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“I think it might just be a fracture.” He looks at Violet. “Is there an emergency vet around here?”
“There’s an after-hours line at the vet in town but it would end up being a house call.”
“Oh.” He sounds defeated. “Definitely not happening tonight.”
“Who’s the dead guy on the side lawn?” I ask.
Violet shudders. “Remember the creepy hiker from Cascade Peak?”
We all share a look and nod. Vi recounts the story of the things he told her, and she turns her back when she explains the way her parents really died. Her shoulders shake and she can’t finish. Cody stands and walks to her, wrapping her in his arms as she cries.
We don’t push her for more, but we do need to figure out what we’re going to do with the bodies. It probably says a lot about me that I’m proud of her for having the strength to swing that ax and kill the man who murdered her parents.
“Should we call the police?” she finally asks.
“I don’t know, should we?” Cody raises an eyebrow. “They weren’t helpful with the break-in.”
“And your uncle has fingerprints in the system, for fuck’s sake. They should have known,” Blake says.
“Emerie threatened to drop us to the bottom of the ocean in a crab pot if we hurt you. Do you think we could do that with the bodies?” I toss the idea out, not entirely serious.
“I can see if Mitch has already left for the season.”
My lip curls at his name from her lips. Fucking punk.
“Could Lars help?” Cody asks.
“Maybe.” She looks around the room despondently. “I’ll call him.”
We huddle together as she steps into the kitchen and grabs the phone off the wall. We wait until we hear her talking before we start discussing next steps.
“Dropping the bodies in the bottom of the ocean doesn’t sound like a bad plan,” Cody says.
“Even if we don’t involve the police, we’ll still need to burn the cabin to the ground.” Blake presses ice to his lip, wincing.
“Lars is on his way,” Violet says as she comes back.
“Okay.” Cody guides her toward the stairs. “How about you pack up some clothes and things you’ll need, and we can go stay in the cabin you gave us originally. We can’t stay here.”
“Blake, you go with her,” I instruct. “You’re swaying on your feet and have been through more than either of us.”
He nods and follows her upstairs while Cody and I start cleaning up. I sweep broken glass into a pile, and he starts fixing furniture. We’re almost done with the kitchen and living room by the time Lars shows up.
He fumes as we talk to him about everything that’s been happening. How it started years ago when we were just kids to John and his friend, whose name is Robert going by his license, trying to find and open Jennifer’s box.
We show him the bodies and I don’t know much about this guy, but something tells me he’s into some serious shit because he doesn’t bat an eye. He makes a few calls and tells us he’ll take care of the bodies. Then, he grills us about Violet and our relationship with her. The sun is rising by the time he’s satisfied with our answers, and he decides he needs to get the bodies out of here.
“I can’t believe Vi took this one out with an ax.” Lars shoves the tarp-wrapped body in the back of his truck. “Keep a close eye on her. That’s fucking traumatic.”
“We will,” I say as I close the liftgate for him.
I watch him leave before jumping in Vi’s truck. I need to get a few things out of the rental that John was driving. It was dark, but I’m pretty sure I saw the box that they stole.
Not a single car passes by on the highway while I grab the box from the car. It’s heavier than I thought it would be and the contents rattle around a bit as I jog back down to the truck and return home. I’ll figure out a way to open this and we can finally see what was worth killing for.
ChapterForty-Three
Inever would have thought my life would end up this way. Having to defend myself and the lives of the three men I’ve always loved in the most brutal and savage way possible. Looking out over the still water of the lake just beginning to freeze completely over, I have to fight not to have flashbacks.
