“Like I said, we can revisit the idea in the future. Maybe six months from now. Maybe a year. It will come eventually. But for now, the answer is a hard no. Let’s not cause any unnecessary tension.”
“I’m not causing anything,” he bit back, his tone sharping as his voice rose. “I’m simply asking for what I’m worth. We don’t have to wreck the great relationship we’ve built. You just need to start appreciating me a little more.
“I care about you too, but I don’t see where you get off saying I’m so helpful, saying you see all the work I do, but being unwilling to give me the pay I deserve. If you really appreciate me, show me by giving me the money. Most people wouldn’t do all I do.”
“Most people wouldn’t expect to be handed a share of the profits,” Lyla argued, her tone growing heated as well. “That’s a huge ask. You can’t just come in here demanding something like that, then getting bitter because I say no.”
“You are so ungrateful! You know, I was approached by Brittany and Sam a couple of weeks ago. They offered me a job at their bed and breakfast, and they offered me a lot more money than you pay me currently. I turned the job down because I’m loyal to this family. Because I care about this property so much. But I’m starting to see the feeling isn’t reciprocated.”
That stung. Finding out her best friend tried to steal Lyla’s most important asset to her business stung. Hearing Billy say he thought they didn’t care about him stung. This whole conversation hurt her in a way that made her angry. She tried not to lash out, but that comment disintegrated her self-control.
“Is that so?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
“It is,” he insisted. “Apparently they see the hard work I do and think I’d be an asset. An asset they’d be willing to pay fairly.”
“Well, if working for them would be so much better than working here, maybe you should take the offer,” she hissed.
“Maybe I will!”
Billy stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind him.
44
Clara put the book down for a moment as she considered the ramifications of this revelation. It sounded like Lyla and Billy had quite the nasty fight, but was it reason enough for Billy to want them dead?
Perhaps not. It would seem like an overreaction if he killed them simply because he didn’t get the raise he wanted, especially because he was offered more money by Brittany and Sam. If he was that angry about it, he could always quit and work for them instead.
However, the refusal could’ve been simply one too many slights after already having lost the bed and breakfast to them. This was personal to Billy, and the fact that he cared so much could possibly drive him to murder. Clara continued on to the next page.
Lyla had talked to Richard about her conversation with Billy that night. He agreed that they simply couldn’t give Billy what he wanted right now. They were in a tough situation and they couldn’t afford any extra expenses.
A couple of days later, Lyla and Billy apologized to each other. He still wanted the raise, but he cared about the family and the property too much to leave. So, he stayed, and they tried to make it work.
It seemed things were never quite the same after that though. The buried bitterness led to various small fights and noticeable tension. Before the issue of payment could be truly resolved, before they could give Billy the raise they wanted to give him, the family was murdered.
Clara took the book downstairs. It seemed to only confirm her suspicions. Based off what she read in the diary so far, Billy was the only one who the couple had ever fought with. He was the only one who’d have reason to kill them. She didn’t understand why Richard and Lyla couldn’t see he was the most obvious suspect.
They cared about him though. Clara chalked it up to that. They cared about him and they’d probably be so hurt to learn he was the one who killed them. But it would clear their names and possibly give them enough closure to move onto whatever came next, which was far more important.
Clara felt like she was closing in on an answer. The pieces were adding up. But was it enough to clear their names? It was likely enough to get the police to at least look at him as a suspected again.
Much like before, her initial reaction was to protect Ezra from this information that might worry him. That idea quickly faded. They had learned that they needed each other, and keeping things from each other hadn’t helped at all. So, she went straight to Ezra this time. He took an early lunch and she showed him the diary.
After he finished reading the most important sections, they went into the living room. Ezra started a fire in the fireplace, filling the room with the smoky scent of the pine logs. The warm colors of the living room brought them together, as the fuzzy blankets against their skin comforted them. They curled up on the couch, Clara’s feet in Ezra’s lap. They needed to be close. They only felt safe now when they were together.
“What do you think?” Clara asked. “Do you think it’s enough to get the investigators to take a second look at the case? Do you think they’d take the diary seriously?”
“I don’t know,” Ezra said. “It’s something to consider for sure. I don’t see how they wouldn’t take it seriously. But they do seem dead set on pegging Lyla and Richard for the murders. So, I’m not too sure. At the very least, we should probably hand it over to them though.”
“You’re right,” Clara nodded. “At least if we give the diary to them, then they
