Chapter 5
Heather denied following Adam.
For four minutes.
Then Walter ruined it.
“She was supposed to bring him back.”
I turned.
Heather stared at her father.
He realized.
Too late.
“Bring him back how?”
Walter lifted his chin.
“Adam was emotional.”
“So you followed him.”
“To talk.”
“In a snowstorm.”
“He refused to stop.”
“What happened?”
Lydia interrupted:
“Your husband always believed he was invincible.”
I looked at her.
“Did Heather force him off the road?”
“No.”
Too fast.
Heather said:
“I never touched his car.”
I hadn’t asked whether she touched it.
My hands went cold.
“What did you do?”
She folded her arms.
“Flashed the headlights.”
“And?”
“He sped up.”
“Why?”
“Because he was stubborn.”
There.
Blame.
Again.
Walter added:
“If Adam had pulled over, none of it would have happened.”
My heartbeat slowed.
“What happened?”
Heather looked at Lydia.
Then Walter.
No one saved her.
She finally whispered:
“There was another vehicle.”
“Whose?”
Silence.
I stepped closer.
“Heather.”
“Family security.”
“Driven by?”
She closed her eyes.
“Martin Cole.”
I knew the name.
Former Miller driver.
Retired abruptly after Adam died.
No farewell.
No Christmas cards.
Nothing.
“Where is Martin?”
Walter said:
“Gone.”
“What does that mean?”
“He left.”
“Where?”
“No idea.”
Lydia smiled.
“People leave, Joanna.”
I looked at Louisa.
Her tiny face above the blanket.
“Sometimes they’re forced.”
Lydia’s smile disappeared.
I called my security captain.
“Find Martin Cole.”
Walter laughed.
“After eighteen months?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because Heather says he was on Blackwood Pass.”
Heather snapped:
“I didn’t say he saw anything.”
I turned slowly.
“No.”
Pause.
“You just told me he did.”
Her face emptied.
Lydia closed her eyes.
Another slip.
Another truth.
Louisa whispered:
“Mommy?”
I crouched.
“Yes?”
“Grandma said Uncle Martin screamed too.”
Every adult froze.
I stared at Lydia.
May you like
She had been using stories about Adam and Martin to frighten a three-year-old.
Which meant whatever happened on Blackwood Pass had more than one victim.
