by Darby Kane
“Anyone watching will see a survivor meeting with the woman who helped save her.” Samantha finally looked up. Her cold brown eyes flashed with anger. “It could be a heartwarming headline on that ridiculous podcast.”
At least they agreed on that one thing, or mostly.
“The same podcast where you called in to cast doubt on Aaron being a decent person.” Lila remembered hearing the familiar voice and freezing. So much rode on Samantha’s behavior.
“You’re the one who insists he wasn’t.”
And she was right, but the idea of having her freedom, her credibility, dependent on the romantic whims of a college student scared the crap out of Lila.
“Besides, a public meeting is better because it doesn’t look like we’re trying to hide anything. It’s easily explained away that I wanted to meet the other woman at the center of this mess.”
“It’s interesting you view me, the wife, as the other woman.”
Samantha waved her hand in front of her, knocking down the packet tower. “Cut the shit. We had a deal.”
“Keep in character. No anger or people will talk.” The last thing Lila needed was to have someone decide she was beating up on poor Samantha, and public opinion would swing against her once again.
Samantha leaned forward and tapped her fingernails on the table. “Are you worried someone will think you’re not actually a vigilante hero?”
Click. Click. The tapping sound grated against Lila’s nerves. She only had so much bandwidth and very little tolerance left. “You got what you wanted, Samantha.”
“No, I didn’t.” Samantha practically shouted the phrase. When people at the tables near them looked at her, she dropped her voice to a whisper. “You promised me the spotlight. That I’d be the hero and get my revenge on your shitty husband. But you went too far and now you’re the star. Everyone wants to interview you. Talk to you. Poor little you.”
The snide comeback didn’t ease Lila’s anxiety.
Samantha had been a wild card from the beginning. A risk Lila almost didn’t take. When she approached Samantha that day at her college weeks ago, she’d tried to make amends for Aaron targeting her. Samantha insisted he’d loved her . . . It was pure nonsense, but convincing a vulnerable eighteen-year-old who didn’t even realize how vulnerable she’d been was not an easy task.
That led to the next phase. Samantha made it clear she wanted revenge, but she didn’t have the videos. Lila had an answer for that. Her videos. Her testimony. Her teaming up with Samantha to bring Aaron down. Then she’d slink away and let Samantha take all the glory.
Little did Samantha know that Lila said she had one plan—ruin Aaron—when the plan really was to kill him. Ruin him, giving him no opportunity to launch a defense.
Aaron, being the piece of garbage he was, had made Samantha feel loved and special. He built up her confidence, convinced her she needed him, had sex with her, then found someone new.
Lila now understood that was his go-to play with the students. Separate them from their family and friends, lavish praise, offer them grades they didn’t earn, conquer, then run away. It was a sick spin on enjoying the chase and getting bored as soon as he got what he wanted.
Samantha had said she thought others didn’t turn Aaron in because they got what they needed—entrance into schools they didn’t quite qualify for. Glowing recommendations and raised grade point averages. But Samantha was different. She’d thought she and Aaron had something real, and she didn’t appreciate being dumped.
Lila capitalized on those hurt feelings. She knew, deep down, using Samantha for her own ends made her as shitty as Aaron. She had to hope that Samantha would come to see herself as a survivor . . . or that’s what Lila told herself during the countless hours she stared at the ceiling of her bedroom, unable to sleep.
“That’s what this meeting is about? You’re not getting enough of the spotlight.” Lila had feared that would be an issue, since Samantha seemed to crave attention.
“I could ask you the same kind of questions. Is your decision to act like the hapless wife who had no choice but to off her husband real or is it payback for our affair?”
The word—“affair.” So out of place in this situation. “You didn’t have a relationship with Aaron. He used you. He groomed you. He had sex with you, scored the point, then moved on.”
Samantha smiled. “You’re jealous.”
She didn’t get it. How could she not get it? “Do you know what separates you from Karen Blue, the woman everyone is saying he killed?”
“Please share,” Samantha shot back in a sarcastic tone.
“Almost nothing.” Lila felt conflicted and frustrated, furious and disappointed. She aimed all of that at Aaron. He was the cause of this mess and pain. She didn’t understand how Samantha could see what had happened any other way. “You survived. That’s it. You were lucky to get away from him, and she wasn’t.”
“We both know that’s crap.” Samantha shifted in her chair. “Your boyfriend set Aaron up. He’s not a killer.”
“Come on, Samantha. You’re smarter than this.”
“You would say anything to—”
“Listen to the news. There was a press conference just a few hours ago.” Lila could hear the exasperation in her voice as her patience expired. “Aaron secretly owned the cabin he used as his killing ground. The police found his DNA on her.”
The amusement drained from Samantha’s face. For a few seconds, she sat there. Lila hoped that meant she’d cut through the spurned teen romantic and wannabe star to the truth.
But then Samantha whispered, “So you’re both killers.”
The waitress picked that minute to return. She filled both of the coffee mugs and put two glasses of water and menus on the table. This time she glanced at both Lila and Samantha. Her gaze lingered as if she’d realized she had pseudo-celebrities of sorts at her table.
“Thanks,” Lila mumbled then sighed in relief when the waitress scurried away.
“The plan was to incriminate him and then let me step into the spotlight and confirm it all.” Samantha wrapped her hands around the mug as she relaxed in her seat. “But you killed him instead.”
“I didn’t kill him.”
“I guess I’m just supposed to believe you.” Samantha shook her head. “How did he get to this cabin?”
“I have no idea.” Lila exhaled and decided to go for it. “A part of me hoped you’d done it, because at least that would explain it.”
“Don’t blame me for your mess.”
“The point is you were not his girlfriend.” Lila needed Samantha to hear that part. To get angry for being used and then get help, if she needed it. “You were one of his victims. I don’t hate you or want to take your spotlight. I want you to realize that you deserve to be treated better. That what he did was sick and wrong and you get to be upset about that.”
“Don’t tell me how to feel.” Samantha let go of her mug and leaned in closer. “I went into that relationship wanting it and wanting him.”
The words should have hurt. Should have sliced and cut through her, but Lila felt nothing but sadness for Samantha and her mistaken belief that Aaron cared about anyone but himself. “And it was his job not to touch you. Ever.”
“He said he was pretty unhappy at home.” Samantha shrugged. “I guess you were, too, since you had that hot professor guy.”
Lila refused to talk or think about Ryan. “I found you on your campus that day because I was worried about you.”
Samantha snorted. “He never tried to hurt me.”
The sadness turned into a churning ache deep in her stomach. Aaron had ruined and destroyed so many lives. “All he did was hurt you, Samantha. I know you don’t see it yet, but I hope someday, with a counselor or on your own, you’ll get it and be okay.”
“I’m fine.”
Lila gave up. Samantha wasn’t ready to deal with the truth and might never be. “Okay.”
“Don’t judge me.”
Once the defenses rose, Lila knew the battle was over. She couldn’t get through. She’d never get through. If she couldn’t save Samantha, at least she’d save herself. “I will push to make sure you get more credit for unraveling Aaron’s private life.”
“Because you owe me.”
Lila stared at her untouched coffee. Thought about how a part of her would always worry that Samantha would sneak back into her life and threaten to expose the things she thought she knew. “I actually don’t.”
“Really? I wonder what that investigator would say if she knew how much you knew about Aaron’s affairs before he was killed.”
She sounded ready to strike.
That made two of them. “Be careful, Samantha.”
Samantha rolled her eyes. “You’re threatening me?”
“You’re the one who thinks I already killed someone. Be smart and don’t push me.” Lila slipped her hand in her pocket and took out a small tape recorder. She held it up for Samantha to see.
Samantha froze in the act of lifting the mug for another sip. “What’s that?”
“The recording of you where you talked about how much you wanted Aaron to pay for leaving you the way he did.” Because she wasn’t a novice. Lila had known what a wild card the teen victim of her husband might be and had taken precautions.
Samantha slowly lowered the mug to the table. “You recorded me?”
“Call it insurance. It’s one copy of many.” Lila put the recorder back in her pocket. “Have you studied the concept of mutually assured destruction in your history classes? Simply put, it’s the idea that if one of us goes down, we both go down.”
Samantha’s mouth opened and closed twice before she said anything. “You’re a bitch.”
Lila signaled for the waitress to bring the check. “A bitch with evidence that points directly at you. Remember that before you run off to talk with anyone about me or what you think I’ve done.”
“Mutually assured destruction,” Samantha said in a faint voice.
“I will make sure you’re seen as a hero, and you will keep quiet.” Lila tried to conjure up an expression that passed for a smile. “That’s the only deal you’re going to get.”
Chapter Fifty-Five
“REALLY? YOU MET AT A DINER?”
Lila had a feeling Tobias would find out about her little trip in his car and tried to launch an offensive strike by telling him. “She called, and meeting privately seemed like it would raise more questions.”
“How about not meeting at all? Or telling me so I could tell you not to meet?”
“She’s a victim.”
Tobias balanced on the bar stool, somehow managing to look at home teetering while wearing expensive dress shoes. “Is that the point here?”
Kind of, yeah.
She sighed at him. “Lawyers are the worst.”
“Yes, we are, and you will listen.”
It was a fair request. She’d promised not to act as her own attorney. She knew from watching others do exactly that how it almost always ended in disaster. In crisis, people needed good advice unclouded by emotion. While she hardly viewed herself as the overwrought type, Tobias would see things she couldn’t.
“She wanted to talk. She’s confused, and the news of Karen’s murder threw her.” That wasn’t quite true, but suggesting anything else could backfire. Like it or not, she was stuck in this twisted mess with Samantha. “Seeing her seemed like the least I could do.”
“You’re being watched by the police.”
“By everyone in the state, apparently.” Stupid cell phones.
The doorbell rang. Her body had been trained to tense up at the sound. Ever since Aaron had gone missing, it went off and her insides curdled. A voice in her head shouted at her to run and keep running.
She groaned. “Now who?”
“Jared,” Tobias said as he slid off the stool.
No, no, no.
“What?” She needed more energy to walk into that battle again. His shots had been so unexpected that she was still reeling from them. The idea of another round . . . “I can’t.”
Tobias walked right past her and headed for the front door. “He wanted to talk.”
“No.”
“I’m not giving you a choice,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away from her. “You need him as an ally.”
She heard the front door open. Without looking, she knew the press was crowded in as close as possible. Neighbors had complained. She complained. All the law enforcement folks had done was push the media back to the end of the driveway and into the public street.
Jared stepped just inside the family room, wearing a navy suit with his tie loosened. A casual look for him.
“Hey.” He smiled when he saw her, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He turned to Tobias. “Do you mind if we talk alone?”
Tobias laughed as he sat back down on the bar stool. “Actually, yes. Just pretend I’m not here.”
“He’s being protective.” And she appreciated the gesture. Arguing with Jared was the last thing she wanted today—or ever.
Jared stepped up to the back of the couch but didn’t make a move to sit down. His stop put them a good six feet apart, but she could see the way he avoided straight-on eye contact. How he stared at the area rug and hardwood floor as if they were the most interesting things in the world.
She took pity on him. “Jared—”
“I know I lost my temper and took all my frustration out on you,” he said at the same time. “I said things—”
“It’s fine.” They talked over each other, verbally bumped into each other. The awkward, disjointed sentences eased some of the tension pounding through her.
“It is?” Jared asked.
Tobias openly watched them. “Really?”
She gestured for Jared to sit on the other end of the couch. Not close, but there, in comfort, so she could let him know this was as hard for her as it was for him. “I haven’t figured out how to process all of this. The idea of Aaron in that cabin . . .”
“I still can’t believe it.” Jared shook his head as he let out a long exhale. “I mean, we were raised together. We did so much together. How could I miss the signs?”
Tobias left the bar stool and joined them. He sat in the chair across from them, ignoring the emotional uncertainty zipping around the room. “Did Ginny question you?”
“Oh yeah.” Jared leaned back into the cushions. “She clearly doesn’t believe I didn’t know.”
“She has to push, but I’m sure she knows. That’s how it works sometimes,” Tobias said. “I’ve read books about families who didn’t know they lived with a killer father. I’ve had clients not see the type of person who slept next to them each night.” He glanced at her. “And some friends and colleagues who suffered from the same blind spots.”
Jared winced. “I’m afraid I wasn’t at my best during the latest interrogation.”
“Meaning?”
But Lila knew the answer to Tobias’s question. She didn’t need a big explanation or lengthy apology. Jared went to the same place anyone in his position might go. “He’s saying he blamed me for Aaron’s death.”
“Ryan, actually. Well, more Ryan than you.” Jared’s wince didn’t ease. “But yeah. I lashed out.”
She got it. She understood. It’s not as if she had the high ground here. She’d done things, horrible things. Things a better person might regret, but she didn’t.
She reached her hand out and let it rest on the cushion between them. “It’s fine.”
Tobias laughed. “I think you should remove that word from your vocabulary. You clearly don’t know what it means.”
“He’s not wrong,” Jared said, already looking lighter and regaining some of his usual calm demeanor.
“My husband abused teens and killed women, all while I enjoyed some time alone and spent time with Ryan, thinking my marriage was just . . .” She stopped because the moment struck her as funny, and that hadn’t happened in weeks. “Normal
ly, I’d say ‘fine’ here.”
Tobias rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh.”
“But while all of that was happening and I was living my life, Aaron was hurting women. I listened to the press conference. DNA evidence. Yara James and Karen Blue both have been found on his top secret property.” She couldn’t figure out how to make her inaction, her not seeing the truth, okay. Missing the opportunity to stop the abuse . . . again. Being older and still not seeing it before it was too late was a sin that she couldn’t find the right words to apologize for. “I didn’t stop him.”
“You didn’t know,” Tobias immediately shot back.
“Well.” Jared rubbed a hand up and down his leg. “That brings me to the Brent news.”
“What now?” She could hardly wait to hear what he’d accused her of without any proof. Talk about a wild card.
“He’s been suspended from his job, pending an investigation.” Jared stopped long enough to nod at her in affirmation. Whatever he saw on her face must have told her she needed it. “Apparently, there is a whisper campaign about how he knew what Aaron was doing with students and looked the other way, possibly took part in it.”
“I don’t know about the accomplice part.” Tobias made a humming sound, the type that said he was mentally working through an idea. “That sounds like idle gossip.”
Lila knew a bit about that. “It’s someone else’s turn. I’m tired of being the target.”
“I got the impression they did a search of his home and office and found something problematic.” Jared’s hand clenched and unclenched where it lay on his thigh. “The school has an investigator on it. The state police are looking into it. I’m sure Ginny is poking around in the accusations.”
“What did they find exactly?” she asked.
Jared winced. “The word is he had photos on his computer—”
She waved her hand, trying to bat the words away. “Oh, God. Enough.”
Tobias whistled. “Unbelievable.”
The news struck her as upsetting but not shocking. “Is it? I’m starting to think we can never really know what’s going on in someone else’s head.”