Page 65 of Our Last Resort

Just one last thing.

“There’s an injured coyote in the desert,” I say. “Right off the main hiking trail. I reported it, but it looks like no one has come. Can you get animal control out there, or something?”

I leave before she can say no.

Gabriel’s call has evidently wrapped up. He’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, typing on his laptop.

“We need to talk,” I say.

He raises his head.

“We do?”

I’ve tried to avoid this conversation, but there’s no way around it. Deputy Calhoun didn’t address me like an innocent party just now. She spoke to me like I was a suspect.

And so I need to know why Gabriel lied.

“Listen.”

Do I even know how to talk to him anymore?

We haven’t had a real conversation in so long.

“I know Harris asked you about the night Sabrina died.”

“Huh?”

I sit next to him.

“When he spoke to you earlier. I know you said you didn’t lose sight of me. But that’s not true, right? You left the table.”

“What?”

“And I know he asked you if you’d ever interacted with Sabrina.”

Something shifts in Gabriel. He sets his laptop on his nightstand and swivels so that his back is to me, his feet on the floor.

“And I don’t know,” I say. “I don’t know why you said those things. It’s complicated. But…”

I can’t say it. Not completely. Can’t look at Gabriel andform the words:Why on earth would you do something so stupid? So sloppy?

“Help me out?” I ask instead.

Gabriel mutters something I can’t hear.

“What?”

“How do you even know about that?” he asks, overenunciating.

“I overheard.”

He lets out a bitter little laugh.

“Overheard?”

“Fine. I was listening.”

“I can’t believe you.”

---