Page 78 of Dark Roads

“He won’t kill me. He wants me blamed for everything.”

Tires on pavement, an engine. Another car was coming down the road—and the lights would reveal me. I rolled into a ball and tucked myself close to the big tire. The car slowed and stopped.

The engine idled. A door opened, slammed shut. Vaughn got out of his car next, also slamming the door. “What are you doing here?” He sounded pissed off.

“You weren’t answering the radio.” Thompson’s voice. Good, unless it turned out that he was also a dirty cop. I peeked around the side of the tire.

“Mr. Miller here was speeding.”

“What happened to his face?”

“He was resisting arrest.”

“He’s lying!” Jonny yelled from the ground. “He just wanted to beat me up.”

“Found drugs in his glove box. Looks like a few ounces of cocaine. I’m bringing him in.”

“He planted it!” Jonny shouted. “I don’t deal—ask anyone.”

“That’s enough out of you.” Vaughn stalked over to Jonny, dragged him up by his cuffed arms, and led him toward his car. Jonny stumbled, his balance off. They moved out of my sight.

The sound of a door opening. Noises, like bodies grappling, a grunt of pain, then the door slammed shut. Vaughn and Thompson walked a few steps away—but closer to me.

“He looks bad,” Thompson said. “You should have a doctor look at him.”

Vaughn grunted. “He’s a drug-dealing dirtbag. He tried to run. He had it coming, believe me. Get this truck towed. I want it in the impound.”

Vaughn drove off. I waited for Thompson to walk back to his car, but his steps were going in the opposite direction. He opened the driver’s door of Jonny’s truck. It sounded like he was searching, but he was being more methodical than Vaughn. What was he looking for?

I tensed, my fingers digging into the earth. Finally, Thompson’s boots crunched over to his car and the door closed. I didn’t have much time.

I shimmied to the back of Jonny’s truck, rolled out, and crawled into the woods until I was hidden by the trees. Then I got to my feet and sprinted toward Jonny’s house.

CHAPTER 30

Beth

Beth waited for hours. She stared out at the lake, annoyed with herself for being disappointed. Jonny didn’t trust her—and maybe he was right. Why was she keeping the truth to herself? She should tell Thompson. He needed to investigate Vaughn. But she kept circling back to the other reality. If shedidtell Thompson, then she was putting Hailey in danger.

She felt lost without her phone. She was sure Hailey had stolen it, the bike parts too. Those fresh paw prints she’d seen by the lake were a dead giveaway. Plus she’d heard someone at the diner say that the Alberta man had been bitten. By midnight, she gave up on Jonny and huddled in the backseat of her car. She took a Xanax, and when that didn’t work, took another.

The next morning, dry-mouthed and groggy, she got ready for work. When she opened the driver’s door of her car, she paused, trying to understand what she was seeing. Her cell phone was on the front seat. Black screen. Dead. Hailey had returned her phone.

Beth looked around but the campground was silent. She would charge the phone at the diner and see if Jonny had texted her.

By the time she got into town, the morning rush was well underway. She hurried inside and called, “Sorry!” at Mason as she wrapped her apron around her waist. “Car problems.”

He frowned. “Again?”

“Yeah, I left the interior light on. So dumb.” She fussed behind the counter, grabbed her notepad, and shoved it into her pocket. “What are the specials today?”

He pointed to the chalkboard. “Pork patty breakfast sandwich. We talked about it yesterday.”

“Right, of course.”

“You sure you’re okay? Have you spoken to Jonny?”

She paused, menus in hand. “No. Did something happen?”