Page 106 of Dark Roads
“So, what, you’re a shrink now?”
He leaned forward. “We need to make sure these charges stick, or his lawyers are going to find ways to get him off. You called me when I was still at the scene of Amber’s murder. You saw him go into Beth’s motel room. I need to knoweverything, Hailey. Dates, times, places.”
“It’s hard.” I rubbed at my hair, the short strands. Talking meant feelings.
“Yeah, it is. You went through a lot. But Vaughn can’t hurt you anymore.”
I gazed down at Wolf. He set his chin on my knee, leaned his weight into my leg, and met my eyes with a little huff. He always knew exactly what to say. I turned back to Thompson.
“I’ll do it.”
“Great. We can go down to the station. I just need a shower.”
“I want to tell you now. When you aren’t in uniform.”
He stared at me across the table. I stared back. He got up, refilled his coffee and mine. While I added sugar and cream, he pulled out his phone and set it on the table.
He swiped his finger across the screen, opened the recordingapp. “This is a victim statement with Hailey McBride. August fifteenth, 2019.” He nodded at me. “Whenever you’re ready.”
One breath. Two breaths. I wasn’t in that kitchen. I was stalking across an open field. I had a rifle on my shoulder. I lowered my eye against the sight, focused in on my prey.
“I was coming home from the lake. It was dark. I heard a truck behind me.…”
CHAPTER 41
Beth
Beth came to a stop, a dust cloud behind her tires. She’d parked beside Jonny’s truck. His front door clapped. Hailey appeared on his porch, Wolf beside her. She limped down the few steps with Wolf at her heels. Jonny was over by the barn, working on a dirt bike—another one beside it. He paused to watch Beth get out of the car, wrench in his hand.
“Thought you left town.” Hailey crossed her arms over her chest. Wolf trotted to Beth, tail wagging. He sniffed her hands. She ruffled his ears, rubbed his head. Hailey was silent, observing. Beth took another moment to scratch Wolf.
“Thompson told me you were here. I wanted to say goodbye.”
Hailey looked past Beth to her car, where the trunk was partway open and tied down over her camping gear. “You pack about as good as you set up camp.”
“I see you haven’t lost your sunny personality. How’s the return to civilization?”
Hailey shrugged. “I’m getting used to it.”
“Big adjustment.”
“I’m not an animal.”
Beth raised an eyebrow. “You sure about that?”
Hailey laughed—the sound surprising Beth. She’d never heard her laugh before. She’d never even seen her smile. Hailey looked more like the girl on her “missing” poster now. Her hair was back to its natural color and smoothed into a boyish cut that glowed copper in the sun. Faded jeans shorts hung onher small hips, and a white tank top showed her tanned arms. The bruises had faded. Hailey took the last few steps, stopped at the bottom, and leaned against the railing.
“You staying here for good?” Beth said.
“For now. Jonny wants to travel, so I might stay with my aunt. We’ve been talking. She needs help with my cousin.”
Beth tried not to react to the news about Jonny. It didn’t matter where he was going. She had her own plans. “Before I leave, I’m going to visit Amber’s cross.” She rubbed at her arms. The breeze lifted strands of her hair and brought with it a hint of fall and damp leaves. Things to come.
“Cool.” Hailey looked away, paused. “Those are wild roses.” She pointed to a green bush at the front of the house with red berries clustered on vines. “They’re finished blooming, but the rose hips will last for a couple of months and feed the birds. Wild roses are tough. You can mow them down to the roots, or set them on fire, and they’ll still come back. They never stop living.”
“So, basically they’re weeds.”
Hailey frowned, still staring at the bushes. “Something like that.”
