Shep’s truck, which I cleaned thoroughly with the stash of cleaning products I’d hidden under the passenger seat. I’d also packed a go bag for myself, which included a change of clothes, a fake ID, cash, and a snub-nose 38.
I hiked a few miles before burying the knife I’d used to stab Shep, and then made my way toward the highway where I would call for a ride-share under the cover that I was a stranded motorist whose car had broken down.
It wasn’t until I reached my hotel room that I completely lost my shit. Crying, screaming into my pillow, pulling my hair, and cursing Clarke for what he made me do. Cursing Shep for not walking away. If he had just been able to convince me that he’d leave well enough alone then I wouldn’t have had to do what I did.
I reached into my go bag and retrieved the spy cam Clarke had me wear and pointed it directly at myself.
“Did you hear what I said back at the lake? I said I hope you’re fucking happy now. Shep is dead and his blood is on your hands. And let me make something crystal fucking clear, Clarke. You may have gotten your way, but I will never forgive you for this.”