“So tell me you want me to leave. But I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say.”
She paused as she thought it over. Then she said, “My mom’s sleeping,” and glanced over her shoulder.
“We can meet in your backyard.” Now she looked up and down the street. I added, “No one followed me. I made sure.”
“I’ll grab a sweater and meet you at the bottom of the garden.”
I let myself into her backyard, careful not to let the garden gate squeak. Inside, I could see Kim moving slowly through the house. She didn’t reach for the phone. If she was genuinely afraid of me, a convicted killer, she’d have called the police. But she felt safe—probably because she knew I hadn’t killed my sister. She also didn’t call Shauna or anyone else, which meant she wanted to hear what I had to say.
She came out a side door, walking down the edge of the garden and keeping to the shadows. When she reached me she studied my arms, her eyes big as she stared at my tattoos.
She took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and held them out.
“No, thanks,” I said. When had she started smoking?
She lit up, her fingers shaking slightly, her face lit with a ghostly glow for a moment. “I can’t smoke in the house, my mom’s on oxygen.”
“I heard you were back to help her.”
She nodded, took a deep drag on her cigarette, and held the smoke down a long time before she exhaled.
“Your mom’s been sick for a while. Why are you back now?” She turned to look at me, hostility in her eyes.
“You said you had information.”
“And you want to hear it, because you know Shauna’s a problem.”
“I don’t have any problems with Shauna, but when someone shows up at my door saying they know something about a good friend of mine, I want to know what’s going on.”
“I heard you guys haven’t been in touch for years.”
“People lose touch, doesn’t mean they stop being friends.” She took a drag, sucked hard on the cigarette, and blew the smoke out in a rush. “What’s this all about? If you don’t explain why you’re here, I’m going back inside.”
“Shauna’s getting rid of you next.”
Her body jerked back, her face flooding with fear as her mouth opened wide. I waited for her to speak.
“What … what are you talking about?”
“Shauna killed Cathy.”
“This is ridiculous. I’m leaving.” But she didn’t make a move.
“You know it’s true. Whether she’s admitted it or not, she did it.”
Kim’s eyes narrowed, smoke drifting around us. “From what I heard, the cops suspect you and Ryan. They just didn’t have enough to charge you.”
“Lots of people like to say we did things we didn’t.” I changed the confrontational tone of my voice, tried to soften my words. “I don’t know why you lied at the trial, Kim, but I’ve spent most of my life in prison—for a crime you know I didn’t commit. How have you been able to live with yourself?”
She was silent, her face frozen, but I could sense that every word had hit her like a blow. And I had more for her.
“I don’t know what happened the night Nicole was murdered—but you do. And so did Cathy. She was talking to people, the story was coming out, and now she’s dead. If you thought I killed her, you wouldn’t be standing here.”
“You don’t know it was Shauna.”
“But you know, and she’s going to make sure anyone who knows what happened to Nicole can’t talk. Maybe your mom’s oxygen tank blows up, or maybe you have a car accident. There are a lot of ways someone can disappear.”
“Shauna wouldn’t kill Cathy or me.” She caught herself and added, “She wouldn’t kill anyone.”
“You can keep telling yourself that, but you know what she’s capable of doing. The only thing that’s going to save you is if you go to the police first.”
The reality of my words was sinking in, her face pale in the dim light, the cigarette in her hand burned down to the filter. She was either going to accept the truth and start considering her options, or run away from it.
“Get off my property.” She pointed a shaking hand toward the driveway. I had my answer.
“You’re a fool if you think you can trust Shauna,” I said. “Nicole was your friend—and look what happened to her.”
Her face almost buckled for a moment, then she collected herself.
“Nicole got me kicked out of my house. And if you don’t get out of here in five seconds, I’m calling the police.”
I turned and walked away. When I got in my truck I drove by her place fast, so she could see me leaving, but then I circled back and parked on a side street where I could watch her house. I waited, thinking about the conversation. Her guilt was obvious. I also thought about her saying that Nicole had gotten her kicked out. What was she talking about?