Page 6

Chapter Six

T here’s a police car in my rearview mirror, flashing its lights. There are no other cars on the road. The police officer wants me to stop.

Oh no. Have they discovered the body already?

Maybe Scotty Dwyer didn’t believe my story as much as I thought he did. Maybe after another hour, he went back to our house. He would have noticed the windows were dark inside. And then what? Would he have busted down the door to see what was inside? That seems extreme.

But he could have discovered the key we always keep under the potted plant by the back door. Scott is smart enough to check the obvious places.

My hands tighten on the steering wheel until my knuckles go white.

I wish Scott had insisted on looking around.

He would have discovered the body, and I could have told him everything that happened.

Scott was so kind to me when we were younger—he would have believed me. He would have known I’m not a murderer.

But it’s worse now. I fled the scene of the crime. The more distance I put between myself and Derek’s body, the more guilty I look.

There’s no chance of a high-speed chase right now.

I pull over to the side of the road as carefully as I can.

The police car pulls over behind me. I sit there for a moment, my heart pounding so hard, I might have a heart attack.

I almost hope I do. It would be easier than dealing with what’s going to happen next.

The police officer takes his sweet time getting out of the vehicle.

I had been hoping it might be Scott, but it isn’t.

It’s somebody I don’t know. He’s a large man with a shaved head, dressed in a dark uniform, and he’s got an umbrella in his right hand as he makes his way to my car.

Somehow, the umbrella makes him seem a little less scary.

Until he raps hard on the window of my car.

I roll down the window. Immediately, bits of icy rain smack me in the face. I do my best to smile, even though I am about to pee in my pants. In the shadows, I can just barely make out the lines in the officer’s face.

“Hi, Officer,” I say. “Um, everything okay?”

“I wouldn’t have stopped you if it were, would I? Let’s see your license, Miss.”

My hands are shaking as I reach for my purse. It takes me two tries to get my wallet open and slide out my driver’s license. I almost drop it as I try to hand it to him.

“Quinn Alexander.” He reads my name off my license, then looks up to match the picture with my face. “A bit of a way from home, aren’t you?”

I shrug. “I’m, uh… visiting some friends.”

“I see. Awfully bad weather for a road trip.”

“Yeah, kind of.” I swallow a hard lump in my throat. “Look, Officer, I couldn’t have been speeding. I’ve been going well under the speed limit.”

He waits for a beat. “That isn’t why I pulled you over.”

“Oh…” I wrack my brain, trying to think of something I might have done wrong. I mean, other than murdering a man a few hours ago. “I… I don’t understand.”

The officer nods at the back of my vehicle. “You got a busted taillight. On the left.”

Is that it? Thank God. “Do I?”

“Yeah.” He frowns at me. “When it’s this dark out, a broken taillight can kill you.

A car might be behind you and just see the one light, and maybe they think you’re a motorcycle or who knows what.

I’ve seen some nasty accidents happen because of broken taillights.

I won’t give you a ticket, but you need to get it fixed as soon as possible. For your own safety.”

“Oh…” I nod soberly. “I’ll be sure to take care of it right away.”

“Are you almost at your friend’s house?”

“Yes. Just about.”

He hands me back my driver’s license. “You need to get off the road—soon. With this storm and now your busted taillight… It’s an accident waiting to happen.”

“Right. I understand.”

“The next time I see you, I don’t want it to be in a body bag.”

I can’t help but think of Derek. Have they discovered him yet? No, they couldn’t have. If they had, this police officer wouldn’t be letting me go.

I almost can’t believe it when the officer walks back to his car. He didn’t arrest me. I’m still free. But for how long?

I pull back onto the road, recognizing that the first chance I’ve got, I have to change course and go in a completely different direction. Once they start searching for me, the officer will remember me. He’ll remember what direction I was headed in.

But for now, I’ve got a bigger problem. If I keep driving around with this broken taillight, I’ll get pulled over again.

The next time I might not be so lucky. I’ve got to get off the road.

Just for the night, and then I can start driving again in the morning.

Nobody will notice a broken taillight in the daytime.

And that’s when I see the sign on the side of the road. It’s so tiny that I almost miss it. And that’s perfect.

The Baxter Motel. That’s where I’ll spend the night, then tomorrow bright and early, I’ll get back on the road.