Page 49 of You'll Never Know I'm Here

“Uh, because I’m not a monster,” Paulette says.

“Fair enough. More for me.” She takes a drink, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “So, obviously, this hasn’t been the trip we all imagined, but I’m glad we’re doing this. This game. This last night to try and find some normalcy. I’m so happy I got to meet you guys.” Her voice is somber. “Ignoring all the weird stuff, this has still been fun, right?” she asks. “The dinners and the drinks and the pictures. Plus the shopping.” She wiggles her shoulders halfheartedly, trying to convince us.

Seeing that she needs me the way I’ve needed her this weekend, I nod. “Yeah, it has,” I agree, hoping I sound convincing. “Thank you all for helping me through a weird weekend, but also just a weird time in my life in general. I’m not sure I could’ve made it through this last year without you, and definitely not this weekend.”

“What are friends for?” Mara asks, blowing me a kiss. “And, hey, it wouldn’t be a thriller book lovers’ get-together without a little mystery, would it? It’s going to make for an interesting story, if nothing else.” She winks at Paulette. “Something to tell the grandkids about, right?”

Paulette kisses the air. “Of course, darling.”

Mara hums a tune as she moves her piece into place.

“You know, if we could solve it, it would actually make an interesting story,” Austin says playfully, tapping his chin. “A book. Like, we could write it and make millions or something. Or, you know, hire a ghostwriter.”

“To write about what? The mystery?” I ask. “About next door?”

“Sure. If we could solve it, it would make a cool story.”

Slowly, heads start to turn around the circle as we all look to gauge each other’s reactions. To my surprise, the idea isn’t shot down right away. Suddenly, with the panic and the chaos having died down, the group seems more receptive to trying to figure this all out.

“Seriously, guys, what else do we have to do for the next few hours?” Austin asks. “We all spend our days doing this: solving mysteries and picking up clues. If anyone should be good at it, it’s us.” He seems more hyped about the decision now as he shifts to sit on his knees. “Come on. Let’s run through some theories. What could be going on next door? No idea is a bad one.” He waves his hand in the air, encouraging us to tell him our ideas.

“Maybe it was all a prank,” Memphis says, his voice hesitant. “The woman we talked to earlier said she told her husband they were going to have problems when they started renting this out to random people. Maybe they set it all up to scare us off so we’d leave a bad review or something. Deter others from coming here.”

“Oooh, solid theory,” Austin says. “My thoughts”—he puts his hands up into a square shape as if holding a picture frame—“what if…she just had a red stain on her shirt and tripped?”

Everyone laughs, and he seems quite pleased with himself.

“It still doesn’t explain the two separate couples both claiming to be the owners,” Mara points out.

“And the blood was on her hands, arms, and head, too, not just her shirt,” I remind him.

“Fair enough.” Austin winks at us. “Okay.” He clicks his tongue, tapping his chin. “Oh, I know! Maybe it’s a timeshare thing.”

“Oh! Oh! That’s good!” Paulette hops up and down on her knees from her seat on the floor. “And maybe the police called the wrong people.”

“A timeshare in Bumfuck, Nowhere?” Memphis asks with a scowl. “I don’t think that’s how that works.”

“Why don’t we ask one of the other neighbors?” Paulette says.

“Ask them what?” Mara looks at her, her dark brows drawn down.

“Ask them who lives there. There’s a house down the road that we passed on our way downtown the other day. We could stop by and ask them which of the couples actually lives there. It’s a small town. Everyone knows their neighbor and all that jazz.” She waves a hand in the air. “It’s worth a shot.”

Austin claps his hands together, jumping up to his feet. “Eh? Eh? That’s the energy I’m talking about! We’re taking this little detective show on the road.” He adjusts the neck of his shirt as if it’s a collar.

“Wait, are you serious? We’re just going to go and…askthe neighbors?” Mara asks with a scowl. “As in ring the doorbell and be like, ‘Hey, we’re total strangers, but we think you could help us out’? Just like that? What if they’re dangerous?”

“I’ll keep you safe,” Austin teases, wrapping his arms around her waist.

She pulls away from him, slapping his chest playfully. “Yeah, right. More like you’d needmeto protectyou.”

“I’m in,” I say, thankful to have them finally interested in what’s going on here in any capacity.

“Yeah? Who else?” Austin asks, raising his hand.

Memphis’s hand rises slowly, then Paulette’s and Logan’s. Mara is the last to agree, but eventually, we’re all on board.

“Alright, cool. Get your coats, kiddies. We’re hittin’ the road,” Austin calls, rubbing his hands together.

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