Page 66 of Her Dark Lies

“Oh, Claire.” He hugs me again, and this time, I let him. “If Karmen, or my parents, for that matter, thought this was a problem, they would have made more than a casual mention to me. This situation isn’t on you. Karmen is the one who has to redeem herself in the eyes of the family. This situation is of her own making.”

“I... I don’t know. I was just... I can’t believe you’re not mad.”

“I’m relieved, to be perfectly honest.”

“Relieved?”

He pulls me to the sofa next to him, and I lean into him. This time, instead of being claustrophobic, it’s comforting.

“Listen to me. Even if your past association with this asshole was embarrassing, don’t you see? It’s all over. I’ll bet the cameras in the house were meant to capture something that he could use to try and humiliate you, to blackmail you. To blackmail us. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s tried to blackmail a Compton. With him dead, this is all over.”

“You think so?”

“Yes. I hate that you’ve been upset, and Claire, you have to promise me if something happens in the future you will tell me immediately. But there’s nothing more to be concerned about. We can move forward with the rehearsal tonight, and with the wedding tomorrow. We’ll work out something with your dress, and it’s all going to be fine, darling. I promise. All the craziness is over. Are you feeling up to the brunch?”

“Of course. But I almost forgot. What happened with the cottages, and the remains they found? Is that why you went out there with Elliot?”

I pretend not to notice his body stiffen beside me.

“The remains...” He sighs, looking at the ceiling. I sense he’s struggling with something. “It looks like it might be a former member of our staff. Her name is Elevana. Fatima’s mother. She went missing...gosh, it must be twenty years ago? Her family thought she’d left to go to the mainland, and something happened to her there, but now it looks like she never made it off the island. She must have fallen down the cliffside path. I heard them say her skull was cracked. I know it’s awful, but at least her family has answers now.”

Will Compton’s bulging eyes and high-pitched cries invade my mind.

He killed her. He killed her. You know that he killed her.

“You don’t think this had something to do with your grandfather’s reaction to seeing me yesterday, do you?”

“No. Absolutely not. I talked to Mom about his mental state. She says he’s been confusing some of his movies with reality. He did a number of thrillers back in the day.” His voice thickens. “I hate that you might not get to know him as I do. He’s a great guy. I bumped into him last night after you’d gone to bed, and he seemed to be back to normal. The disease is stealing him away, a bit at a time.”

My stomach growls. What an inappropriate response to this terrible news. “I really am so sorry, Jack. Maybe tomorrow will be better.”

“I certainly hope so.”

“We better get going. They’ll be waiting for us.”

“Yes. Let me change really quick, and we can go down.”

He stands with me, and touches my cheek gently. His voice is soft and rumbling.

“Did he hurt you, Claire? McGowan?”

Did Shane hurt me? Yes, he did. In too many ways to count.

“Shhh,” I say, wrapping my arms around him. “It’s over now.”

38

The Watcher

Well, that was stirring.

Did you enjoy watching them confess and cuddle? I did.

Oh, don’t be such a prude. I did mention that I like to watch.

Jack and Claire are my favorite highlight reel, my number one streaming show, my elegant night out at the theater, my furtive glimpse of porn. Everything they do, everything they say. The fights and the fucking, the little kindnesses and the grand gestures. The fear, the joy, the rage.

What would they do if they knew they were on display for me? Would they be outwardly horrified but inwardly excited at the attention? All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players, yes, yes. Jack, I know would hate it. But Claire...hasn’t she been begging for attention all these years?