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I blink.
For a minute, I’m confused.
There is no way. There is no way in the world they’re a match for my shoes, because I wasn’t there that night. I know I wasn’t there. I know for a god damned fact.
“What?” I whisper.
“They’re a perfect match for your boots, and while you were asking me where I was that night, the fact is I wasn’t here so I can’t even say that you were...”
“You’re joking, right?” I laugh, but it’s very bitter and emotionless. “You’re my best friend, Kara. I didn’t kill Taj.”
“You were so quick to question me, so quick to jump into this investigation.”
I shake my head, feeling frustrated now, angry even. “If I killed Taj, why in the hell would I want to investigate? Don’t you think I would have just left it as an accident? You’re wrong, Kara. I didn’t do this. I gave you the benefit of the doubt, I did, and now you’re not giving me the same.”
She exhales, rubbing her hand down her face. “I just...the more I think about it, you’re the only one who makes sense. After all, he wanted to organize this whole thing and you took over. The two of you weren’t close, you like to be in control and so did he...if something happened, you could tell me. I can help you.”
I stare at her, horrified.
She thinks that about me?
Is that how I behave?
“Taj and I had a small argument about who was organizing the retreat and Emily decided it would be me. That was hardly a killing act. We might not have been close, but I barely spoke to him, Kara. And I do not like to be in control...”
“You do, Lei. I know you. I know it was probably an accident, but you need to tell me the truth.”
I shake my head, reaching down and picking up my phone. “You know what, I don’t have to listen to this. I could easily say you were just as likely, but I don’t. I believed you because you’re my best friend and I trust you. You aren’t giving me the same, after everything we’ve been through. I thought we were a whole lot closer, and you just showed me we aren’t...”
I turn and walk towards the door.
She calls out my name, but I don’t stop.
She thinks I killed Taj; my own best friend thinks I did it.
I get it, I do. I would ask the questions, but if she told me she didn’t do it, I would believe her.
She’s not giving me the same.
I think about the shoes as I walk towards the barn, desperate to get some horse time in hopes of clearing my head, because it has been a crappy few days and it feels as though it’s about to get a whole lot worse.
How the hell were my shoes a perfect match for the prints outside the barn? Does someone else have the same shoes as me? Grace? Emily? I haven’t noticed, but that doesn’t mean they don’t. If they don’t, then how the hell was it my prints at the scene? My mind spins as I try to figure out what the hell I’m missing here.
Someone is covering up, but who, and why?
Why would someone go to such great lengths to make sure this isn’t found out?
My mind is spinning, to the point I’m frustrated and angry.
I feel like the answer is right there, right in front of me, and yet I can’t seem to figure out what it is, or better yet, who it is.
Who the hell killed Taj?
I’m even more determined now to find out, because time is running short.
I sit on a big bale of hay and take handfuls of it, giving it over to Porky as he happily chews away at it. I close my eyes, going over every single thing I can think of, going right back to the start. I think of every fight, every single time something has gone wrong and yet still, I can’t seem to pinpoint someone that makes sense. I turn and glance at the horse nibbling from my fingers and exhale.
Come on, Lei.
You can do this.
“There you are,” Kara says, rushing into the barn. “Before you yell at me, I’m sorry. I guess this has been consuming me more than I would like to admit, and I was becoming a bit paranoid, but you’re right, of course it wasn’t you. I know that, deep down I do, but I guess I had to ask the question. Please don’t be angry at me.”
It clicks.
Just dawns on me as she’s talking.
I forget that she was accusing me of doing something I wasn’t, and instead focus on the part of the conversation that stood out. It has been playing on her mind, making her obsessed and it has me wondering... “Who have you told?”
