The Wreck (19 page)

They crossed the town line into
Granville, and Brian was grateful that from this direction they wouldn’t have
to take Tucker Road. This day had been enough of a bitch without having to face
that, too. In the dark, he couldn’t see much of anything, which was fine.
There’d be time enough for that tomorrow.

A few minutes later, Barclay pulled into
the driveway at the house, which had been painted white in his absence. He
helped his mother from the car and thanked Barclay for the ride.

“Let me know how your dad makes out,”
Barclay said.

“I will.”

He drove off, and Brian stood in the
driveway with his mother, remembering the night he’d waited there with Officer
Beckett to tell his parents that Sam had been killed in the accident. The
memory sent a shudder rippling through him. “I like the white,” he said,
forcing himself to say something as they climbed the front stairs.

“I do, too. We did it about four years
ago, I guess. The brown was so depressing. I was sick of it.”

Walking into that house was like taking a
step back in time. The furniture was new but arranged the way he remembered it.
The smell was the same—a spicy mix of potpourri and candles—and the old school
pictures of him and Sam still hung on the wall.

“I’m sorry I didn’t have time to clean
out your room or get anything ready for you,” Mary Ann said. Her shoulders
stooped with exhaustion as she led Brian past the closed door to Sam’s room.

Resting his hands on her shoulders, he
turned her to face him and pulled her tight against him as she finally broke
down.

“I’m sorry,” she said between sobs. “I
was just so scared earlier when they said Dad had collapsed, and it’s so good
to have you here, even though I know it’s hard for you.”

“Shh. Don’t be sorry. For anything. I’m
right where I need to be tonight.”

Brian Westbury had finally come home.

Part III

August 2010

A time to mourn and a time to dance … a
time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to lose and a time
to seek.

Ecclesiastes 3:5-6

S
ince Carly had taken the bed from her
room to the apartment when she moved out of her parents’ house, she was
sleeping in Cate’s old room, which was now outfitted for grandchildren. A crib
occupied one corner along with a narrow twin bed with Disney characters on the
sheets where Carly was pretending to sleep.

As if she could sleep.

Every time she closed her eyes she saw
Alicia Perry’s battered body. She had been on her back with her legs splayed
open to ensure that the person who found her would be certain to see what she’d
been through. That Alicia’s killer had arranged for her to be the one to find
the girl was a thought Carly had yet to fully process. The ramifications were
so overwhelming.

And that she had screamed, actually
screamed
,
when she found the body was another thing she couldn’t quite believe. She’d
just opened her mouth and done what anyone else would’ve done in that
situation. Apparently, she had screamed loud enough to attract the attention of
people way off in the distance, people who’d come running to see what was
wrong.

In the melee of police and chaos that
followed the grim discovery, Carly hadn’t tested her voice again to see if the
scream and the words she’d said to those who had come to her rescue were a
one-time thing or a miracle in the midst of disaster. On the order of the FBI
agent in charge of the investigation, a female Granville Police officer had
driven her to her parents’ home and explained the situation to her overwrought
parents.

Through the wall, she could hear them in
their bedroom talking about her the way they had after the accident.

Her mother was crying. “She’s in danger,
Steve. I just know it. Why would he pretend to be Michael Westbury and lure
Carly to the place where he’d left that poor girl? Why Carly?”

“I don’t know, honey, but Michael’s been
saying all of this is connected to the accident. I have to admit I wondered if
he was so desperate to clear Sam’s name that he was creating a link to the
accident. But now it certainly seems possible.”

“And he’s in the hospital, with maybe a
heart attack,” Carol said. “It’s all so unbelievable.”

Hearing that, Carly got up and went to
their room, her own heart beating so hard it echoed in her ears. She had
wondered why he hadn’t come to the lake earlier, but no one had mentioned his
name.

“Honey?” Carol sat up when she saw Carly standing
in the doorway. “What is it?”

Carly looked at her parents and said,
“What’s wrong with Chief Westbury?” Her voice was hoarse from lack of use, but
she wasn’t about to complain.

“Oh!”
Carol cried, flying out of bed. “
Oh my God!
Steve!
Did you hear that?”

“I sure did,” he said, his own voice
catching with emotion. “Do you think maybe you could say it again?”

“Did he have a heart attack?” Carly
asked.

Carol broke down as she wrapped her arms
around Carly. “Listen to you! Your voice is deeper and more mature, but it’s
you, all right. Oh, it’s definitely you!”

Steve joined them in a group hug, and the
three of them stood there like that for a long time.

Finally, Carly drew back from them. “I
want to know what’s wrong with him.”

“They don’t know, honey.” Carol cradled
Carly’s face with her hands. “He collapsed at the office, and they took him to
Rhode Island Hospital. That’s all we know.”

“Can we call Mrs. Westbury?”

“It’s kind of late,” Carol said.

“I don’t care! I need to know he’s all
right.”

“I’ll go call,” Steve offered, his eyes
glued to Carly as if he was afraid he might be dreaming.

Carol led Carly to the bed and urged her
to get in.

With her head resting on her mother’s
shoulder, Carly reveled in the comfort.

“When did you realize you could talk again?”
Carol asked, combing her fingers through Carly’s long curls.

“When I saw Alicia under the willow and I
screamed. I can’t stop thinking about her. There was blood everywhere … between
her legs, on her chest…”

“My poor baby. What an awful thing to see.”

“Mom?”

“Hmm?”

“I used to make love with Brian under
that willow.”

Carol’s hand froze, and she sat up.

“I know that’s probably something you
don’t want to know, even now, but—”

“He put her there on purpose! He’s telling
you he knows you two used to go there!”

“I think so, too.”

“Oh,
God
, Carly. God.”

“I’m scared,” Carly whispered.

Carol tightened her arms around her
daughter. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. We won’t let it.”

Steve came back.

“What did she say?” Carly asked. “Is he
all right?”

“It wasn’t a heart attack, but they’re
keeping him overnight for some tests.”

Carly and her mother exchanged relieved
glances.

“There’s one more thing you should
probably know,” Steve said hesitantly.

“What?” Carly asked.

“Brian’s home.”

A
nameless, faceless man who wanted to hurt her haunted Carly’s dreams. She ran
until her chest ached and her legs threatened to buckle beneath her. He chased
her through town to the lake, where he pushed her inside the willow tree. She
fought him, and the branches slashed at her face. Then all at once she was a
little girl. Brian was there, and he was in danger. She wanted to warn him but
couldn’t speak.

A car was on fire. Inside was her family,
the family she’d had with Brian.
Her children were in that car
. Frantic,
Carly rushed toward them, but someone held her back with strong arms that
didn’t feel friendly. The bad man returned, and this time he had Zoë. Again
Carly was under the willow, but instead of Alicia, it was Zoë she found
lifeless and beaten.

Carly awoke with a muffled scream, and
the sound coming from her own mouth startled her. Her body was bathed in sweat,
her heart pounding. She was still in her parents’ bed where she had slept with
her mother. Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she managed to eventually
slow her heart rate. As she lay there recovering from the vivid nightmare, an
image of Alicia Perry under the willow flashed through her mind. Alicia’s
killer had made sure to leave Carly with an image that would haunt her forever.

She hurt for Alicia’s family and friends,
including Zoë. They were waking up today without the hope they’d clung to since
Alicia’s disappearance. She knew that feeling. She knew it all too well.

And then she suddenly remembered.

Brian is home
.

Was he really just seven hundred and
eighty-six steps from her at that very moment? The idea filled her with the
kind of comfort and contentment—and anticipation—she hadn’t experienced since
the day he left. She wondered if she would see him.
You can’t be
disappointed if you don’t
.
He’s here to take care of his father.
But
would he really come to town and not see me? Especially after what happened
yesterday? I guess I’ll find out. Maybe I’ll even see him today.
Her heart
literally skipped a beat at that thought.
Stop it, Carly.

“Are you awake?” her mother whispered
from the door.

Carly began to nod and then remembered
she didn’t have to. “Yes.”

“It didn’t go away overnight,” Carol said
with a smile as she came into the room and perched on the bed. “I was afraid it
would.”

Carly was unaccustomed to the sound of
her own voice and the odd rumble in her throat. “I sound weird.”

“You sound like a grown-up. Your voice is
rusty from lack of use, but we’ll take it.”

“I feel bad that Dad got bounced out of
his own bed.”

“It was for a good cause. He didn’t
care.” She took Carly’s hand. “How are you feeling?”

“Sort of guilty.”

“Why guilty?”

“Because all I can think about is that
Brian’s home. Isn’t that awful when there’re so many bigger things going on
right now?”

“If I were you, that’s my first thought
today, too.”

“It wasn’t my
first
thought,”
Carly said. “But it was my second, third, fourth, and fifth thoughts.”

Carol chuckled and then sobered. “I don’t
want you to get your hopes up.”

“I was just giving myself the same
lecture. Don’t worry. I know. I might not even see him.”

“I’m sure he’s upset about what happened
to you yesterday.”

Carly shrugged. “Maybe.”

Carol held out her arms, and Carly sat up
to hug her mother. “I can’t
tell
you how good it is to be sitting here
talking to you. If you want to know
my
first thought this morning, that
was definitely it.”

Carly absorbed the comfort of her
mother’s embrace for a long moment. “Have you talked to Cate? How’s Zoë?”

Carol shook her head with dismay.
“Terrible. She was up all night.”

“I want to see her.” Carly got out of
bed. “If anyone understands what she’s going through, it’s me.”

“I went over to your place earlier to
pick up some clothes and a few other things I thought you might need,” Carol
said. “It’s all in the kids’ room.”

“Thank you. I know I should be too old to
want my mother taking care of me, but it sure feels good right now.”

“I’m glad you feel that way, because Dad
and I want you to stay here with us until they catch this guy.”

“Before yesterday I would’ve argued with
you, but not anymore.”

“Good. Then it’s settled. Why don’t you
take a shower and get dressed while I make you some breakfast?”

“I need to call Molly.” Carly stopped
herself. “I can’t believe I
can
call Molly—like anyone else would.”

Carol hugged her daughter. “It’s a
miracle—a true-blue miracle. And don’t worry about Molly. She called earlier
and said not to come to work until you feel up to it.”

“That’s nice of her. She’s been so good
to me.” Carly hesitated before she asked, “Do you think maybe I’ve been able to
talk for a while and didn’t know it? I haven’t tried very often, in fact, not
since I tried to call 911 when I found the notes when you were in Europe. So
it’s possible I could, isn’t it?”

“You would’ve known,” Carol assured her.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Carly said,
but she wasn’t entirely convinced.

After
breakfast, Carly and her mother walked the short distance to Cate’s house where
Tom greeted them with hugs. “Let’s hear it,” he said, framing Carly’s face with
his big hands.