Page 65 of Guess Again
He killed the engine, cut the headlights, and stepped out into the humid night. The sky was pocked with stars, and cicadas buzzed from the darkness. He walked to the white wood lap rail fence that enclosed Prescott Estates, and which ran as far as the moonlight allowed him to see. Ethan made quick work of scaling it. He walked across a large field until he found a trail that ran parallel to the road he and Maddie had driven Monday. He walked a half mile until the horse stables came into view, continuing on until he saw Blake Cordis’s cottage in the distance, warm yellow light spilling through the windows.
Ethan stopped at the edge of the drive that led to the cottage and took a quick look around before continuing on. He climbed the three steps to the front door and was about to knock when he heard the snap of a shotgun closing. He didn’t bother raising his hands or looking anything other than relaxed as he turned around to see Blake Cordis standing at the bottom of the porch with a 12-gauge firmly planted in his right shoulder, the barrel staring Ethan down. When Blake recognized him, he lowered the gun.
“You trying to get yourself killed?” Blake asked.
“Just came to ask some follow-up questions.”
“Really? At midnight? You’re trespassing.”
“Call the cops,” Ethan said.
Blake further lowered the shotgun until it hung from his right hand and pointed at the ground.
“Callie Jones purchased a prepaid cell phone so you two could communicate.”
Blake lowered his head, and his shoulders slumped.
“She received a text from that phone at nine o’clock the night she disappeared.”
Blake shook his head. “I had nothing to do with Callie going missing.”
“The evidence I’ve uncovered tells a very different story.”
“There’s no evidence that I did anything to her.”
“Because you got rid of it?”
“Because there was never any to find.”
“Callie was pregnant,” Ethan said.
When Blake said nothing in response, the buzzing cicadas suddenly sounded louder than just a moment before.
“You were the father.”
The cicadas continued on as Ethan paused.
“She decided to keep the baby rather than go through with the abortion down in Chicago.”
Blake ran his left hand through his hair while continuing to hold the shotgun with his right.
“How the hell do you know all that?”
“I was hired to look into her case. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
Blake took a deep breath and pointed at the door behind Ethan. “Let’s go inside.”
Ethan nodded. Blake walked up the steps and opened the front door. Ethan followed him inside and felt the cool reprieve of air conditioning when he walked into the cottage. Blake set the shotgun against the wall and walked into the kitchen.
Ethan lifted the gun and cracked the barrel open. “Do you mind?”
Blake waved his hand. “Help yourself.”
Ethan removed both shells and dropped them in his pocket before returning the shotgun to the corner.
“Beer?”
“Yeah,” Ethan said.
