Down By The Water (13 page)

“
Soon,” he repeated as he opened the passenger door and helped me inside. “You're not getting off that easy. I promise.”

TWENTY THREE

But I did get off that easily. We didn't get a chance to continue where we'd left off on the beach because Colin Reilly was waiting for us in the living room when we got back to the house.

And his reaction to me was decidedly cool.

“Why didn't you tell us?” he asked sharply. He sat on the couch in the same spot I'd occupied only a couple of hours earlier. His right leg was crossed over his left and it bounced up and down as he stared at me. His eyes, a mirror image of his son's in color, were cold and angry.

“
Dad,” Ty began but Colin held up his hand to silence his son.

“
I want to talk to
her
,” he said.

I stood next to Ty, both of us dripping rivers of water on to the wood floor.

“Fine,” Ty said, his voice tight. “But she needs to change. We both do.”

His dad gave a slight nod. “Fine. I want you back down here in five minutes.” He wasn't speaking to Ty. He was talking to me.

I trudged up the stairs, deflated and dejected. With everything that had happened that morning, his dad's reaction was something I hadn't anticipated. It had been foolish not to, especially considering how his own son had reacted to the news of my identity. Ty had been pissed and he hadn't even really been involved with the events from ten years earlier. But his dad? His dad had been front and center in all of it.

I didn't say anything to Ty as we reached the top of the landing. He opened his mouth to speak but I just shook my head and disappeared into my room before he could say anything. I closed the door, peeled off the wet clothes—the second time in three days—and rummaged in my duffle bag for something dry.

Exactly five minutes later, my clothes were changed and I'd managed to run a comb through my soaked hair. The back of the shirt I'd just put on was already wet and it clung to me as I sank down on the matching loveseat adjacent to the couch.

Sheila was sitting with her husband, a worried expression marring her features. She fingered the apron that was tied around her waist, a hunter green fabric emblazoned with ducks and loons, picking at the knot in one of the ties.

Colin eyed me coldly. “Were you ever going to tell us?”

I pressed my lips together as I thought about what I should say, what approach I should take.

I decided to be honest. “No,” I finally said.

He shook his head and sighed.

“I didn't want to,” I said quickly. Ty had taken a seat next to me and I could feel his eyes on me but I didn't look at him. “Everything I've told you—my car breaking down, being on my way to college—all of it is true. I've never lied to you.”

“
It doesn't matter.” Colin's tone was harsh. “False words might not have come out of your mouth but you lied by omission. That first night at dinner.” He slapped his hand against his thigh. “I knew you looked familiar. I asked if we'd met before. And you said no.”

Ty spoke up. “You never asked her.”

Colin turned to look at his son. “The hell I didn't.”

“
You didn't,” Ty said. “You told her she looked familiar. I remember. Because I thought the same thing. But it wasn't a question. There was nothing for her to respond to.”

His father glared at him. “Semantics.”

“Please don't fight because of me,” I said. I felt the anxiety well up inside of me. They were a close family, at least from what I'd seen at the dinner table, and the last thing I wanted to do was become a rift between them. “You're right. I should've come clean. I'm sorry.”

“
Not as sorry as I am,” his father muttered.

“
Colin,” Sheila chided, shooting me a sympathetic look. I breathed a small sigh of relief. At least she seemed to be on my side.

“
She didn't want to come here, Dad,” Ty said. He drummed his finger on the armrest of the love seat. “When she was broken down. She wasn't going to come. I had to talk her into it. And she had a full-blown panic attack when I pulled into Lake Land. Jumped out of the car.” He turned to look at his mom. “Remember how wet we were when we walked through the door?”

She nodded.

“It wasn't from when she was broken down. She jumped out right here. Right in the driveway.” He glanced at me and his eyes were soft. “Because she didn't want to be here. Because there were too many memories. Because she was scared.”

Colin listened, assessing his son's words. I wasn't sure if he believed him or not. “Well, be that as it may, it doesn't help explain away what happened today.”

“What happened today was an accident,” Ty told him. “Just like ten years ago.”

“
Some people don't think what happened ten years ago was an accident,” his father responded.

Sheila's eyes widened and she laid her hand on her husband's thigh. “Colin. Don't.”

His words stung but it was more than that. He'd just told me something I'd always suspected. That Sheriff Jorgenson had shared his suspicions about me with more than just my family.

“
She didn't do shit,” Ty said, his voice rising.

Colin shook his head, a grim smile on his face. “You don't know that.”

Ty stood up and I could sense his anger. “She was at the goddamn breakfast table with us when Annie disappeared!”

Sheila's hand moved from her husband's thigh to his arm and she gripped him. “Lily is our guest,” she began but he silenced her with a look.

“I'm aware of that.” He frowned and the creases in his forehead and the wrinkles visible at the corner of his eyes aged him at least ten years. “But, as our guest, she owed us the courtesy of telling us who she was. Her connection to this place. To us, even.”

I stood up, too, my fists clenched at my side. “I'll go.”

“The hell you will,” Ty snarled. He reached out to grab my arm but I sidestepped him.

“
No, really. I didn't mean to cause any trouble.” I could feel the tears threaten. “I'm...I'm sorry.”

“
I'm not asking you to leave,” his dad said, tugging at the collar of his plaid shirt. “I just want the truth from you. No secrets. I don't need this kind of thing happening again at my campground. The stigma of having your sister die here killed us financially for almost two years.”

It had killed me for ten years, I wanted to scream. Her death had redirected my entire life, the lives of everyone in my family, and I didn't give a flying fuck that his resort had suffered because of it.

Ty was looking at his father with unabashed disgust. “Jesus. Dad.”

He looked at his son, confused. “What?”

“You lost a few thousand dollars.” He paused and the next words he spoke, he did so slowly, emphasizing every word. “She lost her sister.”

Colin's face paled a little bit and he glanced down at the lower buttons of his shirt and began to fiddle with them. I could tell that having Ty call him out—rightfully so—had embarrassed him. Because he was right. Money couldn't compare to the loss of a loved one. I'd gladly give up everything I owned to have my sister back with me.

“Looks like it's my turn to apologize,” his dad said, expelling a breath. “I'm sorry.”

“
It's alright,” I said. I sank back down to the loveseat. “It's been hard for everyone. And I really am sorry about not telling you. About who I am.”

He studied me for a moment but the anger and accusation were gone from his eyes. “I'm sorry you lost your sister.”

“Me, too.”

“
I just...” He bit off his words, rubbed at his chin. “I've never forgotten that day and now I'll remember this one. Not for the right reasons.” He took a deep breath, then shook his head. “This isn't a dangerous place and I don't want people to think that it is. The sheriff got in my head. I apologize for what I said.”

“
It's okay,” I said.

The silence was awkward for a moment and then he turned and walked out, his wife following him.

Ty sat on the arm of the loveseat next to me. “I'm sorry.”

“
Don't apologize. I understand why he's angry.”

“
He's not angry. He's just...I don't know.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “He's worried about his business. About the resort. He should be. I understand. And then I'm here and if you don't believe in coincidences...”

“Stop,” he said. “Just because Jorgenson thinks something is true doesn't meant it is.”

That was accurate, but it didn't mean that people weren't going to believe him. They would. If I hadn't been involved, I probably would've bought his theory. I was an easy target and it wasn't hard to draw a circumstantial line to me.

“I need to find another place to stay,” I said.

“
No,” Ty said. “Absolutely not.”

“
Yes,” I said. “I shouldn't stay here. It's causing too many problems. I can go find a motel or something.”

“
No,” Ty repeated. “My dad will be fine.”

“
He's not fine right now. And I don't blame him.”

He slid off the arm of the loveseat into the cushions next to me. “No. You're staying.”

I glanced at him. “You can't make me stay, Ty. And no matter what your dad says, there's no way he wants me to stick around. Why would he?”

Ty's mouth set itself in a firm line while he thought. But there was no good answer. I was an albatross staying there. Word would get out fast, if it hadn't already, that I was there. All eyes would be on me. Campers would wonder what the hell was going on. The bottom line was that I was bad for business.

“You need to stay so we can figure out what the hell happened,” Ty finally said.

“
What are you talking about?”

“
Look, if you bail now, I'm sorry, but it looks like you're guilty,” he explained. “It adds fuel to the fire that Jorgenson is lighting. It looks like you're running. But if you stay?” He shrugged his massive shoulders. “If you stay, maybe we can figure out what happened to Annie. And to your sister.”

I looked at him like he was crazy. “My sister fell in the river. Nothing happened to her other than her older sister fucked up in looking after her.”

He nodded. “Maybe. But you mentioned the bruise thing. On her back.”

“
It was ten years ago, Ty,” I said, shaking my head. I was almost sorry I'd told him about it. “There's nothing to look at.”

He rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. But we can figure out what happened to Annie.”

“Sorry. I didn't pack my magnifying glass or fingerprint kit. And, honestly, Ty. She probably did the same thing my sister did. Wandered off and fell into the water.” I paused.  I was grateful that she'd been found, unharmed, but there was a small part of me that balked at the unfairness of it all. She'd survived. My sister had not. “She was just luckier.”

“
Maybe,” he said. “But wouldn't it be nice to know? For sure?”

I shook my head. “I'm not sure there's any way to know anything for sure.”

His hand snaked over my thigh and he gave it a gentle squeeze. He smiled at me. “There's always a way.”

I wasn't sure what he meant, but before I could ask, his father came back into the room, a grim expression knotting his entire face.

He looked at me. “Sheriff Jorgenson would like to speak with you now.”

TWENTY FOUR

Jorgenson was waiting for me at the bottom of the porch steps outside. His expression was blank as I let the screen door shut behind me. I stood there for a moment, then sat down on the top step. It was still damp from the storm that had blown through earlier and the moisture seeped into my shorts.

“Reillys are good people,” Jorgenson said, pushing up the brim of his hat.

“
They've been very nice to me,” I said.

He nodded. “I'm sure.”

I sat there and waited, offering nothing more. I wasn't sure what he was looking to get from me, but I wasn't going to talk just to talk. If he wanted me to say something, he was going to have to ask the questions. And, even then, I didn't know how forthcoming I wanted to be. A part of me was on immediate alert, thinking I should contact a lawyer before I said another word. But another part of me didn't want to complicate things, didn't want to do anything that would raise his suspicions even more.

“
You sticking around for awhile?” he asked.

“
Just until my car's fixed. Then I'm on my way.”

“
To?”

“
Madison. For school.”

“
The university?”

I nodded. He wasn't just making casual conversation. I knew he'd be calling the school, asking if I was enrolled. He was going to verify every answer I gave him.

“Where's your car?” he asked.

“
With some guy named Sven. He's putting a transmission in it.”

He nodded again, probably reminding himself to call Sven.

“How are your parents?” he asked.

I laughed and shook my head. “Really? You wanna make small talk?” I glared at him. “Maybe soften me up and then I'll tell you all my dark secrets without realizing what I'm doing?”

He didn't say anything, just watched me, his face void of expression.

I looked away from him. “I've seen too many Law & Order episodes to let you catch me with that one, Sheriff.” I paused. “But they're fine. I'll let them know you asked.”

He shifted his weight, his boots scuffing against the sidewalk. “Tell me again how you ended up here.”

“
Didn't my sister and Ty and everyone else you asked tell you?” I asked, cutting my eyes back to him.

He didn't blink. “I want to hear it from you.”

I took a deep breath and recounted how I'd left North Dakota, how the car had conked out on the road, how Ty had found me and how he'd invited me to stay with them.

“
And you didn't think it was weird to come and stay here?” the sheriff asked.

“
I didn't know this was where he lived.”

“
You had your eyes closed on the drive over?”

I felt my defenses go on high alert. He was doing his best to get under my skin and I was determined to try to stay calm. “I meant until we pulled up here.”

He raised an eyebrow. “And then?”

“
And then we were here and I didn't know what to tell him,” I said. “So I didn't say anything.”

“
I've gathered that.”

I made a face and squinted into the sunlight, wishing I was any other place on Earth. The storm from earlier had blown through, leaving a trail of thin clouds. They streaked across the sky like a spool of ribbon.

“Last night, I understand that you took a walk,” he said.

“
Yep.”

“
And that's when you met the little girl and her family?”

I shrugged. “I'm not sure I'd say met. We were walking one way, they were walking another. Ty said hello to the father. Then we kept walking and they kept walking. End of story.”

“Except it wasn't,” Jorgenson commented.

I felt my anger flare and I wanted nothing more than to scream at him, to tell him that nothing had happened. But I knew that would only make things worse so I pressed my lips together and stared at the cracks in the pavement.

“Then what happened this morning?” he asked.

I expelled a breath. “Ty and I were talking. Right here on the steps. Mr. Reilly called for him. Came outside,” I said. A lump formed in my throat. “We took off to go and help look for her with everyone else. Ty and I took the bank. I was down by the river. And I found her.”

“You found her,” he said and his words sounded accusatory, as if finding her had been some sort of crime.

“
Yeah,” I said. “I found her. I couldn't tell if she was unconscious or what, but we rolled her over, she coughed up water and Ty said she was alright.”

“
And then?”

I shuffled my feet against the step. “And then? I passed out.”

“You passed out.” He repeated my words and I could tell from the tone of his voice that he didn't believe a word I was saying.

I stayed quiet.

“Why did you go where you went?” he asked.

“
What?”

He sighed impatiently. “The riverbank. Why did you go there? To that particular spot?”

“Because that's where everyone else was headed,” I said. “To the river.”

“
But you found her.”

“
So? If I hadn't, someone else would've. She wasn't hidden.”

“
But
you
found her.”

I didn't know what he was getting at. “Yeah. So?”

“Almost like you knew exactly where to look,” he said. His brown-gray eyes were on me, cool, assessing.

I stared back at him. I knew what he was insinuating. I took a steadying breath and tried to keep my cool. “I was having breakfast with the Reillys this morning when she went missing. Or do you think I've somehow convinced all of them to lie for me?”

“I don't know exactly when she went missing,” he said.

“
I was never alone,” I told him.

He nodded, but his expression told me that he didn't seem to care that much. “But yet you found her.”

“We've already agreed on that.”

He leaned against the porch railing and looked out toward the campground for a moment before moving his eyes back to me. “Here's what I'm having a problem with, Lily. You show up here out of the blue. And, despite it being the place your own sister died, you decide to stay. You don't tell anyone about your history here. Then another girl—another girl who is almost the spitting image of your little sister—goes  missing and you happen to be the one who finds her.” He bit his bottom lip for a moment, looking like he was thinking about all of his words. “That, my dear, is just a bit too coincidental for me.”

“I don't know what to tell you other than what I've already told you,” I said evenly. “Except that I didn't do a fucking thing wrong.”

He glared at me. “Watch your mouth, young lady.” His voice was sharp.

I looked away.

“
As far as I'm concerned, your sister's death was never resolved properly,” he said. “And while I'm grateful that this little girl was found safe, I'm still troubled by the fact that she disappeared and went into the river, just like your sister did. And once again, you're here, right smack in the middle of it. I've been doing this too long to know that there's something we're not seeing. Because I don't believe in coincidences.”

The way he spoke, his tone measured and even, had me doubting my own story. The sheriff had a way of doing that. He made me feel small, the way he spoke to me and looked at me. And he made me feel guilty. I remembered it from when I was younger. It made me want to crawl into a hole and I remember being scared of him even after my father told him to get lost. I was feeling small and guilty again, but I wasn't going to crawl into any holes.

I finally spoke. “Maybe it's you, then.”

“
Excuse me?”

I'd caught him off-guard and it was all the invitation I needed to continue. “You were here then. You're here now. Right smack in the middle of it.” I looked up at him. “To use your words, Sheriff.”

Crimson spread through his cheeks.

I stood. “So maybe I'll do what you've done. Start asking people about you, insinuating that you aren't the good old sheriff you'd like everyone to believe you are. Then let's see what people think about coincidences.” I knew I was in dangerous territory, but I didn't care. I didn't want him bullying me. Harassing me.

“You need to watch yourself, Miss McMahon,” he said quietly.

“
Is that a threat?” I asked.

“
I am telling you to watch yourself,” he said again.

“
I'm done with this,” I said, turning to head back inside.

“
We're done when I say we're done.”

I turned back to him. “Am I under arrest?” I demanded.

He didn't say anything.

“
I'll take that as a no,” I said. “So since I'm not under arrest and I've answered your questions and been totally cooperative, I'm going back inside. And if you need to talk to me again, please let me know. I'll find an attorney to sit with you who can explain the concept of harassment.”

I turned and went back into the house, slamming the screen door behind me. My heart was hammering and my hands shook as I closed the door. The blood whooshed through my ears and I breathed in and out, trying to steady my breathing.

I'd stood up to him and it had felt good but it didn't change the fact that he'd found a way to rattle me. Rattle me good.