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Swiveling, I turn and walk backward. “Go get it. I know he’s buried there, Cole. He’s been trying to tell me this entire time. Derek killed him and buried him there then planted roses on top, fencing it off with barbwire so the horses couldn’t uproot the evidence.”
“Why roses?”
I cock my head to the side as adrenaline starts to pump through my system. I know, without a doubt, that I’m right about this. “Because they were his stepmother’s favorite. Who would question that sort of gardening when it was in her name that he did it?” For crying out loud, there are roses dedicated to her throughout the entire town.
Reaching the back door, I place my hand on thedoorknob as he says, “I won’t be long. Give me about ten minutes.”
I say nothing as I open the door and step out into the morning chill. The sound of his jogging through the house to get to the front door is cut off as soon as the door closes behind me, replaced by the sound of birds singing in the pasture’s trees. As I stride across the uncut lawn to the fence, his truck’s engine roars to life, and shortly after, I hear the tires crunch on the gravel as he drives away, leaving me alone on the property.
But I don’t care about being alone. Not even knowing that Neil is here with me.
Carefully, I slide through a couple of posts holding up the fence and march straight for the roses. Once I’m there, I stand and examine the barbed wire. It’s held together by posts that are already digging themselves out of the ground, thanks to the weight of the roses pressing against them.
With that in mind, I grab a post and yank with everything I have. It takes a few tries, but eventually, it's freed from the dirt. I throw the post as hard as I can over the bed of roses and stare at my next problem.Thorns.
Carefully, I start tugging the roots of the roses. Because of my firm grip, the thorns start to tear into my palms, but I barely notice it. The adrenaline is too great to feel much pain.
It has to have taken me a few minutes, but eventually, I’ve removed enough roses for enough dirt to be exposed. I drop to my knees and start digging with my cut-up hands. Cole will probably be pissed about that, but I have to know. I have to know if I’m right. It compels me and I –
My fingers hit something hard. I freeze for a second before I start digging faster, whispering, “Oh my god,” onrepeat until what’s fully revealed before me has a scream bubbling up in my chest.
There, covered in layers of dirt, is a skull.
“You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?” a familiar male voice says from behind me. It’s punctuated with the sound of a gun being cocked.
Chapter 23
Tegan Adams
“We shouldn’t fear death,Tegan. It’s the natural way of life,” Dr. Lynn advised. “Someday, I’ll die. Someday, you will too.”
“And what about how you die, Dr. Lynn? Doesn’t that scare you?”
He shrugs. “All we can do is hope that it’s quick, and that, in itself, should put your mind at ease.”
“Well, it doesn’t.”
The cock of the gun.That’s all it takes for my blood to feel like ice. A split second and my greatest fear comes screaming back to life.
Slowly, I raise my hands and swivel to see the man I hadn’t suspected.
Sheriff Smith’s eyes are narrowed into slits, and although the majority of his face is pale, hischeeks are red.Rage,I realize. He must not have actually left the property; there are plenty of places to hide here. Or if he had, he stuck close by. And seeing Cole race away from it, he had to have known something was up.
“It was you,” I whisper in shock, eyeing the barrel of the shotgun.
“Didn’t count on that, did ya?” he huffs.
I gulp and shake my head. “Why?”
“Does it matter?” he growls.
My mouth runs dry as his grip on the gun tightens. I guess it doesn’t matter. I’ll die anyway, and his confession will end with me. But I have to know. I need to know. I need to see this through – for Neil.
“What did Neil ever do to you?” I manage to ask. My voice is cracked, shaking, as tears start to prick my eyes. The immediate problem of my death is near crippling, and on their own, my raised hands begin to shake.
“Everything!” he screams. In a nearby tree, birds take flight.
“Sheriff-” I say as I rise to my feet. Maybe, just maybe, I can talk him out of this. He’s a man of the law, he should want to protect it.
