And she’d said, “Dead.”
She’d told him all about it, feeling rather gleeful. He’d looked back at her as if he didn’t quite know what to make of her. “No one knows I went to visit her,” Alice told him. “You must say that I was here with you from about five o’clock. That we were here together all evening.”
“Okay,” he agreed.
“And we need to delete those texts, right now.”
“Okay.”
She went to retrieve her cell phone, and they deleted the incriminating messages together.
Alice said, “They’ll never find the vehicle that hit her because it was her own truck, and they’ll never even look at it. I mean, is that genius, or what?”
He had to agree, it was genius.
“And now all that lovely money will come to us,” she said, her hands clasped behind his neck. “We won’t have to wait much longer.” They had talked about her mother’s money on numerous occasions, about not wanting to wait for it. And now she’d taken care of it for them. He seemed pretty happy about that. He’d swept her off to bed.
And it was perfect, really. Someone came to deliver the bad news the next morning, and they behaved suitably shocked and upset. They got the money a year and a half later, no questions asked. As far as she knew, they’d never examined her mother’s truck. Why would they? And things had been almost perfect ever since.
Until Derek met Bryden Frost.
Now Alice’s thoughts turn to what happens next. What should she do? She’s so angry at Derek that she could almost killhim. But then she wouldn’t have him anymore, and she can’t face that. How would she ever replace him?
Alice has to remind herself that Derek might be a murderer now too. How does she feel about that? She gives it a moment’s thought. She’s okay with it, she decides. As long as he doesn’t try anything on her.
The only upside to all this is that maybe this focus on the murder of Bryden Frost will scare him into behaving from now on. Maybe he won’t stray anymore. Alice thinks she should be enough for him. He’s lucky to have her. She’ll figure some way out of this mess he’s made.
Her thoughts turn to that bitch of a detective, Jayne Salter.
39
A new post to the Facebook group features side-by-side photos of Derek Gardner and Sam Frost, along with the bold question:
Are you Team Derek or Team Sam?
Lizzie quickly scans the comments. There’s a long stream of Team Sams and Team Dereks. It looks about neck and neck. She’s not sure if Team Sam means you think Sam killed Bryden or you think he’s innocent. She reads more closely, and it becomes clear that if you’re Team Sam it means you think Sam is a murderer.
Anonymous member
It might not be either of them. You shouldn’t leap to conclusions about people. It destroys lives.
Brittany Clement
Can’t decide. Might be either. They both look like killers to me.
Lizzie feels she has to reply.
Emma Porter
Brittany ClementI don’t know how you can tell that from a photo. You don’t even know them.
Brittany Clement
Emma PorterSeriously? Look at their eyes. You can see it if you pay attention.
Lizzie thinks about that. Can you? If you know what you’re looking for, is it possible to tell if someone is a killer by looking at their eyes? Surely not, or the police would catch them every time. What BS.
Brittany Clement makes a new post.