“You sure have a funny way of being honest then.”
“I know, I know. Listen, hear me out. This is hard enough for me to talk about, let alone jump right into, and it wouldn’t have boded well for what I wanted to do for you and Shaun.”
“You’re making zero sense, Jase.”
“Okay, fuck. You had to go and want to write about that fucking clock, didn’t you?”
A familiar shiver ran through him. “What about the clock?”
“It has nothing to do with the clock. It’s my grandparents, they—”
“What happened?” Evan asked, the blistering anger becoming more of a flicker.
“They died over a decade ago, and that’s what I wasn’t completely honest with you about. I wanted to help you two, I wanted to get you back on your feet again, man. If I’d told you, you might not have wanted to bring Shaun there.”
Evan’s mouth was dry, the saliva gone, replaced with sand. “What happened to them?”
“That’s just it, I don’t know. No one knows for sure. I told you they died within a matter of months of one another, when they actually died on the same day.”
A building apprehension overcame him, a missing piece of something about to drop into place, and he didn’t want to hear it. He pulled the phone away from his ear and almost ended the call, but instead pressed it back to his head.
“They don’t know if it was foul play or not,” Jason continued. “They never found my grandma, it was like she got erased from the face of the earth. A fisherman found my grandpa in the lake. He’d drowned, but the police didn’t know whether or not he’d had any help doing it. They brought up all kinds of theories: my grandpa killed my grandma and then drowned himself, my grandma killed my grandpa and then left the country. It was all horseshit. Neither one could’ve done that to the other. They were married for over forty years, you don’t do that to someone you love.”
Oh, you’d be surprised what people do to the ones they love, Jase, you wouldn’t even believe it.
Evan shook his head, his stomach rearranging itself into his chest as he remembered the outline of the floating man. “What do you think happened?”
“I have no fucking idea. Maybe somebody boated in and killed them. But there wasn’t anything missing from the house, no sign of forced entry, nothing. My grandparents had lived in Mill River for almost all their lives, people loved them. No one local would want to hurt them.”
The strange looks from some of the people when he’d mentioned where they were staying started to make sense—the Fin, that place of secrets, the cursed island. He could almost hear them whispering amongst one another, their voices growing more and more quiet as the years passed but never forgetting.
“Why the hell didn’t anyone say anything about it to me in town?” Evan asked. “And why didn’t Jacob tell me, since he was such a good friend of your dad’s.”
Jason laughed with no humor. “Jacob wasn’t only a good friend of my dad’s, he was best friends with my grandfather after Dad passed away. I actually thought he might say something to you, but he’s like everyone else up there, close lipped about anything that might mar the image of the perfect tourist town. They prefer to talk behind backs. You should’ve seen the looks we’d get when we stayed there.”
Evan placed his forehead in his free hand. “Holy shit, Jase, you should’ve told me.”
“I know, I know, but I thought you’d refuse to bring Shaun there, even though it happened years and years ago. I thought you’d turn down my help.”
“I don’t need your fucking help!” Evan said. “You think I need my hand held? I’ve suffered more than you’ll ever know in your perfect little world, brother. You should focus more on your fucking expense account and less on us.”
Silence fell over the line, not only Jason’s end but Evan’s also. He opened his mouth to apologize, but Jason spoke first.
“Yeah, well, I just wanted to help.”
It was Evan’s turn to sigh. “I know, man, I’m sorry. We appreciate all you’ve done for us. It’s—”
Evan almost told him about everything that had happened, the things he’d seen, or not seen, Becky. But a dam lodged in his throat, blocking it like something physical.
A hair.
“It’s been a challenge, and I think you’re right about slowing down to adjust. We need this, I need this. I’m sorry.”
“Me too. When you started talking about the clock in the basement, I knew you’d be asking questions around town and what happened with my grandparents would come up for sure. That’s why I tried to throw you off.”
“Why didn’t you tell me all this when it happened? I knew you were upset and everything, but I had no idea something like this was going on.”
“We were in the middle of college, man. We were young, and I was scared and ashamed. My dad was already gone, and my mom wasn’t the most supportive. I’m just lucky I had Lisa and Lily to focus on. I didn’t know what to think back then, and I still don’t now. I tried to glaze over it, tried to go on vacations up there with the family after a while, but it wasn’t right anymore. I couldn’t feel good there.”
Something didn’t let you feel good here, my friend.
Evan let the gap in conversation stretch. He didn’t know what else to say. The sense of betrayal had given way to unease, and something else. Even though it sickened him, he recognized it for what it was: intrigue.
“I’m glad you got ahold of Justin. The clock story sounds good, he’ll print it.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry, I really am, Jase. I didn’t mean it—”
“Save it, you sound like a whiny little bitch.”
Evan couldn’t help but laugh. “So I have your blessing to write it.”
“Yeah, make it good. Maybe I’ll put a bug in Justin’s ear about finding a full-time position for you there.”
Evan smiled. “Thanks, Jase. You’re my brother, you know that?”
“Sure do. I only want the best for you guys.”