by Moore, Lila
A sudden desperate desire for Theo washed over me. I didn’t trust him, but I missed him. This date with Mr. Devereaux felt like a betrayal. It was silly to feel guilty; Theo and I barely knew one another. And I was only going out with Mr. Devereaux to find out what he knew. Still, if there was a future for us, this was not the best way to start off our relationship.
I stepped back, sliding away from Mr. Devereaux’s touch.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked.
The shark grin returned to his face. “Real nice place in the city. You’re going to love it.” He looked around nervously. “Where’s your kid at?”
“He’s staying with a friend.”
“Is he staying for the night?”
I started to say no, but stopped. If Mr. Devereaux thought sex was on the table, he’d probably be easier to deal with. On the other hand, he might become suspicious. Our earlier phone call wasn’t friendly. If I acted too nice he might put up his guard.
I looked at him over my shoulder and shrugged.
“You’re full of mysteries tonight,” he said with a laugh.
I wanted to punch him in the face. Instead I raised an eyebrow and bit my lip. Mr. Devereaux helped me out to his car and we took off. He turned onto Main Street then took the exit towards the highway.
“I’ve got the perfect place picked out special for you. You’re going to love it,” he said.
“We’ll see,” I said, sounding more skeptical than I should have, given the circumstances. If Mr. Devereaux picked up on my doubt, he gave no indication.
He accelerated, driving past the access road that led to the freeway. I twisted the hem of my dress around my fingers as I turned to see our exit fade into the distance. We drove for a ways; the road narrowed as the woods closed in around us. We hadn’t passed another car in at least ten minutes. I cleared my throat.
“I thought we were going to the city?” I asked, trying to keep the growing anxiety out of my voice.
“We are. I know a shortcut.”
There was no shortcut through the woods that led to the city. The woods stretched on for a hundred miles. The few side-roads led to small towns or farms. Mr. Devereaux was lying, but I tried to keep my cool. I needed him to turn around and take me back to the safety of town.
“You know what would be nice, James?”
I lowered my voice so it was deep and throaty. His name rolled off my tongue with a slight purr. Mr. Devereaux sat up straighter.
“What’s that, baby?”
I cringed at being called ‘baby’ by him.
“Maybe we could go back to my place? It will be quiet and private. I can make you dinner and then… well, we can see where things go.”
Mr. Devereaux turned to consider me as if he was quietly debating my proposal. His face turned serious.
“No,” he said. “We’ve come this far. We have to see it through to the end.”
I didn’t like the way that sounded. I readjusted my seatbelt. It suddenly felt very tight across my chest. My eyes frantically scanned the car for a potential weapon. I didn’t own a gun, but I wished I had one now.
I didn’t see anything in the car I could use in self-defense. Hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. Maybe I was being paranoid? What if Mr. Devereaux was only interested in sleeping with me and nothing more? Maybe there was a shortcut through the woods I didn’t know about.
I stared out the window. The sun had set and the woods created a wall of darkness around us.
No. My instincts were right. Mr. Devereaux was not to be trusted. He knew something about my husband’s death. He may have played a part in it.
“What do you know about my husband?” I blurted out.
He turned to me with a gleam in his eye.
“I was wondering when you’d cut the bullshit and get to it.”
Mr. Devereaux turned down a side road. We drove for a short while then turned again onto a dirt road. After a mile or two we came to a small lake. Mr. Devereaux stopped the car and put it into park. My chest felt tight; I struggled to take a breath. The idea of Mr. Devereaux killing me didn’t bother me as much as the idea of Aiden being an orphan. Who would take care of him? Tom’s parents had passed away years ago and mine were too old to take care of a five year old. He’d wind up in foster care. I couldn’t let that happen.
After Tom’s death, I thought life couldn’t get any worse. As I sat beside Mr. Devereaux, I realized I’d been wrong. Life can get much worse. If I died, my suffering would end, but it would only be the beginning for Aiden. What if they never found my body? Aiden could grow up thinking his mother abandoned him.
Something inside me hardened. I wasn’t going to let my son become a victim. I took a deep breath.
“Tell me about my husband,” I said calmly.
Mr. Devereaux seemed thrown by my icy demeanor. If he’d expected me to cry and beg for my life, he was in for disappointment. I was too emotionally drained for tears and I had no intention of giving him what he wanted.
“Your husband stuck his nose where it didn’t belong. The two of you have that in common I’m afraid.”
“He was fucking your wife.”
Mr. Devereaux’s head snapped around; rage filled his eyes.
“That’s why you killed him,” I said. “You were jealous because she found someone else. I hate to break it to you, but my husband wasn’t the first- or the last. Your wife fucks everything that walks- everything except you that is.”
Mr. Devereaux jumped out of the car and ran around to the passenger’s-side. I screamed as he threw open my door and dragged me out.
“Go ahead and scream, bitch. We’re miles away from anyone who can hear you.”
My bad leg twisted, hitting the ground hard as he pulled me from his car. I gritted my teeth against the pain. Mr. Devereaux let me go and walked around to his trunk. I sat on the damp grass trembling. It was cold out and I hadn’t brought a jacket.
My fingers sank into the mud. I balled it up in my fists. I was quick to discover how weak I was before him. I thought I could manipulate him into getting answers. Little did I know, he planned on hurting me. I’d been naïve to assume I could handle him.
Mr. Devereaux tossed objects around his trunk before pulling out a shovel, plastic sheets and a bucket. He lifted the bucket with difficulty as if it was extremely heavy. He dropped it before me with a grunt.
Inside was dry cement. I turned towards the lake. The car’s headlights glinted off its placid, mirror-like surface. The dots started to connect in my mind like circuits on a board lighting up. He was planning on killing me, then dumping my body in the lake. The cement was to weight down my body. He didn’t need my lifeless body floating to the surface and starting a police investigation. He was covering his tracks. The area we were in was so isolated that putting me on the bottom of the lake felt like overkill. Mr. Devereaux wasn’t taking any chances. He wanted me gone forever- vanished, as if I’d disappeared off the face of the earth.
I had to think fast.
“What made Tom so different?” I asked. “You had to have known your wife cheated on you before. So why kill him? He was one of many men.”
I didn’t want to anger him further, but if I could keep him talking then maybe I could escape. Mr. Devereaux slammed the trunk shut.
“You need to stop talking,” he said.
He rubbed his forearm across his face. He was covered in sweat even though it was cold out. His eyes looked wild as if he was having trouble focusing. Mr. Devereaux picked up the shovel then tossed it aside. He spent an unnecessary amount of time laying the plastic sheets across the ground. He smoothed his hands over the surface of it making sure it was perfectly flat.
“Just tell me why,” I pleaded. “You’re going to kill me anyway. Before I die, I need to know… why him? Why was Tom different?”
My voice was choked; it came out in a strangled rasp. Apparently, I still had some emotion left in me. I wasn’t as exhausted as I thought. Mr. Devereaux muttered something
under his breath. I couldn’t understand him.
“What?”
“I said, I didn’t kill him,” he shouted.
He kicked the shovel and turned his back on me, walking off into the dark. Mr. Devereaux was crazy, but I believed him. So who killed Tom? There was only one option left: Mrs. Devereaux.
“You’re covering up for her…” I whispered.
Mr. Devereaux appeared in front of me, taking me by surprise. I hadn’t heard him approach. He stood at the edge of the headlights. His hands were balled into fists at his side.
“I have to do this,” he said pathetically. “I don’t want to. Do you understand? It was her. She said they’d take everything away from us. I had to clean up her mess after she…” He swallowed hard and looked away. He had tears in his eyes. “We thought it would all go away- the cops, the reporters, everything. Then you started sticking your nose where it didn’t belong. You just couldn’t drop it, could you? You had to go and talk to that old bitch and start asking questions. Now you’ve forced me to do this.”
He waved his hands at the shovel, plastic and cement.
“This is really all your fault,” he said with little conviction.
Mr. Devereaux didn’t want to kill me, I believed that much. It explained why he was taking so much time getting everything out of the trunk.
I felt oddly relieved to hear him confess the truth. Now I knew: Mrs. Devereaux killed Tom. I still didn’t know why, but at least I knew for sure it wasn’t suicide. It was at that moment I realized a part of me was worried I was responsible. What if in one of my blackouts I’d caught him with his mistress and killed him? No. Now I knew that was not what happened. A huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but it was too late.
Mr. Devereaux picked up the shovel. He lifted it up as if he meant to swing at me. I cowered before him, placing my hands up. My hands wouldn’t prevent him from knocking me out, but what else could I do?
My eyes darted around for anything I could use as a weapon. One of my crutches had fallen from the car. It sank deep into the mud beside me. I grabbed it. It came up heavy with a wet sucking sound as the mud tried to reclaim it. Pathetically, I held it out before me. Mr. Devereaux turned his head to the side and laughed.
“Do you really think that’s going to-”
A loud bang echoed through the clearing. I jumped back against the car. Mr. Devereaux stumbled forward and looked down. A red blossom of color lit up the front of his shirt, growing and spreading across his chest.
Mr. Devereaux stared at it strangely. He placed his hand over his heart, then looked up at me. He fell to his knees before me. It was then I realized the red on his shirt was blood. He fell face down in the mud at my feet. His eyes were locked on mine, wide open, but not seeing.
Frozen in place, I breathed heavily. Stars danced in front of my eyes. I was on the verge of passing out. A shadow moved at the edge of the car’s headlights. I pressed myself flat against the car as if I could disappear. A figure in black stepped into the light. He had the gun pointed at Mr. Devereaux. He approached slowly, cautious of Mr. Devereaux’s lifeless body. When the man stepped into the light, I gasped.
“Theo?”
20
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Theo knelt down to take Mr. Devereaux’s pulse. Satisfied, that he was dead, he sat down by my side. He ran his hands over my face, arms and legs, looking for a sign of injury.
“Theo?” I said again, not believing he was standing before me.
“You’re going to be alright. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
He wrapped an arm around me. I started to tremble so hard that I could hear my teeth chatter. Theo took off his jacket and wrapped it around me. I buried my head in his chest and squeezed him tight. He ran his free hand up and down my back.
“It’s okay, sweetheart. You’re safe now.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the gun in his hand.
“What are you doing here?” I asked with an edge of hysteria in my voice.
Theo looked off into the dark, then said: “Let’s get you out of here.”
He pulled me to my feet and wrapped an arm around my waist. I closed my eyes and hid my face against Theo’s chest as we passed Mr. Devereaux’s lifeless body.
We walked into the darkness for what felt like a long time. Our progress was slow. My leg throbbed and I had to take it easy. I leaned heavily on Theo for support.
The woods were alive around us with the sound of insects, birds and nocturnal animals. I could just barely make out the sight of a road before us. I trusted Theo to lead me to safety.
The shape of a car emerged before us. It sat at the fork in the road where the dirt path turned to asphalt. Theo opened the passenger’s side door and sat me down.
“Theo, what’s going on? How did you know I was here?”
He took my shaking hands in his own and brought them to his mouth, breathing warm air on them. He rubbed my skin, trying to bring the warmth back, then took off his coat and wrapped it around me. He looked at me gravely.
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” he said.
“Yeah? No shit?”
He ignored my sarcasm and continued to rub my hands.
“I’ll explain everything in a minute, but first I have to go back to check on Devereaux.”
“Wait, don’t leave me.” I grabbed his arm and clung to him like a mad woman. “I don’t want to be alone.”
“I know, sweetheart. You’re safe now. I’ll only be a second.”
“Theo, please-”
He cut off my pleas with a kiss. He held my face in his hands and gently pressed his lips against mine. My hands steadied; warmth slowly spread through my body. I still trembled, but I felt as if a piece of balance had been returned to me. Theo held my face and stared into my eyes.
“I’ll be right back. I promise.”
He helped me settle into the car, then closed the door. We stared into each other’s eyes as he walked back down the road and disappeared into the dark. All of the sounds of the woods vanished inside the car. The night was silent. It was as if the woods were holding its breath.
Sitting still made me feel crazy. I needed to do something- anything. I started to search Theo’s car. I opened the glove compartment and found a map along with am iPad. I turned it on, but it was password protected. I tossed them back into the glove compartment and looked around. I found a stiletto knife underneath the seat. I pushed the catch on the side and the blade shot out. I closed the blade and stuck the knife in my pocket.
I wrapped Theo’s jacket around me tightly and hoped I never had to use the switchblade on anyone.
I fidgeted nervously. I wished I had a watch. It felt like hours had passed since Theo left me, but realistically it had probably only been a few minutes. What if he never returned? How would I get out of here? I’d have to return back Mr. Devereaux’s car and drive it to safety. That seemed like an impossible task in the moment.
There was a loud crash and the car lurched forward. I let out a small scream and turned to find Theo had opened the trunk. He was putting my muddy crutches inside. In his hand, he held a bag. It took me a second to recognize it as my purse. He slid into the driver’s seat and handed it to me. I clutched it to my chest like it was a life preserver.
Theo calmly started the car and we slowly drove back towards town.
“Did anyone know you were going out with Mr. Devereaux tonight?” he asked.
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Think hard. Where’s Aiden?”
“He’s staying with Maddie tonight.”
“Did Maddie know you were going out with Devereaux?”
“No.”
“Did anyone else?”
“No.”
“Do you know if he told anyone?”
“I have no idea. I don’t think so. Wait! His wife probably knows.”
Theo took his eyes off the road to consider me closely. A wave of guilt washed over me. Only a
few short hours ago we’d been in each other’s arms. Now he knew I’d arranged to go out of a date with his boss.
“He said that she was making him do this… She was the one who wanted me dead. They were trying to cover up the fact that Mrs. Devereaux killed my husband- she killed Tom.”
Saying it out loud gave the idea life. When I heard Mr. Devereaux confess, it felt surreal. I was too scared of dying and never seeing my son again to fully comprehend the consequences. Now that I was safe I felt angry. I started to tremble again, this time with shock and rage. Theo turned up the heat and pointed the vent at me.
“You’re going to be okay. I don’t think you left any evidence behind.”
“What?”
I heard his words, but didn’t understand what he was saying.
“I don’t think they’ll link you to the crime scene. Do you have your cell phone on you?”
“No. I left it at home.”
“Good. They can track your movements through your cell phone. If they discover you were in the general vicinity of his body you’d get called in for questioning.”
“Called in?”
My mind felt sluggish. I was having a hard time following Theo.
“By the police. You don’t want to be accused of murdering him. They already suspect you for Tom’s death,” he explained gently.
“The police think I killed Tom?”
“You were the only suspect. They never investigated anyone else.”
“Wait, how do you know this?”
“I use to work with law enforcement.”
“You investigated my husband’s case?”
“No. I recently quit the force. I’ve been working as a private detective. Mrs. Devereaux hired me to investigate you. Working as the ‘manny’ was just my cover.”
We drove in silence for a time. I had so many questions I didn’t know where to start. I breathed a sigh of relief when the car turned back into town. We drove past my house to a neighboring suburb.
“Where are we going?” I asked.