Page 68 of Whispers of the Lake

“Right. Of course. Well”—he gestured to the landline—“take as much time as you need. I’ll keep an eye out for any trouble.”

“If they come knocking, please tell them I’m not here,” I pleaded.

“Of course, yeah. I won’t let them get to you. Not on my watch.” Eddie left the room, and I took a moment to breathe in and out and compose myself.

I picked up the phone and dialed Kennedy’s number after checking my cell for it.

She answered after the third ring. “This is Kennedy.”

“Hey, Kennedy! I need you to come to the Reeds’ house. Like, right now. I have more proof. I got a confession out of Rory and a recording of it on my phone. She said her brothers are behind this, and so is James! Can you come this way? I can give you the address.”

“Wait . . . what the hell? Why are you at the Reeds’ house?”

“I’m not at their house right now. I’m at one of the neighbors’. Alex chased me after I spoke to Rory. He tried to attack me so I, um . . . well, I shot him. He was going to hurt me. I could see it in his eyes.”

“Youshothim?” she screeched.

“It was self-defense. I know it sounds bad now, but I had no choice, Kennedy.”

“Good Lord, Rose. I told you to stay put and to let me work on this.” Her voice was huffy, like she was moving around, probably collecting her things so she could leave.

“I couldn’t stay put. I told you they were behind this. I went to James’s house. I got pictures and footage of Eve’s car in his garage.”

“And how did you manage that?” she snapped. “Did he invite you in?”

I said nothing in response. Instead, my eyes wandered to the right at a trophy case built into the wall. Medals of all kinds were there, gleaming beneath a recessed light.

“You know what? Never mind, just stay put,” Kennedy fussed. “Who are the neighbors you’re with?”

“Um . . . his name is Eddie. His wife is Gina. At least I think that’s his wife. They live in the house across the lake from the ones the Reeds rent out.”

“Okay. Stay there until I arrive. And please don’t shoot anyone else. Fuck, this will be a mess. I’ll have to call the DA now, let her know what’s going on.” She cursed again.

“I didn’t mean for it to escalate,” I said, eyes carrying to the left of the trophy case. “But if I hadn’t looked, Kennedy, if I’d never come here, I never would’ve found out what happened to Eve. They’re guilty and—”

My mouth parted as my eyes widened. I stared ahead, lowering the phone with trembling hands and stepping around the desk. On the wall was a car emblem. AnAston Martinemblem.

“Kennedy,” I whispered into the phone as my pulse quickened. “Hurry.Please.”

“I’m coming. GPS says sixteen minutes.”

I put the phone back on the receiver, then studied the emblem. There were photos beneath it of Eddie with his wife and daughter. Vacation photos. Candids. In many of them, he was wearing a hat with the Aston Martin logo on it.

I left the office and ventured down the hallway. Eddie and Gina were murmuring to each other in the kitchen. I couldn’t see them but could definitely hear what they were saying.

“Why did you even let her in?” Gina hissed. “We don’t know a thing about that girl.”

“She was being chased, Gina. The fuck did you want me to do?”

“She could’ve shot us too! Did you think about that? She could’ve been lying!”

“You’re being dramatic,” Eddie grumbled. “Like always.”

“I want her out of here,” Gina snapped back.

“Well, we can’t rush her out. You saw her. She was scared, G. Someone is trying to hurt her.”

As they continued talking, I opened one of the hallway doors quietly. One was a bathroom. The one next to it was a closet full of pool floaties and life vests. Another door led to a guest bedroom. But the door closest to the kitchen, just around the corner from Eddie and Gina, was the garage door.

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