The Anniversary
Page 29
Even at Dahlia Schuyler’s trial, she’d tried to block things out.
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Without realizing it, Callie’s steps had slowed until she was 15
standing still. Lost in thought, she startled at the sound of foot-16
steps behind her. The sound was soft but growing louder, ap-17
proaching not retreating. For the second time in less than an 18
hour, adrenaline washed through her. Frozen, she stood there lis-19
tening for another long moment. Then she started to walk again, 20
but this time more quickly. Up ahead a few dozen yards, she saw 21
a patch of sun. Her rapid walk became a run as she sprang toward 22
the light.
23
She heard the sound again. Someone, or something, behind 24
her. Still running, she reached into her purse and grappled for her 25
cell phone. The footsteps behind her seemed to speed up, keep-26
ing time with her own. With a burst of energy, she broke through 27
the trees, emerged on a windswept beach. Black water lapped 28
against the shore, an expanse of rocks and seaweed. She’d hoped 29
to see houses or even people, but the area was deserted. To her 30
left the island curved inward, and she couldn’t see around the 31
bend. Not sure what else to do, she jogged in that direction.
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She had to be careful not to trip as she fumbled with the cell 33
phone buttons. The bright beep as she turned on her phone filled 34
her with sudden joy. Then, glancing behind her, she saw a man S 35
step out of the woods. Wearing dark clothing and a baseball cap, R 36
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he impatiently scanned the landscape. Even as she started to run 2
more quickly, she realized that she was trapped. Her only possible 3
hiding place was a pile of boulders down the beach. But long be-4
fore she reached it, he’d be on top of her.
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“Hey!” he called. “Wait up. I wanna talk to you.”
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She’d already dialed 911 and was waiting for the call to go 7
through. Holding the phone to her ear, she kept her eyes on him.
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The glassy water broke against the shore, bursting into foam.
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The phone still wasn’t ringing.
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She looked at the screen: NO SIGNAL.
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She stared at the words, incredulous. This had never happened 12
before. Just last night she’d called Anna from her room at the Old 13
Granite Inn. A wave of fear engulfed her. What was she going 14
to do?
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She felt clumsy and weighted down in her parka and heavy 16
boots. When she next looked back, she saw the man was fast 17
gaining on her. She reached down, grabbed a rock, and started to 18
run again. Her heels sank into the stones on the beach and she 19
ran awkwardly. Her purse, clutched close to her side, banged 20
against a hip.
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“Hey! Hey!” She heard his voice from behind.
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Finally reaching the pile of boulders, she scrambled up one 23
side. On top, she hopped from one rock to the next, struggling to 24
keep her balance.
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Then, almost to the other side, she suddenly lost her footing.
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With a sickening lurch, her ankle twisted, and her foot slid out 27
from beneath her. She grasped at air, then fell, hard, landing on 28
her hip. Her fingers scrabbled at moss-covered stone as she tried 29
to stand up again. But when she managed to reach her feet, pain 30
shot through her ankle.
31
With a huge effort, she reached the next boulder, dragging her 32
injured leg. From behind, she could hear the pounding approach 33
of footsteps, growing louder. Somewhere along the way she’d 34
dropped the rock. She had no way to protect herself. Then in a 35 S
flash it occurred to her that he didn’t know about the phone.
36 R
She wheeled around to face him. He was nearer than she’d 1 9 6
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thought. He’d reached the base of the boulders and was looking 1
up at her. Up close, she could see that he wasn’t large, not much 2
taller than she was. He had sharp features, pitted skin, and nar-3
row, slouching shoulders. For an instant, she wondered if she 4
could take him on but quickly dismissed the idea. Even apart 5
from her injured ankle, there was something that warned her off.
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She sensed a sort of wiry strength at odds with the slender frame.
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Now he smiled up at her, showing small yellow teeth. He re-8
minded her of the evil foxes in fairy tales she’d read to Anna.
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“You gotta be careful up there,” he said. “Them rocks is slip-10
pery.”
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Callie met his eyes. “Stay away from me,” she said. “I’ve al-12
ready called for help.”
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The smile flickered, then faded. “What’re you talkin’ about?”
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“I’ve got a cell phone with me,” Callie said. “I’ve already called 15
the police. They know I’m out here, that you’re following me.
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They’ll be here any minute.”
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Shaking his head, he raised his hands and slowly backed away.
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“Ma’am, you got the wrong idea,” he said. “I ain’t gonna hurt you.
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I was just comin’ to tell you that you shouldn’t be out this way 20
alone. A woman was killed ’round these parts not too long ago.”
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Callie’s ankle had begun to throb. She looked at him, uncer-22
tain. Could he be telling the truth? She had no way of knowing.
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“Look,” she said. “I’m just a little nervous. I didn’t mean to at-24
tack you. It’s just that when I heard you behind me, well, I guess 25
I sort of panicked.”
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“You knew about the murder?” he said.
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“Yes,” said Callie. “I knew.”
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He peered at her more sharply, with something like suspicion.
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“Who are you, anyway? You some sort of reporter? Someone from 30
the papers?”
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“No. I’m . . . I used to know the woman who was killed. I was 32
sort of a friend of hers.”
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“Huh.” He nodded slowly a few times, then looked at her 34
again. “You need some help gettin’ down from there? You hurt S 35
yourself when you fell?”
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“No,” said Callie. “Really. I’m fine.”
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“Okay, then.” He cocked his head. “Well, I’d better get going.
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You be careful now, hear?”
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&
nbsp; As he sauntered back down the beach toward the woods, Cal-5
lie watched his figure get smaller. Once he’d disappeared in the 6
trees, she began to climb down off the rocks.
7
Now that there was no need to move quickly, she stayed on her 8
hands and knees. Painfully, she crawled down off the boulders, 9
then made an effort to stand. Her injured ankle was pounding, 10
the pain growing worse by the minute. She limped forward, step 11
by step, toward the path back to her car.
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When she reached the edge of the woods, she tried her phone 13
again, but there was still no signal. For all her network’s vaunted 14
claims of coverage, they must not have service here.
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It was almost one o’clock. The next ferry was at three. She 16
needed to get back on the road and find her way to the landing.
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As she stepped back onto the gloomy path, her throat seemed 18
to close up. Again, fear washed over her. What if he’d been lying?
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She told herself that he’d had his chance. If he’d wanted to at-20
tack her, he would have. Chances were he was just who he’d 21
claimed to be, a concerned passerby. Besides, she couldn’t just 22
stand here all day. She had to get back to her car.
23
Pale sun flickered across the ground as Callie struggled for-24
ward. It was her left ankle that she’d hurt, and she tried to favor 25
it, but even minor pressure sent pain surging through her. When 26
she finally glimpsed her parked car, she almost started to cry.
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She realized that a part of her had been afraid that it wouldn’t be 28
there. Amazingly, she’d managed to keep hold of her purse. She 29
reached into it for her keys.
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Inside, the car had its familiar smell of fresh plastic and coffee.
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On the seat beside her lay the road atlas, still opened to Maine.
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In the backseat, she saw her overnight bag, exactly where she’d 33
left it. These simple objects seemed miraculous; she had to reach 34
out and touch them. As she turned the key in the ignition, she 35 S
felt a burst of gratitude. How lucky she was to be here! How lucky 36 R
to be alive! She backed up and turned around, heading back to 1 9 8
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town. To the ferry that would carry her toward home, to the place 1
and people she loved.
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h
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Hidden inside the abandoned shed, Lester Crain watched her go.
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She was limping — he’d known that she was hurt — as she 6
staggered into her car. The dependable motor of the Subaru 7
quickly sprang to life. Rigid, he stood there watching as the blue 8
car pulled away. The roar of the motor blended with the drum-9
beat in his brain. He knew what it meant, tried to stop it, tried to 10
think it through. But the drumbeat just grew louder. There was 11
nothing he could do.
12
A tiny voice in the back of his head was telling him he’d 13
screwed up. He shouldn’t have come to the island. He shouldn’t 14
have stayed this long. It was getting harder and harder to keep 15
himself under control. At night, when he slept, he could hear the 16
screams, almost smell the blood. He saw their faces, crimson-17
lipped with bright, desperate eyes.
18
Things were getting all mixed up, the past confused with the 19
present. Sometimes he’d forget why he was here, forget Steven 20
Gage was dead. When he’d seen her coming down the trail, he’d 21
wondered if he’d gone crazy. But he wasn’t seeing things after all.
22
She was real. Here.
23
He wondered if she had any idea how close she’d come to dy-24
ing. It had taken an incredible effort to keep his hands off her.
25
Even though she wasn’t his type, he’d almost given in. But once 26
she let loose about the phone, he’d managed to pull back. The 27
bitch was probably lying, but he didn’t know for sure. And he 28
wasn’t so far gone yet that he planned to take the risk.
29
Still, hard as he tried, he couldn’t get her off his mind. He 30
looked at a beam high overhead and imagined her dangling 31
there. Mouth gagged, eyes bulging, terrified of what came next.
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The drumbeat in his head was faster now, pulsing through his 33
body. Quickly, he unzipped his pants and jammed a hand inside.
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When he was finished, he leaned against the wall, waiting for S 35
his head to clear. The relief was only partial, though, and he R 36
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needed something more. He couldn’t get over the feeling that 2
he’d let a chance go by. Of course, that’s what he’d learned to do.
3
Gage had taught him that. Strategy. Discipline. Self-control.
4
He’d learned these lessons well. He’d learned to assess opportuni-5
ties. He’d learned to hide the bodies.
6
But the pounding in his head wouldn’t stop. The rules were 7
falling away. Ever since Diane Massey, things hadn’t been the 8
same.
9
As the car disappeared down the tree-lined road, a plan was 10
taking shape. Again, he repeated the letter and numbers until he 11
knew them cold.
12
23LG00.
13
Her Massachusetts license plate.
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Thursday, May 4
Th e dining room at Rebecca’s was bathed in a peachy glow.
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Self-conscious on crutches, Callie followed the hostess back.
2
When the young woman stopped at a table for two, Callie hesi-3
tated. She’d be sitting with her back to the door, and the prospect 4
made her anxious.
5
“I . . . could we have one of the banquettes? What about over 6
there?”
7
The hostess smiled, amenable. She didn’t seem to care. Her 8
heavy topknot gave her head the look of a nodding flower.
9
Rick held her crutches, as Callie slid onto the cushioned 10
bench. She’d told Rick that she’d twisted her ankle stepping 11
out of her car. The hostess offered to take the crutches. Callie 12
said no.
13
“I’ll just put them against the wall. They’ll be out of the way.”
14
For the first time, the hostess seemed slightly put out, but she 15
didn’t say anything. Instead, after Rick had taken his seat, she 16
said, “Enjoy your meal.”
17
As she folded open the menu, Callie glanced toward the en-18
trance. She hadn’t wanted to come out tonight, but for once, 19
Rick had insisted. They needed to talk, he’d said to her. The 20
words seemed ominous. A week had passed since the dinner 21
party, and they’d barely spoken since. Yesterday, Rick had even 22
cancelled pizza night.
23
“You know what you want?” Rick’s voice was polite but coolly 24
impersonal. They might have been a couple on a bad first date, 25
the kind you just wanted to end.
S 26
“The duck, I think,” said Callie.
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Across the table in his navy blazer, Rick was a handsome 2
stranger. He seemed as remote and alien as a model in a maga-3
zine. Callie hadn’t bothered to get dressed up, just couldn’t make 4
the effort. As a last-minute concession, she’d put on dangly lapis 5
lazuli earrings.
6
A waitress came by to take their orders, and then they were 7
alone again.
8
“So I —”
9
“I was —”
10
Both of them spoke at once then stopped, elaborately courte-11
ous. Out of the corner of her eye, Callie watched a couple enter 12
the restaurant. As the man took the woman’s coat, he said some-13
thing and she laughed.
14
Rick began again. “Callie, we need to talk.”
15
“Yes,” she said. “I know.”
16
This was the moment she’d been dreading, and yet she felt 17
oddly detached. As if this wasn’t happening to her. As if she were 18
someone else. There was something restful, almost comforting, 19
about this state of mind. She didn’t have to fight anymore. She 20
could just let things go. She was so tired of trying to manage her 21
life, of trying to control things. It reminded her of that AA 22
phrase, she could just turn it over.
23
Calmly, she took a roll from the basket and started to butter it.
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When she’d finished, she took a bite. It was sourdough, very 25
good.
26