Page 66 of Darkwater Lane

I hold up my phone, a screenshot from the surveillance camera still visible on the screen. “He wasn’t being shy about it. He made sure the camera caught him doing it. He even held up a note telling us to leave. Which, you know, isn’t a thing we can really do without tires, so it’s kind of a mixed message.”

“I guess I need to have that chat with Jasper about finding a way to get along.”

Anger still simmers through me. “It won’t do any good,” I spit.

“Well, I’ll figure something out. In the meantime, I’ll give Javi a call and see if he can pick up some new tires for us and drop them by.”

I run a hand down my face. “I’m supposed to be meeting Madison in town in fifteen minutes.”

“Maybe this is a sign that the podcast is a bad idea,” he offers before heading back inside. He’s joking, somewhat.

If I were in Knoxville, I could have tried a rideshare app, but that’s not nearly as available this far outside of town. Instead, I text her to let her know we’ll have to reschedule. She responds almost instantly.

Madison

I can come to you if it’s easier.

I hesitate. My house is my sanctuary. I’m not comfortablehaving her here just yet. When I don’t immediately respond, she adds:

Madison

Or I can come pick you up. I still have those files to drop off for you.

Gwen

We’re pretty far outside of town. There’s no need for you to go out of your way.

Instead of a text, my phone rings. It’s Madison. Frowning, I answer it.

“Okay, don’t freak out,” she says by way of hello.

My spine stiffens, and my stomach clenches.

“When I went to book an Airbnb last night, there weren’t many options. You know how they don’t show you exactly where they are on the map? So, I just picked one and didn’t think anything of it. But then I drove up here and…well…um…hi, neighbor.”

It takes me a moment to comprehend what she’s saying. I immediately spin, taking in my surroundings. Sure enough, I catch sight of a figure on the porch of the house up the hill.

The same house that Sam rented when he first came to Stillhouse Lake all those years ago. The one he used to spy on me and my family while he figured out how to get me to confess to murdering his sister.

I blink because there’s no way this is happening.

“Is that you?” I ask, incredulous.

18

GWEN

Madison waves from the porch of the house next door.

I don’t know what to say. I feel exposed. Vulnerable.

Thankfully, she fills the silence. “I know how this must look. I’m really sorry, Gwen. I can try to find somewhere else to stay if it would make you more comfortable.”

She pauses, waiting. My instinct is to tell her that, yes, I want her to move, but I check myself. If she’s here for nefarious reasons or to spy on us, then she can do that just as easily hunkering in the woods behind the house as she can from the rental up the hill. Besides, spying goes both ways. Having her nearby means I can keep tabs on her just as easily.

I still don’t like it.

“It’s fine,” I tell her through clenched teeth. “Let me grab something and I’ll be right over.” I hang up and go inside to retrieve my gun. No way am I going over there unarmed.

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