“What the hell did you say?”
I hear the gun cock. I hearDenny tell her to calm down. But Annie won’t stop.
“What about Jade, Denny?” Hervoice has a different tone now. “She’s your sister, don’t you givea shit about her?”
“If I didn’t give a shit abouther, I would’ve told the cops the truth about her past, but Ididn’t. It would’ve made her look worse than she already does.”
“She needs help, Denny. There’ssomething you don’t know.”
“What?”
Annie pauses for a moment beforecontinuing. “I saw Jade come home in the morning. I was stillgroggy from the shit we took. But I remember hearing her come intothe bedroom. I could feel her standing over me but I didn’t open myeyes, I just lay there. After a few minutes, she left the room andthen I heard the front door open. I got up and looked out theliving room window. I could see Robbie—he’d passed out on thebeach, waiting for you to come back.
“Jade came around the side ofthe house. She was carrying the floatation pad and something else.I watched as she walked to the wharf where Robbie was. She stoodover him for a minute and then bent down close to his head. Thenext thing I knew, she was tying the pad around his waist. I wastoo afraid to run out there. I mean…as far as I knew, she couldhave tied the cushion to him so that he wouldn’t drown if he felloff the wharf.”
I can’t believe what I’mhearing. Lies. My wife, the person I love more than anyone, istelling Denny lies about me. Why? To cover up her own guilt?
My chest is feeling tight andit’s getting hard to breathe.
I hear Annie’s voice again. “Ican’t do this anymore, Denny. Jade is in a constant state of panic.She’s always wondering when the cops are going to show up again.She doesn’t eat well and she gets up in the middle of the night andpaces around the house. This shit has to stop. I’m going to callthe cops. You’re going to tell them what you know.”
“No fucking way. I’m not stayinghere and waiting for the police to show up. I have a plan andthat’s not it.”
“Well, I’m the one holding thegun, so I think I’m the one that’s calling the shots.”
“You’re not going to shoot me,Annie. You’d go to jail for life.”
“Over killing you? I doubt it.You’re a guy with mental problems who happens to be a suspect in amurder investigation. Plus, I’m a small pregnant woman. All I haveto say is that you were in my house when I got home, so I grabbedthe gun and shot you. I was protecting my home and my unborn child.Case closed.”
“That will never stick, Annie.You’re forgetting that this house is owned by my family, so really,I should be protecting my home.”
“Fuck you.”
There are loud thumps andcrashes as, I assume, cans fall from shelves. Then, I hear the boomof the gun.
I yell into the receiver:“Denny, are you there? Annie?” I hear three quick beeps, and I pullthe phone from my ear and look at the screen. The logo flashes, andthe screen goes black. The battery had died.
I throw the phone on the seat. Itry to focus, but my thoughts are starting to fragment and nothingis making sense. I hear a buzzing sound in my ears and my headfeels strange, like my hair is made out of electricity.
Confusing pictures flash throughmind, and Annie’s words ring in my ears. I see Annie on the bed,naked, then I see my truck with the door open and Tim’s greymedical case is on the seat. Next I see Robbie lying half naked onthe wharf. I have no idea if these are memories orvisualizations.
I’m still parked in the middleof the road when I hear the faint sound of sirens. When the soundsgrow louder, I start the truck and pull over. A police car races byand another one pulls up beside me. I see Dickson in the passengerseat. He gets out and walks to my window. I look into his face, Hiseyes are serious, like pools of darkness, and I flash to thedream.
Robbie’s black eyes stare at meas he pulls me into the water.
Then, everything fades toblack.
Chapter Sixteen
The first thing I see when Iopen my eyes is a blur of white. Soft pinging sounds in thedistance get louder as my eyes focus. I turn my head and lookaround. I’m in a room, a hospital room. Beside me is a small whitebedside table with a box of tissues and a lamp.
Why am I in the hospital? Whathappened?
On the other side of the room isa closed door with a small narrow window. I lift my head and lookdown the bed. Am I hurt? Is that why I’m here? I try to sit up butI can’t. I look down and see my hands cuffed to the sides of thebed.
A bolt of fear shoots through mystomach and up to my head. I start to scream for help. My breathingis shallow, but I keep screaming.
Suddenly, I hear a rattling atthe door, like a key in a lock. Turning my head to the side, I seea woman about fifty walk in. Her brown hair has streaks of grey andis pulled tightly in a ponytail at the back. She’s wearing pinkscrubs and has a laminated I.D tag hanging from a red cord aroundher neck.
“What’s the problem here,Jade?”
“What’s the problem? I don’tknow where here is, I guess that’s my first problem.”
“You’re in the hospital inNanaimo.”
“Why? And why am I cuffed to thebed?”
“The doctor is just talking withanother gentleman in the hall. They will be in momentarily toexplain things to you.”
“Can you free my hands,please?”
“Wait until you see the doctor,”she says before walking out of the room. A few seconds later, Ihear the door lock.
My mind is racing with questionsas I try to recount the last moments before waking up here.
I remember being in the truck onmy way home from work. I called Denny. He finally answered. He wasat the cottage and I remember
