chapter Forty-seven
“I went to the park to see Liz.”
They were sitting in Eric’s room. He’d started some coffee in the little two-cupper, and sat on the bed. Wayne perched on the edge of the office chair, and Casey stood by the door. She wanted plenty of space in case she’d need it, plus she wasn’t exactly comfortable being close to both the bed and Eric.
“We often met there at night. We’d sit at the picnic table at look at the stars, talk about school, talk about her dad. But that night I could see other people there, and I could hear them talking. Men. They sounded mad, and I was worried for Liz, so I snuck up as close as I could. It was too dark to really see, and their backs were to me, but I could hear in Cyrus’ voice that he was scared. Somebody was in the car, I could see him in the dome light, and I saw his face. It was that awful guy Liz couldn’t stand. Knowing it was him, I could recognize the other two, the ones I’d seen before, the ones in that picture you have. I didn’t know what to do, whether I should call the cops or what, but I didn’t want to get Cyrus in trouble. I tried to get closer so I could see better, but I stepped on a stick, and it snapped. They all spun around, but they couldn’t see me because I was behind a tree, in the dark.
“Cyrus yelled—” His breath hitched. “He yelled for me to get out of there, to run, but he thought I was Liz. One of the men started toward me, so I took off. I ran as hard as I could and hid—growing up here you know where to hide—and he hadn’t found me, but he was close. Cyrus was still yelling, and then…and then the gun went off, and I heard the man after me swear and take off back to the rest of them. A car came flying by me, and I stayed there until I was sure it was gone, and then I…” He let out a sob. “I ran away. God help me, I ran. I knew if they found me, if they knew I’d seen them…” He shook his head. Tears flowed freely down his cheeks, and he dropped his face into his hands and wept.
Eric’s voice was gentle. Gentler than Casey could ever be. “You didn’t tell the police what happened?”
“How could I? If I told, the men would know I was there. They would come after me, too.”
“But Liz disappeared.”
“I know. I know she did. But I also knew she wasn’t there when it happened. I knew she was alive.” He wiped his nose. “I waited for her to come back. I thought she would at least call. Or write. Or something.”
Casey looked at the man. He was broken. But she didn’t care.
“She was there, Wayne.”
“What?”
“She was there, probably hiding because her dad told her to. She saw him get shot. She held him as he died.’
“But—”
“You let your best friend run for her life. You knew the men heard you and thought she was there. You knew she was the one they would go after. And you didn’t do anything.”
His head shot up. “You think I don’t realize that? You think I don’t regret that night every minute of my life? If I could go back and change it, I would. I would do the right thing. I would save her. I would save Cyrus. I would change it all.” He wiped his face with both hands. “But I can’t. I can’t save Cyrus, and God knows now I can’t save Liz, either. I wanted to.” He deflated, his voice dropping to a whisper. “I wanted to.”
Casey took a step toward him, but Eric got in-between them. “We got the story, Case. We got it now. He’ll tell the cops. With what we’ve learned it will help, right? They’ll get them.”
She hated his soothing voice. She hated that he was standing between her and a good beat down.
She hated that he was right.
She spun and opened the door, then looked back to see Eric bending over Wayne, his hand on his back.
“You’ll make sure he goes to the cops?”
“I’ll take him right now.”
“No,” a voice said. “I don’t think you will.”