Page 94 of Dark Roads

“I can’t talk anymore.” Beth couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes, the horrible, sickening realization that Mason’s death had fixed nothing. The pain was still the same.

“The doctors say you will be in the hospital for a few days,”her dad said, “but after that, you still need to be watched closely. We’ll bring you back to Vancouver with us.”

“I’m not ready. I have a campsite, and things to deal with.”

“We can pack your site.”

“I said I’m notready. Things aren’t magically fixed now that Mason is dead. I’ve made a mess of my life. I don’t want to be a lawyer anymore. I don’t know what I want.” Pressure was building in the room, coming loud and fast like a thousand voices all talking at once.

Leaving Cold Creek meant leaving Amber behind. It meantliving. Beth wouldn’t see Jonny or Hailey again. She’d have to deal with things. She’d have to get a job and a future.

“You don’t have to decide today. We’ll stay in town.”

Beth’s vision blurred with fatigue as she looked up at the ceiling. She let her eyelids drift closed. Sleepiness settled over her like a weighted blanket.

“The car broke down,” she slurred to her dad, forcing her eyelids open so she could look at him. A nurse had come into the room. She was fussing with the bag, adding something to the IV. Warmth enveloped Beth’s hand. Her dad’s large palm closing over her fingers, a cocoon.

“I’ll have someone look at it.”

“Get some rest.” Her mom’s voice. Soft, but firm, like when she used to tuck her in at night. She’d always turn off the light, even though Beth hated the dark and would lie stiff under her blanket until Amber tiptoed into her room and turned the light back on. For a moment she could see her sister’s face hovering over the bed, eyes dark and serious. She was saying something about Hailey. Beth tried to speak, to ask if she was okay, but she couldn’t open her mouth. The last image that floated through her mind was Hailey running through the woods.

CHAPTER 37

Beth

Thompson arrived the next day with a quick knock on the door to alert her before he strode in, dressed in a navy suit, hair neat. “How are you feeling?” He sat in the chair near the window.

“Like a psychopath tried to kill me.” Beth’s throat felt better with the swelling going down, but she was still getting headaches and blurred vision. She wiggled upright.

“Well, I’m glad he didn’t succeed. Are you okay? I don’t just mean all this.” He pointed to her bandages and the IV. “I mean in here.” He tapped his head.

He was the first person to ask her that, and the sudden rush of tears to her eyes was embarrassing. Especially because his niceness was probably a trick so she would trust him.

“I haven’t been able to process it all.”

“There are some great counselors you can speak to through victim services.”

“What about victim rights? I didn’t appreciate Vaughn interrogating me.”

“Sergeant Vaughn?”

“Is there some other Vaughn?” Then she realized, from his confused expression, that he hadn’t known Vaughn had come to the hospital. “Guess your communication isn’t so good.”

“He probably hasn’t had a chance to brief me yet.”

“Sure.” She gave him a look that made it clear what she thought of his justification.

“I’d like to ask you some questions.”

“What’s the point of this? Mason’s dead.”

“We still have unsolved cases.”

“Did you find Amber’s bracelet?”

“Not yet. But we haven’t finished searching Mason’s property.”

They’d be looking for graves and bones. Personal belongings. Amber’s purse had never been found. Beth wondered what he’d done with hers. In the end, her gun hadn’t helped her. She tugged the blanket tighter around her body. “Did Vaughn find anything in the bedrooms?”