“O-okay,”I stammered, swallowing. “And what—”
“Th-theyfound Grace.”
“Foundher? You mean,she’sokay?”
“Rosie—”
“Wherewas she? Is she coming home? Should I go to the airport?” The questions left mymouth one by one in a hurry, all to stop the truth from coming out.
“Rosalynn,Grace is …” He stopped himself, hiccupping on a breath, and then continued,“Grace is gone, Rosie. She, she’s dead.”
Twosets of identical eyes watched as my world halted in movement. Time froze, asmy lungs forgot to breath and my eyes refused to blink. The heart I once knewto be mine lost the ability to beat, as it died in anguish from the words myfather spoke, knowing all along that they were true. But I didn’t cry. Icouldn’t find the strength to form the tears, as I slowly began to shake myhead.
“How?”I asked, amazed that I could find the capability to speak at all.
“Theysaid it was a hiking accident,” he answered gruffly. “She … God, she fell froma cliff while hiking in the woods.”
“Hiking?”I shouted, shaking my head. “Grace doesn’tfuckinghike!”
“Rosie… don’t do this … please …”
“Whenthe hellhassheevergone hiking? Are theysure it’s even her?”
Tomapproached, standing closer to my side, as he demanded to know what was goingon. But I hardly heard his concerned questions, as I stood up and grabbed myjacket from the back of the kitchen chair.
“Yeah,”Dad replied quietly. “They’re sure.”
Iheaded for the door, with TJ and Tom on my heels, as I told my father, “I’mcoming,” and hung up the phone in a rush as I pushed through the door and ranto my car. Tom shouted at me, telling me to stop and demanding that I tell themwhat happened. Spinning on my heel, I clenched my fists and threw my damn phoneto the driveway, where it shattered and sprinkled glittering glass over theblack asphalt.
“Itold you she was dead!” I screamed, shaken by the unfamiliar sound of my ownvoice. “I fucking told you both, and you wouldn’t believe me!”
Tom’sface crumpled with guilt and sadness, as he stretched his arms out, readyinghimself to catch me when I fell. “Oh, Rosie. Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” he said,speaking softly and gently.
“Oh,my … oh, my God,” I hiccupped on a violent sob. “She’s dead. Oh, God. Oh, God,Gracie.”
Then,I screamed like an injured animal,graspingandclawing at my face and flesh. Desperate to feel the pain of my nails draggingover my skin, desperate to feel anything other than the agony of having a pieceof my soul torn away. I collapsed to my knees, falling against Tom and into thearms of a man who was once my lover, as I cried in loud, violent gulps.
Duringmy breakdown in his driveway, all I could think was, what did she go through,in her final moments? When had it happened, and had I somehow known, in the waysisters sometimes do? Had she thought of me, and was it in sadness or angerthat I had been the one to convince her to go?
Andthen, with crushing and startling clarity, my eyes widened as I stared at myempty hands, covered in her blood, and said, “Oh, God, I killed her. I fuckingkilled her,” before howling in pain to a grey Connecticut sky.
CHAPTER SIX
ALEC
It wasthe first murder to hit Fort Crow in over twenty years, and I had fullyexpected the office to be buzzing with anxiety, determination, and a morbidsense of excitement when I walked into work the next morning. But instead, whatI found was the usual humdrum atmosphere, and as I made my way to my desk, Igrew increasingly curious and annoyed.
Finleywas already at his desk, chewing the end of his pen, while lazily browsing theinternet on his computer. I drummed my fingers against the desktop beforerounding to sit in my chair.
“Whereare we with the Woman in the Woods case?” I asked, hanging my satchel from theback of my chair.
“Huh?”Finley looked across his desk at me, as he registered the words I had spoken,and then, he replied, “Oh! Right. There is no case, lad. It was ruled anaccident.”
Iwas stopped in my tracks and dropped a stack of paperwork in my hands. “Wha-what? Are ye s-serious?”
“Don’tbe so surprised,” Finley chuckled, turning his attention back on his computerscreen. “There wasnothin’ to make us thinkotherwise.”
“Th-th-that woman waskilled,” I hissed, leaning forwardin mychairand bracing my arms against the desk.
