The more I thought about it, the clearer my two options became. The way I saw it, the first was getting to Maryland before Ash did. I’d have to camp out at the storage facility and try to talk to him, but no doubt Maya would be there, and my credit card was dangerously close to being maxed out. As things stood, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pay for the gas to even get there. The second option was to wait until they came back to Newdale. It would give Ash time to cool off and provide me with more opportunity to work out what to say, but it also afforded Maya the same chance to turn him against me even more.
It was almost eight in the morning now and I still hadn’t decided. I wasn’t due at the Cliff’s Head until tomorrow, and I already knew Patrick would accuse me of being a thief. He wouldn’t believe me when I said I hadn’t taken the money, and no doubt Maya had already told him about the cash in my room. With my history, it wouldn’t be hard to convince people I’d gone back to my old thieving ways.
As I debated whether I should go to Brookmount or wait it out in Newdale, my phone rang. When I saw it was Heron, I declined the call, listened to the voice mail she left me a few moments later, my grip tightening around my phone as she spoke.
“Lily, it’s Detective Heron. I have news. We believe Jason Whitmarsh attacked Jack on the beach the night he went missing, and we have enough evidence to charge him with manslaughter. A witness will testify Jack was new to the poker group, in fact it was the first time he’d played with them. He won the game fair and square, well, as fair and square as an illegal game can be won, but Whitmarsh wouldn’t accept it. He insisted Jack was a hustler and made it very clear he’d get his money back somehow. Anyway, you’re no longer a person of interest, okay? Please contact me when you get this message.”
I thought about calling her, but what was the point? She was so far away and couldn’t help me with the situation here, and, anyway, could I trust her? Would Ash be in trouble if I told her he was alive? Would I be, considering I’d known for more than a week and hadn’t told them? Maybe this was just a ploy to find out where I was. How could I be sure they no longer suspected me? No, I decided, I wouldn’t call her, not yet. I needed a little bit more time, wanted to tell Ash the details I’d found out about Whitmarsh and see if it sparked a memory. Except he wouldn’t believe anything I said now, not until he understood what Maya was doing to him.
I wondered if I should call Sam for help, but he couldn’t do anything, either. I’d texted him about the side effects of clonazepam as soon as I’d got to the motel, and he’d filled me in a few minutes before Maya had knocked on my door with my sweater—a false pretext for a visit if I’d ever heard one. That’s when I’d realized she’d been giving Ash the pills. I thought about how she’d practically dared me to hunt for evidence relating to Ash’s departure from Newdale, something to incriminate her. She’d said there was none but...
I stopped pacing the room as another path crystalized in my mind. With Ash and Maya in Brookmount, the house would be empty. If I could get inside while they were away, I’d have ample time to search the place, see if I could find something that would help me convince Ash his sister was crazy. My mind raced ahead as I packed my things, deciding I’d have to make everyone believe I’d left town in case Maya asked around. There was a dirt track a few hundred yards before her house, an ideal place for hiding my car while I hunted through her things.
Fiona hadn’t been at the front desk when I’d checked in last night and wasn’t there when I dropped off my key. I was grateful. I didn’t want to explain how things hadn’t worked out with Ash, and I was going home. Thankfully, my credit card payment for the room went through, and within a few minutes I was in my car, heart thumping at the thought of breaking into Ash and Maya’s home. She wasn’t stupid, and she’d have moved the spare key, but I’d have to get in somehow, either by jimmying the door or a window. Whatever. I’d make it work.
I drove down the long road and past Keenan’s place, which looked abandoned. I kept expecting Maya’s Pathfinder to come in the opposite direction, but when I got to the dirt track, I turned and drove up until the path veered to the left, and the road behind me was no longer visible. I got out and continued on foot, staying hidden in the brush as I made my way to the house. I needn’t have bothered being so secretive. Maya’s car wasn’t there. I couldn’t be certain they’d already left town, but as I listened, the only sounds filling the air were the gentle noises of chirping birds and the leaves waving in the wind.
I crept across the grass, circling around to the front of the house, trying not to wince as the deck creaked beneath my weight. I couldn’t break in until I was sure no one was home, and I rang the doorbell, counting
