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She would have told my parents I was going to be a father. Had they known, I can guarantee they would’ve relayed the info to me.
I grab another stone from the path and hurl it.
Which means none of them had known Simone was pregnant. Even if she had begged them to not say anything to me, someone would have accidentally slipped and given it away once I returned.
Another rock splashes into the lake.
No one in Maple Ridge knew she was pregnant. No one was there for her when she had the accident and lost the baby.
No one has been there for her all these years.
No one—except for maybe one person.
Avery. She’s the one person Simone is close to who might have known about the baby and who was there for her after the accident. The one person Simone could have possibly turned to for the past ten years on the anniversary of our daughter’s death. The one person she didn’t have on her side today.
Knowing that kicks the wind out of me.
Once again, I’ve let Simone down and hurt her.
This time I don’t throw a rock into the lake. I hurl it against a thick tree trunk. It doesn’t even make a dent in the bark.
My phone rings in my shorts pocket.
Thinking it’s Simone, I grab the phone, an apology on my lips.
But it’s not Simone. It’s Blake.
“What’s up?” I answer.
“I’ve just heard that Sebastian Dryson’s body has been found.”
“Body? As in he’s dead?”
“From what my contact at the Eugene Police Department told me, Sebastian is believed to have double-crossed an associate. And this associate is known to be involved in some shady dealings. The police are investigating Sebastian’s involvement with them as one possible cause of his death.”
“I don’t suppose any of this has to do with the narcotics found in my house?”
“Sorry, as far as I can tell, neither individual is linked to any type of drugs. But who knows what they might be capable of? This could be the tip of the iceberg.
“Sebastian was recently spotted with a man who works for Kincaid Timber Corporation. He was also spotted leaving the alley behind Picnic and Treats just after the truck almost plowed you and Simone down. One of my handwriting experts looked at a copy of the note you sent me, and he’s ninety-eight percent positive Sebastian wrote it.”
“Why the hell would he do that?”
“Good question. Too bad he can’t tell us. But I don’t think it was a trap after all. If he had arranged for the truck to hit you or Simone, Sebastian wouldn’t have been there.”
“Not unless he wanted to witness the truck hit us. Isn’t that what some arsonists do? Stick around and watch the show? We might not be talking fires here, but the principle’s the same.”
“There were better places than the alley where he could’ve gone for a front-row seat.”
The wind picks up, turning the water choppy. New storm clouds lurk in the distance, their ETA another hour or two.
“So, what now?” I ask.
“We wait to see if Sebastian can be linked to the narcotics in your house. But if they were planted to discredit you with the Wakefields, his death doesn’t make sense. And whoever he was talking to in the bar will lose out, too. Or maybe not. With Sebastian dead, will his parents still want to build the lodge?”
I select a stone from the dirt path, this time taking care with my choice. “Unless they decide to go ahead with the lodge in memory of their son, his death might put an end to their plan.”
“Which is good news for you and your brothers.” Blake doesn’t sound too thrilled with that possibility. It doesn’t take much to figure out why.
