Page 116 of Weight of Guilt

She’d expected an argument. “You don’t have to go with me.”

Nash glanced back at her. “I know. But I’m going to anyway.”

Chapter

Fifty-Nine

Wren climbed into Nash’s truck.

The cab smelled faintly of dog and old coffee. A spiral notebook sat on the dash, and a leash was coiled on the floorboard by her feet. She nudged it aside as Nash started the engine.

He pulled onto the road.

For a while, neither of them spoke.

Wren stared out the windshield, but all she could see was Mason’s yellow backpack. The pickle-flavored sunflower seeds. That man standing at the register buying food her son would actually eat.

She pressed her palms against her thighs. “Why does it feel like none of the pieces will ever connect?”

“Because that’s how investigations work.” Nash rested one hand higher on the wheel. “You collect the pieces before you know what picture they make.”

“I think Roy is one of those pieces.”

“You may be right.”

Wren looked at her hands in her lap. “I keep thinking about Paige. If Roy was hiding something, maybe she saw it without knowing what she was seeing.”

“Maybe.”

“Or maybe he said something that didn’t make sense at the time.”

Nash nodded. “That’s why we’re going to talk to her.”

She studied his profile for a moment. “You really didn’t have to come.”

A faint smile touched his mouth. “We’ve covered this.”

Despite everything, something almost like a laugh caught in her throat.

Almost.

She looked back out the windshield. “I don’t know. Maybe we should have stayed with the others at the store in case⁠—”

“Wren.” Nash’s expression sobered. “The search isn’t stopping because you left.”

“I know.” Wren rubbed her thumb along the edge of her phone. “But if they find something, and I’m not there⁠—”

“They’ll call.”

“And if Mason comes back?”

Nash glanced at her.

The words had come out before she could stop them.

Wren looked away. If Mason comes back. As if he might simply walk through the school doors and ask why everyone was making such a fuss.

“Nora and Marlowe are at the school waiting.” Nash’s voice softened. “Then we turn around.”