CHAPTER Fifteen
Janelle Paine was not dumb. She was, however, blinded by her infatuation with a man she thought she knew.
Lots of suspicions concerning Shane crossed her mind, but she always talked herself down from that horrifying place.
Deep down, however, she knew there was something dark and dirty surrounding Shane, but her emotional side didn’t allow it to surface.
Admitting she’d thrown away twelve years of marriage for a diabolical serial killer would be far too much for her spirit to take.
But when she saw a bag of women’s clothes in Shane’s glove compartment while looking for her sunglasses, she could no longer ignore the glaring truth.
She would have liked to think Shane was only cheating on her, but she was finally ready to see Shane Simpson for who he really was.
And this realization hit hard because she was starting to understand that she’d really fucked up.
Looking back, she thought her life with Ross was boring, and their love life was stale.
But now, Janelle would take boring and stale back again in a hot minute.
I should have known … when he asked me to frame Ross …
and started asking questions about the garage passcode.
The only reason he would need to know that is if he had the murder weapon and if he was the one planting it.
And now, one day after they find another girl, he has clothing in his truck. Janelle, you are so stupid.
And when the sick and twisted danger of it all hit her, Janelle realized she was living with a serial killer.
The sudden, grotesque realization made her violently ill.
When she was able to collect herself, Janelle vowed to get those clothes from the truck, turn them in to the police, and tell them everything she knew.
But when Shane got home, and she finally had the chance to get to the truck, the bag was gone, and she was in a panic.
She was scared to death to stay with Shane, and if she left him, he would certainly come looking for her at her old house.
Janelle knew that without the bag of evidence, her report to the police would be weak, and she just couldn’t risk spilling her guts and having nothing happen. That would be a death sentence.
Now that she had accepted the truth but had no real evidence to support her claims, she had nowhere to go. The only thing she could do was go to Lochlan’s Point and try to find Ross and tell him the whole story.
Before Ross could get into town to see his lawyer, Nolan Mosser pulled into his drive. Ross was a little confused, but honestly, he was glad he didn’t have to leave his place, especially with all the talk concerning Marny Weathers’s murder.
“Hey, believe it or not, I was just on my way to see you,” Ross said as Nolan gingerly exited his car.
“Jesus, Ross, this is like the ends of the Earth. Beautiful, but damn, so remote,” Nolan said, looking around.
“Well, this is what happens when you can’t prove your innocence and the whole greater lake area convicts you in their minds,” Ross said rather harshly.
Ross realized he was being boldly accusatory, but he didn’t apologize.
And Nolan got the dig but didn’t respond.
Nolan had a lot of guilt for his negligence in Ross’s case, but he honestly didn’t know what else to do.
Shane was not someone he could fuck with and take chances with.
And this little trip down memory lane reminded Nolan why he was there, and it sickened him.
Before they even got in the cabin, Ross heard the crunching of rocks on the road and wondered why Camille would be coming back so soon. She had taken a trip into Eldon to talk with her informant again, and she had only been gone thirty minutes or so.
When the car revealed itself coming around the curve, Ross instantly recognized it, and a huge lump formed in his throat.
Why in the hell would Janelle be coming out here?
“Isn’t that Janelle?” Nolan asked. He was also stumped.
“Yeah, but I’m not sure what the hell she’s doing here.”
When Janelle first saw Nolan, she was disappointed that she wouldn’t be able to discuss details about Shane, but after thinking about it, she was rather relieved.
This was Ross’s lawyer, after all. Ross would tell him anyway.
And she was relieved to have someone else there cut the tension a bit.
She had not seen Ross since that night, gathering her belongings when she could not look him in the eyes.
Looking back now, she felt so stupid and so sorry, and she wondered how Ross could ever forgive her.
Feeling more nervous than ever, she took a deep breath and got out of the car.
Ross waited for her to speak. He had no business with her.
This was her visit, so he waited, with his arms crossed, for Janelle to explain herself.
He didn’t care that his angry glare and his unapproachable stance made the situation awkward for everyone.
Finally, Nolan cut the tension to avoid being rude.
“Hello, Janelle.”
Janelle responded, but Ross remained stoic and silent.
“I’m almost glad the two of you are here together. What I have to say involves you both,” Janelle began. She waited. She could see the skepticism on Ross’s face. “Can we go in, so I can tell you?”
Ross walked over to the door, opened it, let her go inside with Nolan, and then took a place at the table, motioning for his guests to do the same.
“I’m not going to waste my time saying ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘please forgive me.’ I can see from your reaction that I would be wasting my breath. So I’ll get right to it.”
Janelle could feel Ross’s eyes glaring at her, and it was the most uncomfortable feeling she had ever experienced.
Now she had to tell him of her ultimate betrayal.
It wasn’t just infidelity anymore. She had been blinded by her infatuation with Shane and did despicable things that hurt a man she had once loved more than anything.
But she had to try to do all she could to make things right.
“Shane asked me last spring to help him frame you for the Meyer murder.”
Ross took a moment to process what she said. “What!” And then he was livid. “Why would you do such a thing?”
Janelle took a deep breath. “At the time, I saw it as a way to take attention away from my infidelity and to put the spotlight on you. I didn’t stop to think how he would be able to do it.
I mean … I didn’t realize he was a killer …
I didn’t put all the pieces together until this other girl was killed. ”
Ross’s eyes were wide, and he wanted to speak, but he wanted the rest of her story more.
Now, Nolan was frightened, really frightened, and he worried that his connection to Shane would be exposed.
He didn’t know how much Shane had told her about their involvement.
All either one could do was let Janelle finish her story.
“I gave Shane the passcode for the garage, but you had changed it. When he tried the back door, it was unlocked. I’m assuming he wanted to leave the murder weapon in there. I didn’t ask a lot of questions. At the time, I just did what he said.”
Janelle stopped. She needed to take a break because she could feel her voice cracking and tears welling in her eyes.
“I mean, I think I knew deep down, but I wanted the relationship to work so badly because of the price I’d paid for it.
” She paused. There was nothing but silence, so she continued.
“But now, I’m here because I found a sack of women’s clothes in Shane’s truck the day after that Weathers girl went missing. ”
Nolan was about to lose his mind, knowing that the same sack was in his briefcase, and he was supposed to use it to frame Ross. He wiggled and fidgeted on his chair, bringing attention to himself.
“Are you okay?” Janelle asked. “Yes, fine, sorry.”
Ross was still reeling from Janelle’s disclosure but finally spoke.
“How could you do that? We were married for twelve years. How could you sacrifice me to save yourself? I would never do such a thing to you.” There was honesty and sadness in his voice.
“I would have given you a divorce, Janelle, even though I still loved you. You didn’t have to ruin my life.
” Ross was distraught and pacing now. “I could have spent my life in prison because of you. I can’t believe you would do that to me. ”
Janelle was now crying. His words cut like a knife. She knew she deserved them. She didn’t understand how she’d let herself get so far gone and hurt the person she had once loved the most.
Nolan was feeling the pressure to confess and end this whole mess, thinking that the three of them would certainly have enough on Shane Simpson to put him away for a long time.
But Nolan thought of Shane’s threat to hurt his daughter, and he kept silent and gripped his briefcase containing the new incriminating evidence.
“I have no excuses, Ross. I was infatuated with him, and I did these things without thinking. It would be easier for me to go to the police, but I needed to face you and tell you myself.”
Suddenly, Ross was worried for her safety, so he spoke again. “I’m worried for you, Janelle. This man is a killer.”
Those words hit Janelle hard, and she became inconsolable. Ross didn’t know what to do except hug her. She was so surprised at his compassion. She was a wreck and stood there in his arms, crying.
Nolan knew right then he could not fuck this man over again. After everything she’d put him through, he was compassionate enough to suppress his feelings and console her. This was a man who did not deserve to be ruined by a criminal like Shane Simpson.
“I have to tell you something, too, Ross,” Nolan began. “It seems Janelle isn’t the only one swayed by Shane Simpson, but my experience is a little different. I had to tank your defense, which I did a pretty good job of until the crescent wrench was thrown out.”
Ross looked at him with hatred in his eyes. She was right. Camille was right. My own lawyer fucked me over.
Then Nolan pulled out the sack of clothes, and the rest of his confession was pending when Janelle’s eyes got wide.
“That’s it!” Janelle yelled. “Those are the clothes that were in Shane’s truck.”
“I know,” Nolan said. “He threatened to make my daughter his next victim if I didn’t plant these here at your house, Ross.”
Even though Ross had his suspicions about Nolan, this was too much. “You dirty motherfucker!” Ross yelled. This was all too much for him to handle.
Nolan didn’t make a move. He knew he deserved every punch Ross would land, so he stood there without fear. When Ross looked into Nolan’s eyes and saw remorse, his rage stopped him from swinging.
But Ross said it again, this time just inches from Nolan’s face. “You dirty motherfucker!”
This was Ross’s breaking point. He sat down and put his head in his hands, leaving Janelle and Nolan standing there feeling horrible.
This was a man who did nothing and lost everything, and the two people in front of him were the cause.
It was too much all at once. But his emotional outburst was short-lived.
Once Ross collected himself, he thought for a moment, and then he began to have some clarity.
“So, Shane thinks you are in the dark about the clothes and his murders,” he said to Janelle. “And he thinks you are planting the damaging evidence,” Ross said.
“Yes,” Nolan answered while Janelle nodded.
“And he has no idea the police are onto him.” Ross thought for a moment.
“He’s going to be easy to catch now.”
“The police are onto him?” Nolan asked.
“Yes, that story that ran today about the red truck—the reporters who wrote it gave the police Shane’s name as a person of interest,” Ross added.
Janelle and Nolan were relieved. They’d both dreaded their trip out to Lochlan’s Point that night, but in the end, they both felt much better. They didn’t want to get their hopes up, but maybe their connection to Shane Simpson would soon be over.