Heath let out a breath. “Good. I hate seeing the kid like this. It’s breaking my heart.”
He actually sounded like he was in physical pain, and though I hated that Ripley was upset, the fact that it made Heath upset, too, only cemented the feelings I had for him.
It drove home the fact that I wanted Heath in my life, in more than just a platonic way, as well as Mae.
I hung up without saying any of that, though, and waited until we parked out in front of Norma’s house. Ripley’s swing set still sat in the corner of the yard, but his toys were no longer scattered about, all of them picked up neatly and placed in a large bucket on the porch. I peered into it, searching for the telltale blue and red Spider-Man colors, but none of the toys there matched what I was looking for. I picked out a couple of other things, though, and with one arm full of balls and bats, I knocked on the door. “Norma! It’s just me!”
The door swung open beneath the force of my knocks. The interior was dim, but I took a step inside. “Norma?”
There was no answer. I wasn’t entirely comfortable just walking into the older woman’s house, but I did know her well enough that it wasn’t completely weird either. I stuck my head into the living room and then the kitchen. A quick check of the backyard told me she wasn’t there either. Determining she must have gone out, I ducked into Ripley’s bedroom, and there, in the corner of the room was the Spider-Man figurine he’d been coveting. “Gotcha.” I retrieved the toy from the floor and then took a few more shirts and T-shirts from his chest of drawers. We’d bought him some more, adding to the few things we’d grabbed the night we’d picked him up, but I thought some familiar clothes might help ease his homesickness.
Laden down with his things, I went to leave, but Norma’s bedroom was the front room of the house, the last door I had to pass before going back outside. I hesitated, not wanting to intrude on her privacy, but if she was inside just taking a nap, I didn’t want her to worry when she woke up and realized more of Ripley’s things were gone.
I knocked softly. “Norma?”
It was completely silent from the other side. No sounds of snoring, though I had no idea whether the woman snored or not. I twisted the handle and peeked around the corner.
I immediately wished I hadn’t.
Norma’s body was slumped on the floor by the gun safe, her limbs at an unnatural angle. “Norma!”
I dropped to my knees beside her, books and toys scattering in the process. I rolled her to her back and pressed my fingers to her throat.
But there was no point.
The moment I saw her face, I knew she was gone. Her skin was still faintly warm, but her eyes were fixed and staring, and the strangulation marks around her pale neck were telling.
My stomach churned, and I stumbled back, hitting the door. It closed behind me with a click, enclosing me in the room with a woman who was very much dead. I slid down it to the floor, my heart pounding, sweat breaking out across my forehead. I pulled my phone from my pocket and punched in a number.
“Hello?”
Heath’s voice was a balm to the ache in my heart, but fear wasn’t far behind, chasing away the shock. “It’s me. Norma’s dead. Get Ripley inside. Don’t take your eyes off him for a second.”
Heath swore softly. But then his voice came down the line strong. “I’ve got him. He’s right here next to me watching a movie. You do what you need to do there, with the cops or whatever.”
I hesitated, desperately wanting to be there with my son.
Because now, after this, I was the only person he had left.
Like he could read my mind, Heath said quietly, “I’ve got him, Rowe. I’ve got both of you.”
I knew exactly what he meant. He had my back.
He always had.
Every time there was drama, there was Heath, dependable and strong.
Emotion clogged my throat while I stared down at Norma’s body, until I wasn’t sure if it was for Heath or because Zye had taken another person I cared about.
“Rowe, what’s taking so long…” Liam’s voice called from the porch. “Is Norma coming with us?”
I squeezed my eyes shut so I didn’t have to see her body. “I’ll be home soon,” I said to Heath, then hung up. I got to my feet and opened the bedroom door, finding Liam and Mae standing there.
I could tell the moment they saw her body.
Liam’s eyes widened.
Mae gasped, drawing a hand up to her mouth. “What happened?” And then her eyes widened. She grabbed my arm. “Ripley. We need to go.”
“We can’t.” Liam ran his hand through his hair and closed his eyes for a moment. “We have to call the police. If we leave the scene of a crime… We can’t draw any more attention to ourselves.”
I gaped at him. “Standing here with a dead body isn’t drawing attention?”
He grimaced. “I admit, it’s not ideal. But what’s the alternative? We leave her here for flies and maggots? Is that really how you want to play it?”
The thought twisted my stomach. “She’s a good woman. Was. She doesn’t deserve this. Fuck! This is all my fault.” I balled my fingers into fists, desperately wanting to punch something.
Mae put her fingers around mine, her hands warm where mine were suddenly cold. “None of this is your fault. It wasn’t you who brought Zye into Norma’s life. And it wasn’t you who chose to end it.”
It didn’t matter, when all of it still equaled Norma being gone. “I should have brought her to the cabin with us. I knew she wasn’t safe here.”
“You tried, remember? She wouldn’t have it.”
I turned desperate eyes on them. “We need to get back there. Zye won’t be just going back to his halfway house and turning up for parole checks like a good little prisoner. Not after doing this. He’s going to be searching for Ripley.”
The two of them stared at me.
Mae’s fingers trembled. “He’s right.”