Page 89 of It's One of Us

“She was beautiful, though, wasn’t she?” Scarlett is winding her hair around her fist, then holsters it on top of her head in a messy bun. “So contained. She looked like she hurt, hearing all of those things about her husband. I think it would kill me.”

“When did you get so wise, little girl?”

“I’m not a little girl anymore, Mom. I haven’t been for a long time.”

“Drinking coffee doesn’t make you a grown up, Scarlett. You’re sixteen.”

“And my brother is a serial assaulter and alleged murderer. I think that might give me an edge over some of my peers.”

“We don’t know—”

“Yes, we do. At least, I know what the girls at school are saying is true. Maybe not the details, but after that sleepover, most of them wanted nothing to do with me. I’ve never known why. Now I do.”

Darby is again washed with shame, and something more, something deeper, a guilt that eats her from the inside. “You didn’t tell me. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“What would you be able to do about it? They’re teenage girls. They’re horrid, and mean, and I’m glad we aren’t friends anymore.” There is a bitterness in her daughter’s voice that tears her in two. As her mother, she should be able to fix things. Fix all of this. And she can’t. She’s brought this on them.

“I want to meet him,” Scarlett repeats stubbornly.

“It might not be safe, Scarlett. This man is a stranger to us both, he’s on the police’s radar, and what if he was responsible for that little girl’s disappearance? What kind of mother would I be launching you into his world without knowing if he’s guilty or not?”

“Mom, come on. You’re being paranoid. Besides, you’ll be there with me. I swear, if we get even a hint of weirdo off of him, we’ll bolt.”

Darby blows out a breath. She wants to shut this down before it starts, yet she has to admit, she is curious. Curious to see what of this man helped create her possibly monstrous son.

“We can reach out to Park Bender if you want, but don’t expect anything. And try your brother’s phone again.”

“I just did.” Scarlett flops heavily in the kitchen chair. “Mom, could he really have done these things?”

She sounds like a little girl and Darby so wishes she could just shake her head and deny it is remotely possible, but that is a lie. And she’s not going to lie to Scarlett, ever again.

“Yes. He could have. I’m sick to my soul to even think it, but yes, it’s possible. But let’s pray they are wrong about your brother.”

36

THE WIFE

Perry brings Olivia a glass of water and a painkiller, which she accepts gratefully.

“You should eat something with those. They’ll wreck your stomach.”

“I haven’t been very hungry,” she admits. “Perry. How are we going to fix this? They’re making Park look like some sort of serial killer.”

She knows he hears the question in her statement—There’s no way these things are true, are they? Have I misjudged my husband from the beginning?—because he shakes his head automatically.

“You know he’s not.”

She shifts, adjusting the sling and grimacing slightly.

“Maybe...” she says finally. “I never thought he was that kind of man. His darkness lies elsewhere, and he channels it into his work. That’s why he loves writing so much. He gets all that creepy stuff out of his head and onto the page, and people eat it up. It amazes me how well those books do.”

A slight frown of confusion darkens Perry’s brow.

Oh, damn. “You don’t know, do you? Crap. Park will kill me if he knows I’ve said something.”

“Awful phrasing, babe. I thought Park was an English professor?”

“He is. He’s just on a sabbatical right now, doing a side project. Can you just pretend you didn’t hear me? I’m stoned. I’m rambling.”