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CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Murder was a greater sin, of course. Rhett would have to come to terms with that, considering that for the first time in his life, he’d committed one. He didn’t want to, but he really had no choice.
When Nina informed him that she was sure Ava would tell everyone about the lunch incident, she was beside herself, beyond consolation. Everything that they had worked so hard for was about to go up in smoke.
So, he made a decision—one that he would not have thought himself capable of twenty-four hours earlier. He called Ava and asked if he could speak to her. He just wanted a chance to explain and plead Kirby & Kirby’s case. She’d been reluctant but eventually, after multiple calls from him, she relented. They agreed to meet at Veterans Park, where he told her he planned to go for a run after their meeting. But that wasn’t true.
He was only there to change Ava’s mind and hoped that saying he was running afterward would make him seem relaxed, unconcerned. Ava had come at 6 p.m. and they parked in the small lot outside the entrance to the park. It was technically closed at this hour, but no one had come by to close the gate yet. He pleaded his case.
“It looks like Nina was the victim of identity theft,” he lied once they were both out of their cars. “Thank goodness she was having lunch with you, or it might have been hours before we discovered it. She’s spent the whole afternoon trying to resolve this, which is why I agreed to come in her place. And truth be told, though she’d never admit it, I think she was embarrassed at how it looked. She didn’t know what you must think of her.”
“Oh gosh,” Ava replied noncommittally.
“I know,” Rhett said conspiratorially. “I told her you’d understand but she was past that point. By then she was consumed with protecting all our stuff. One great thing you’ll learn about Nina as we all work together—once she commits to something, she’s like a dog with a bone. Right now, she’s doing that with all our accounts. She’ll be the same way with you. Even in the middle of all this, she asked me to start looking up private investigators to check into your husband.”
“That must be really hard, Rhett,” she replied, “and it explains a lot. But to be honest, I think it would be best if you guys just focus on your situation right now. I don’t want to add to your stress with my issues.”
“It’s not stressful,” he assured her, sensing that she was trying to squirm out and trying to think of how best he could squeeze her back in. “In fact, having something meaningful to focus on would help us both. We do better when we’re fixating on other people’s problems.”
Ava paused for several seconds before finally saying, “Like I said to Nina, I just don’t think it’s going to work out.”
He sighed sadly, partly hoping it would make her feel guilty but mostly using the pause to come up with a solution to this unsolvable problem. He pictured vans coming to take away their possessions, process servers handing them lawsuits in public places, and police coming to forcibly remove them from their home. That couldn’t happen.
“I hate to pull this card, Ava, but with all this mess, we could really use the extra income, just in case it takes a while to clear everything up,” he said solemnly. “What do you say—want to help a neighbor—a friend— out?”
Ava looked as awkward as he felt but she stuck to her guns.
“I think it’s best to go another way,” she told him. “I’m sorry, Rhett.”
“I’m sorry too,” he said, realizing that not only were they losing this business but almost certainly whatever remained of their reputation in the community. Ava was sure to blab about the lunch, as well as this encounter. He envisioned shame, bankruptcy, and possibly, prison. The thought of that last potentiality made his vision go black for a second.
When it cleared up, he knew what had to be done. There was no other choice. He looked at Ava and she must have understood what he was thinking from his eyes. She moved quickly to her car, clearly fighting the urge to break into a run.
“Ava, please,” he’d begged, hating how plaintive he sounded. “We can make this work.”
But she was already getting in the front seat. He started toward her but heard the doors lock. As fast as he could, he hurried back to his car. She started up hers a moment before he did and punched the gas. But he was faster and managed to cut her off as she attempted to leave the parking lot. He saw the look of fear on her face but knew it was too late to turn back now.
She hit reverse and to his surprise, turned and drove on the dirt road into the park. He followed, pulling up next to her, his wheels more on the grass than the road. She looked over at him and startled, lost control for a second, almost veering off the road.
She managed get the vehicle back on course and punched the accelerator, shooting ahead of him. He was just about to do the same when she hit a small bump in the road. Her car immediately shot to the left, headed straight for an embankment. Rhett waited for her to adjust but there wasn’t enough time.
Ava careened into the embankment hard. Rhett hit his brakes and waited with bated breath to see what would happen next. It didn’t take long. Ava shoved open the driver’s side door and dashed out, headed farther into the park. After a few steps she stumbled and fell to the ground, apparently disoriented.
Rhett was about to get out too when he glanced to his right. On the floor of the passenger seat was the crystal vase that Nina had asked him to get for their neighborhood get-together the following night. She planned to fill it with a variety of different-colored roses.
He grabbed it and jumped out, racing after Ava. She was upright again but it was obvious that the collision with the embankment had left her shaky and confused. Before he had even gotten to her, she stumbled down by the trunk of a tree. She must have sensed him there because she rolled over and looked up at him. Her eyes were both cloudy and full of terror.
“Please,” she begged.
He thought he would feel sympathy, but to his surprise, he was consumed by rage. Where was her compassion when he was pleading with her only moments earlier? Just as had happened so often before in his life, when he scraped and clawed his way to the mountaintop only to be kicked back down by people with more money and power, she had rejected his one simple request without so much as a second thought. Sympathy was a two-way street.
Charged up with adrenaline and fury, he grabbed the top of the vase, clutched it tight, and brought it down hard. He made solid contact with her right temple. She cried out in pain as she rolled over onto her stomach. But that just exposed the back of her head.
He swung the vase down with all his might. It landed on the back of her skull. He thought he heard a crack. It was satisfying. He did it again and nailed her in the same spot. This time he heard more of a crunching sound. He swung the vase down twice more with equal force. By the last blow, her skull felt spongy.
Ava’s cries had turned to moans. He wanted to strike her again, but his fingers were slippery with sweat and his arms were starting to shake. He wasn’t sure he had the strength left and yet he couldn’t leave her like this, groaning softly in the park. It was supposedly closed but what if someone came by? What if she said his name? He had to shut her up. And then he had a thought.
In the trunk of the car were the groceries he’d picked up earlier, again at Nina’s intense insistence. Among them was a roll of plastic wrap. He hurried over to the car, popped the trunk, and grabbed the wrap. Then he returned to Ava.
