Chapter 66 Ash
ASH
PAGE HAS GONE UNDER again. “We have to get her out of here,” Caro tells Ash in a low voice. “We all have to get out of here,” she says, louder. “Ash, can you help me?”
But Ash is frozen. Has Caro had some kind of mental break? Did she not hear what Page said? That Henry—or possibly Dan?!?—killed Page’s sister?
And who is Page’s sister? Ash stares at Page’s face. The coloring—it’s so similar to Hope’s—and her build—it’s slight but strong, like Hope’s—
“I know her,” Henry says, pointing at Page.
“Dad,” Caro says. “Shhh.” She looks at Dan. “What are you doing here?”
“The police brought him in,” Dan says. “None of us could get through to you, so I went and picked him up.” He sounds bewildered and sincere, but is he gaslighting Caro?
Ash can’t tell. She doesn’t know him, not in person, not for herself.
“He wanted to come out here, so I brought him. He was really agitated.” Dan coughs.
“We should get out of here. These fumes—”
They look at Henry, who does not look agitated. He looks deadly calm and very focused, his gaze locked on Page. “Eve Herriman,” he says. “That’s Eve Herriman. She’s one of my students.”
“Dad,” Caro says again. “You don’t know—”
“Who’s Eve Herriman?” Ash asks.
“Eve Herriman went missing twelve years ago,” Caro says. “It’s her body that we might have found in the canyon.”
“What?” Ash says. How does Caro know that? What the hell is going on here? Has Caro been sending the texts? Where is Hope? “How do you know?”
“We have to get out of here,” Caro says. “Dan. Help me with her?”
But Dan doesn’t move either. Is he a killer?
Or is it Henry? All Ash knows is that she’s the odd one out in this grouping of Caro, Henry, Dan.
They’re a family unit. They’re going to stick together.
Blood is thicker than water, than friendship, than anything.
But Dan isn’t technically Caro and Henry’s blood. Maybe he’s the killer?
Ash’s mind is swimming She should run. She would, except for Page. She can’t leave Page. And at least Caro wants to get Page out of here. That’s good, right?
“Did your dad kill Eve?” Ash asks. “Did he do this to Page?”
“No,” Caro says. “He couldn’t hurt anyone.
Ever. I think Eve was his student. He had lots of students.
” But there’s a waver in her voice. Henry is coming closer to Page.
“I’m sorry,” he is saying, over and over.
“I’m sorry.” He kneels down next to Page, gasoline soaking into the knees of his pants.
His eyes are unsettled. Ash doesn’t know what to think.
Is he the man Caro has always described—gentle, competent, beloved by all? Or is he someone else entirely?
“Dad.” Caro’s voice cracks as she touches his arm. “Come on. Let’s get out of here. We need to get Page out, too. This woman’s name is Page. She’s not Eve Herriman.”
Ash looks over at Dan. He’s bewildered, shocked, his puppy-dog eyes staring at Caro and Page.
“Dan,” Ash says. “You were standing in the doorway, too. Was Page talking about you? Did you kill Eve Herriman?” My survival instincts, she thinks, are terrible.
Her need-to-know compulsion, however, is apparently alive and well.
“No,” Dan says. “You think I killed someone?” He sounds stunned, but his eyes flick to the side as if he’s looking for someone to back him up. No one’s there. “Why would you think that?”
“Because Page said it,” Ash says. “And she was looking in your direction.”
“She was also looking at Henry.” Dan takes a step closer. His eyes lock on Caro. “Caro. You don’t believe this, right?”
“We can talk about it later,” Caro says. “We need to get Page out of here. We all need to get out of here.”
But the doorway has darkened. Somone else is here.
Two people, Ash realizes. One of them is a man wearing a ski mask, his head almost brushing against the top of the doorway.
Someone smaller is silhouetted with him, and Ash’s heart leaps in her chest. She knows that shape.
And when the other person speaks, Ash knows that voice.
“Hi, guys,” Hope says. “I’m sorry. Really sorry. As you can see, things haven’t exactly gone according to plan.”