Page 152 of Nobody's Fool

Grayson smiles as he looks through the photographs. “My lawyers bought it, didn’t they? So did the cops.”

“That they did.”

“Powell did me some good though. He followed you to the park.”

“It’s why you had to kill him.”

“Would have killed him anyway.”

“You killed Nicole. You killed Victoria. You killed Powell.”

“Not sure it will do me any good to deny it.”

“No,” I say. “It won’t. I’m curious though. Were you trying to kill me in the park—or were you aiming for her?”

“Truth?”

I shrug. “Why not?”

“I wasn’t sure who to kill. That was the problem. I’ve always wanted to kill you, of course. But then your pain would be over. So I figured that I would kill this other woman who clearly mattered to you first. Then maybe I would kill your wife. Then I would kill your little boy. That would be the best of all. And then, after that, you. But I wasn’t sure if that makes sense. I think that distracted me. Threw off my aim a little.” He grins. “Still, I’m happy to have killed her. She meant something to you, didn’t she?”

“She did.”

“And it’s your fault she died,” he says. “That’ll make the trip back inside much easier. I assume you’re taping this.”

“It’s a live mic,” I say, tapping my chest. And then I add, “Okay, guys.”

The cops swarm in, but I don’t wait to see the arrest. I don’t need to. I head out into the cool night. I pull up the collar on my coat. Marty is there. I nod at him, but I have one more place to go. He lets me be. I take the subway to Craig’s and take my car. I drive back up to the recently dug grave. The sun is starting to rise. There is no marker here. I’m sure they ordered a tombstone that would read Victoria Belmond. I don’t know how I feel about that. This is Anna. Anna Marston. But maybe she was Victoria Belmond too. Like I said before. She was Victoria. And she was not.

It’s not my place to decide.

But I need to tell her what I’m doing.

I can calculate it like Archie. I can look at the various angles and odds and try to figure out what would produce the best result. I think about them all—Archie, Talia, Thomas, Madeline, Vicki, Stacy. I think about young Victoria Belmond and how her drunk brother crushed her against a tree and how her father buried her in the woods, and I know that while there has been plenty of anguish, there is no chance for real justice. No one is going to prison. No one is going to get convicted of anything. I don’t know whether they should.

But mostly, I think about you, Anna.

You took on the role of Victoria Belmond. I bet you thought it was the best thing that ever happened to you. After so much heartache, you had a family. After a life of abuse, you found your people. They loved you, and you loved them. I don’t doubt that. I believed you when you told me that you loved them. I believed them when they told me the same about you.

So in a sense, as Archie Belmond told me, it was the best move for all.

Except, Anna, you’re dead.

Maybe that’s on me. Maybe I’m just trying to deflect blame from myself, but I’m wondering right now—if Archie Belmond had called the police that night, if Thomas Belmond had faced the music for what he did—you, my brief love, would probably still be alive. Maybe you would have found your way to a better life without Archie Belmond’s offer. Or not. Maybe if Archie and Thomas had told the truth, everyone would have been worse off. Probably. And that’s the point. There are no guarantees.

Which is why you shouldn’t calculate the odds.

Which is why you should seek the truth.

The truth may not set you free, but it is still the way to go.

That’s what I concluded. Or let’s keep it vague—someoneconcluded. That someone leaked the information to the Three Dead Hots. They are about to embark on a podcast on the Victoria Belmond kidnapping with a new theory involving her death and replacement. That’s why they asked me to go clubbing. So they can ask me about it.

I’ll continue to give them a hard pass.

I too was left with a terrible choice, Anna. That’s what I’ve been thinking these past few weeks. Not as terrible as the one that Archie Belmond faced. But something similar. But I opted in the end to keep seeking the truth over what the odds might call “better.”

And what about the promise I made to you?