“What the hell?” Nick asked.
“I ran into Laura the morning of her jog and confronted her about the two of you. I was mad. Mad about Emily, mad that you’d hurt Brad. But when I told her that Brad knew, and that he’d seen you that night, she argued. She said he was asleep that night and he couldn’t have seen.”
“I didn’t believe him. I thought he was lying to get me to tell Brad the truth,” Laura confirmed.
“When I took her to show her the tape Manu had shown me, he asked me not to tell anyone else. Not until the police came. He didn’t want anyone to think he was suspicious of them. Especially if Brad was guilty. But when we watched the tapes again, we noticed that Emily never made it down to the pavilion, but we knew Brad made it back to the hut, because he was there when Laura got home. So, her path was intercepted somehow, or by someone.”
“Brad had to have run into Emily when we were together,” Laura said, her head hung down. “It was just a matter of minutes after Brad was caught on tape that Andy found her body.”
“What?” Nick stood, shaking his head. “But that still doesn’t make sense. He wouldn’t—you can’t honestly think—why? Why would he…”
“We think Emily must’ve said something to him then, despite Laura’s request that she wait. She was upset, he was upset. We think Emily must’ve told Brad that he was her father, and because he didn’t know anything about Laura giving up a child that belonged to him, and because he could’ve done the math to realize she couldn’t have been his, he must’ve put it all together.”
“He killed her to keep our secret?” Nick spun back around, staring at Laura.
“To keep his own. He had to have known that it coming out would ruin our marriage. Maybe he was never planning to say anything about our affair. Maybe he was happy not knowing. Not confirming,” she said.
“Once we realized that, I worried Laura wasn’t safe. So, Manu offered to give her a place to hide in his office until the police could get here,” I said. “I was trying to do the right thing and keep her safe. I’m sorry I worried you, but if I told you, it was a risk that Brad would find out. The safest thing for all of us was to keep pretending like I didn’t know anything.”
“You thought Brad would…do the same to you?” Nick asked, the question directed at Laura.
“I had no idea what he would do. What he was capable of. I never thought he could hurt anyone, but he has. It’s the only thing that makes sense. It was just the five of us on the beach that night. We know neither of us hurt her. Andy was on the camera walking that direction after Brad. That only leaves the possibility that Emily jumped in the water herself, or Brad hurt her. Given what we know, and based on what Brad said to Andy, only one of those options sounds likely.”
“I didn’t tell you about the bracelet,” I said. “I hadn’t had the chance.” Laura looked over at me, frowning.
“Bracelet?”
“They searched your hut today, said that they needed clothes of yours to complete the canine search, and Brad gave them permission.” I looked out the window, feeling sick to my stomach. “They found Emily’s bracelet under Brad’s side of the bed. A gold one her mother gave her. She never took it off. It must’ve slipped off when—” I couldn’t finish the sentence. “I meant to tell you when I saw you, but we were interrupted.”
“Oh, my God,” Laura said, shaking her head with both hands over her mouth and nose.
“I’m just glad we know the truth. It takes some of the guilt away, you know? We did the right thing.”
“Oh my God,” Nick repeated, covering his mouth. “This is insane.”
Laura breathed out a sob. “I can’t believe he really did it. I’d held out hope that we were wrong.”
I nodded, unable to move. “Me too,” I said stiffly.
Laura sighed. “So, you see, I had to make a choice when I realized what happened. One of us had to make it back for our girls, and if he was going to jail, I just couldn’t risk him hurting me first.” She breathed heavily. “Maybe I sound ridiculous.”
Nick moved beside her, pulling her to him. He kissed her head, and I turned away, giving them a moment’s privacy. “You don’t sound ridiculous. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
After a bit, I heard him speak again. “But what about Megan? Did Brad hurt her? Could he have?”
I spun back around. “Megan’s safe, too. She’s been hiding out with Laura. I went back to my hut to put on sunscreen, and I saw her running away from your place and confronted her. I was worried something had happened. When she told me you were worried she’d done something to Laura, I had to tell her Laura was okay. She was so upset. She asked if I could help her hide, too.”
“But why?” Nick asked.
“She said she couldn’t face you without being able to tell you the truth about Laura, and she didn’t want anyone to be in danger,” I said. “So I told her to find Manu, and he put her with Laura. I’m sorry, man. I hated that you had to worry about them both.”
“I’m just glad they’re okay,” he said, rubbing Laura’s back rhythmically. “Thank you for keeping them safe.”
“No problem,” I whispered, the power gone from my voice. I should’ve been able to
