Page 46 of Drowning in Lies
"Yes," I rasped. My throat was completely dry, and I picked up my now-flat Diet Pepsi and took a few sips. "I'm just not sure I can watch the rest."
He was silent for a moment. "Would you like me to just tell you what happened instead?"
I nodded and gave him a grateful smile.
"I had him get into the boat and lean over as if he were untying it from the dock. I sat my gun and the phones down, along with the gloves I had in my pocket.Then I grabbed him by the front of his hair and slammed his forehead into the cleat. It didn't knock him out, but I didn't really expect it to.I just needed signs of an accidental injury.It disoriented him enough that I could knock him into the water. I jumped in with him and held him under. It didn't take long for him to stop struggling, and I checked for a pulse. I didn't find one after checking several times, so then I pushed his body down and he sank. Afterward, I pulled myself up out of the water, dried off, and changed into the spare clothes I'd brought. I texted Vanessa one last time, and tossed his phone on the floor of the boat so it would be found. I partially untied the rope from the cleat and then I left."
I was surprised to find tears streaming down my face as he described David's final moments. Liam pulled me into his arms, and I cried until I had no tears left.
Chapter 25: The Prosecutor
My tears finally slowed to a stop. I was all cried out, at least for now. I started to pull away from Liam, and his arm around my shoulder loosened as he let me go. I ran my hand over the tear-stained shoulder of his T-shirt.
"I'm sorry I cried all over you," I apologized huskily.
He smiled down at me and brushed a tear from my cheek. "It's OK. I have a feeling you needed that."
I nodded and sighed. "I'll be right back. I'm going to splash some cold water on my face." I got up and walked into the small bathroom down the hall. I looked in the mirror and winced.
My eyelids were puffy and my skin was pale and blotchy, except for my nose which was bright red. I blew my nose and washed my hands, then got a washcloth from the cabinet. I splashed my face with cold water, then wet the washcloth and wrung it out. I laid the cloth over my face, gently pressing it against my eyelids to reduce some of the puffiness there. Patting my face dry, I glanced at the mirror once more. I still looked rough, but it was a little better.
I came out of the bathroom, and heard Liam in the kitchen. I walked in to find him filling a bowl with water. He set it on the counter, then picked up the burner phone he had placed on the counter next to it.
"Do you want to watch any of this again before I destroy it?"
I shook my head. "No, once was enough. Thank you for recording it for me though. Nothing will ease the pain of knowing what he did to me for the last several years but knowing that it was real - that he loved me in the beginning at least - it actually helps a little."
He placed the phone in the water, pushing it down until it was completely submerged. "You know that his reasoning was complete bullshit, right? Lots of people were raised in poverty, and many had it much worse than he did. He wasn't abused. He wasn't neglected. His mother loved them both and I think she did the best she could for her sons," he said emphatically.
"Yes, what happened to her was terrible, and I'm sure it affected Scott and David, but the fact that they both turned out to be such horrible people is due to their own character flaws and moral failings, not to their childhood."
"I know," I agreed with a frown. "Of course, I have no room to judge, given what I've done recently."
"No, donotdo that. Do not feel guilty for giving them what they deserved," Liam said sternly, walking over to grasp my shoulders. "Look at me," he demanded. "You didn't do this,Idid. This is my sin, and I can live with it just as I do with all of my others. You got justice for yourself, for all of the horrible things they did to you. That's all."
"No, justice would have been turning all the evidence over to the police and divorcing him. I got revenge. That'smysin, and I have to learn to live with it."
"Princess, if you had relied on the court system, they wouldn't have been given the penalties they deserved. That wouldn't have been justice either," he said softly.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close, and I rested my head on his still slightly damp shoulder. He rubbed his hands up and down my back in a soothing gesture as I relaxed against him. We stood that way for several minutes, and when I lifted my head to step away, he didn't let go.
Instead, he lowered his head to mine and kissed me. I was stunned for a second, then responded without even thinking about it. I hadn't realized how much I had missed physical contact until this very moment.
He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue along my bottom lip before slipping it inside to explore my mouth. My tongue tangled with his as he groaned and pulled me even closer. He raised his hand to clasp the back of my neck, angling my head to deepen the kiss even more. When he slid his other hand down to cup my ass, I stiffened at the sudden realization that I was kissing a man who wasn't David, for the first time in eight years.
Liam registered the sudden tension in my body and softened the kiss before pulling his mouth from mine. He moved both hands to hold waist as he took a small step back.
"Too soon?" he asked quietly, his eyes searching my face for a clue to my thoughts.
I nodded a little. "Yes, I'm sorry, but I just can't...I can't do this yet," I said softly. He dropped a gentle kiss on my forehead and smiled as he told me that he understood.
He dropped his hands from my waist and took a few steps back, walking over and picking up the bowl with the phone soaking in it. He poured the water out, and asked if I had any bleach. I directed him to the laundry room cabinet, and he poured bleach into the bowl, letting it cover the phone.
At my questioning look, he explained that he was trying to get rid of any trace evidence on the phone, before he destroyed it.
"Since this one has actual evidence of a murder, I need to be a lot more cautious with it than I was with David's phone. When I'm done here, I'll place it in a plastic bag and lay it on the driveway in front of my tire. I'll run over it back and forth a few times, then I'll dispose of the broken pieces in a few different places."
I smiled. "It sounds like a very thorough plan."
