Chapter 9
Raymond swore he did not cause the crash.
I believed part of him.
Not innocence.
The detail.
“What happened?”
He rubbed his face.
“I followed her from the orchard.”
“How close?”
“Too close.”
Same old coward’s answer.
“She knew?”
“Yes.”
“What did she do?”
“Sped up.”
My stomach tightened.
Emily hated aggressive drivers.
She would have panicked.
“Then?”
“She called someone.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then?”
“She turned onto Westbridge.”
I remembered the report.
Wet road.
Sharp curve.
Guardrail.
Raymond continued.
“I backed off.”
“How far?”
Silence.
“Raymond.”
“I couldn’t see her car after the turn.”
“And then?”
“I saw lights.”
My hands curled.
He reached the wreck before anyone else.
Emily was alive.
For several minutes.
My breathing changed.
“You saw her alive.”
He nodded.
“Did you help?”
“Yes.”
I stared.
“Did she speak?”
His eyes filled.
“Yes.”
“What did she say?”
Raymond closed his eyes.
“Tell Grant his mother knows.”
The room disappeared.
Carol went pale.
Dennis stared at her.
I could barely hear myself.
“Knows what?”
Raymond whispered:
“The notebook.”
Carol snapped:
“She was confused.”
I turned so slowly even she stopped.
Raymond continued.
“Emily had it in her bag.”
“Where is it?”
Silence.
“Where.”
“Carol took it.”
My mother’s face hardened.
Dennis whispered her name.
I looked at her.
“You went to the crash.”
“No.”
Raymond shook his head.
“She came before the ambulance.”
Carol stared at him with pure hatred.
There it was.
Not denial anymore.
I remembered arriving later.
Carol was already there.
Holding me.
Telling me Emily was gone.
Telling me not to look at the wreck.
Telling me there had been nothing I could do.
All true enough.
May you like
But incomplete.
She had arrived early enough to take the one thing Emily died trying to bring me.
