by Mya O'Malley
One that he might just want to kill?
Fear prickled her scalp as she was hit with an idea. Yes, it had to be. More determined than ever, she walked back to the path and sprinted up the mountain despite her burning thighs.
The sound of her cell ringing startled her as she cringed. She had forgotten to call Bryce. Sure enough, it was him.
“Sorry.”
“Damn, Naomi. I was worried. Stay on the phone with me.”
“Bryce, I’m okay. I have to get off for just a bit, but I promise to call you soon.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. Are you sure you’re not in any danger?”
“Yes,” she answered. Whether or not that was true, was not yet determined, but she was in a zone and needed to focus. “Talk to you soon.”
Back on track, she reached the top of the mountain and caught her breath. She rested her hands on her thighs as she steadied her breathing. Yes, this is where Ryan would want to be if he were going to kill Maggie.
Right on the edge of the cliff.
Probably in the most scenic spot he could find, to lure poor Maggie to the edge.
Heading over to an area that exposed the river below, she sucked in her breath and stumbled backwards, losing her footing in some small rocks.
“Damn,” she cried out, falling to the ground.
Her eyes came into contact with a large oak tree. Slowly, her gaze wandered up the length of the tree. It was there she found what she was looking for.
Rising to her feet, she brushed the dirt from her pants and brought her hands up to touch the etching. Her chest pounded as her fingers traced over R.J.’s and Maggie’s initials again and again. It was hard to imagine the two of them together, up here. It was even more difficult to picture Ryan harming her.
“Oh, Ryan, What did you do?” she whispered into the deserted woods.
Her throat ached as the tears came. For Maggie and for Ryan’s betrayal. She had grown to love him in such a special way. The thought of Ryan teaming up with Nick made him a monster in her mind.
Sobbing, she sank to the cold ground and gave in to her complex emotions. How would she tell Maggie’s parents all that she would discover? It was only a matter of time before the truth was exposed, and it wouldn’t be pretty.
Ryan’s warm smile and blue eyes filled her mind. He was a master manipulator of the worst kind. “Damn you!” she cried out into the vast woods.
And if all of her clues added up to the grisly truth she feared, Ryan had his sights on her next.
It wasn’t safe for her to be alone in these woods. Bryce was right. Rising to her feet, Naomi wiped her eyes. It would help to have a picture of this. She reached for her cell and snapped a few photos of the heart carving.
As she promised earlier, she called Bryce to let him know she was okay and would be heading home.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Maggie
“ARE YOU GOING to answer me? Why do you have that knife?”
R.J. chuckled, moving toward her. “Relax. I want to show you something.”
Guiding her toward a large oak tree, he then released her hand. “Watch.”
R.J. carefully carved into the tree. He was making a large heart. She studied him as she saw their initials being etched inside of the shape. He was clever, and he was romantic.
“Wow. That looks amazing.” She crossed her arms over her chest, smiling. Men like him didn’t come around very often. Thinking of how lucky she had been to find him, she moved closer, placing a soft kiss on his lips.
“How did I find such a catch?” Her mother’s words echoed in her mind.
“How did I?” He kissed her this time. “I love you.”
She giggled and pointed to her chest. “And I love you.”
Lost in his kiss, she barely heard the approaching footsteps. When it registered in her mind that someone was near, it was too late.
“Well, well, well. What do we have here?” A sick, menacing laugh caused her to step back.
“What-what are you doing here?” She felt her stomach lurch. R.J. grabbed her hand, pulling her to his side.
“You have no right to be here. Leave us alone,” R.J. demanded.
“I was about to ask you the very same question.” Nick zeroed in on Maggie, ignoring R.J, dismissing his words.
“Nick, don’t move a step closer.” Maggie edged backward, away from Nick’s reach.
“Stop right there, Nick. What do you want from her?” R.J. stepped forward, blocking Maggie from Nick.
“You have no business butting in here. This is between me and Maggie. Step to the side.”
“Like hell.” R.J. moved closer to Nick.
“Stop it, would you just stop! Nick, what do you want?” Maggie cried out, moving out from behind R.J. Her stomach lurched, her head dizzy from the wine.
“Looks like the two of you are pretty close, Maggie. Tell me, how exactly do you go from telling one man you love him and then, POW, break his heart and move right on to another?” Tears glistened in his eyes.
“It wasn’t like that, Nick.” she muttered.
“Like hell it wasn’t. I heard you tell this loser here that you loved him, too. How could you, Maggie? How could you?” He poked her chest, backing her away from the oak tree.
“I’ve heard enough. Maggie and I are together now, and you’ll just have to accept it. I love her and I won’t allow you to hurt her anymore.”
“See, Maggie?” Nick’s voice rose in anger. “That’s just what I’m talking about. All this talk of love, what do you do? Jump in bed with man after man and tell them you love them all? You’re a cold, heartless—”
“Leave her alone!” R.J.’s voice boomed as he stepped in front of Maggie. He stood face to face with Nick, jabbing his arm with his finger.
“Don’t you touch me!” Nick backed up, looking up at R.J.’s full height.
They were close to the edge of the cliff.
Too close.
Maggie opened her mouth to warn them, watching the men move closer to the edge. Didn’t R.J. see where he was headed?
“R.J.! Stop, you’re too close to the edge!”
“You leave her alone, you hear? Leave her alone! Get out of here!” R.J. advanced further on Nick.
There was no time. Maggie rushed over to the men. “Oh my God, R.J.! He’s going to fall! Stop it!” She tried to clear her foggy mind.
“You’re nothing to her. Nothing! She’ll use you just like she did me and then leave you. Just like that, she’ll be sleeping with another piece of crap just like you.”
Maggie grabbed R.J’s arm from behind just as he was reaching to punch Nick. Caught in the middle, she flinched as Nick’s fist made contact with her face instead of the intended target. Stumbling, her body smashed to the cold, hard ground. She hit her head on a rock. Glancing at the men, she tried to stand, but then another wave of dizziness swept over her.
R.J.’s mouth opened wide, screaming her name. “Maggie! Maggie, no!”
Closing her eyes, she fell and tumbled back. R.J’s hand reached for her, but it was too late as she fell deeper into the darkness. His howling scream was the last thing she heard before her world changed forever.
Naomi
SATISFIED THAT SHE had found the carving, Naomi soon realized that she was no closer to solving the mystery. In her mind, she pictured Ryan luring Maggie up to the top of the mountain and then pushing her off. It would be consistent with the autopsy findings. But why would he do that? Were he and Nick some kind of twisted tag team killers?
Besides the fact that she had no evidence, except that her dreams were leading her to exposing the truth, Naomi knew without Ryan, none of this could be proven. She needed to find him. There was no chance in hell Nick would talk. Knowing Nick, he would keep his mouth shut until the bitter end.
“Nomi? Don’t you like to play with Miss Tratt?” A dark haired doll sat before her. Miss Tratt was Holly’s kindergarten teacher, and Holly delighted in playing school wi
th her dolls.
“Yes, I do. I’m sorry.” Naomi couldn’t think of anything else but Ryan right now. Even when she was here on her “play date” with Holly.
“You need to pay better attention.” Holly enunciated the word attention perfectly. This must be a phrase her teacher used often.
“You’re right. I will.” Hearing Bryce’s chuckle from across the room, she turned her head and smiled at him. A warm feeling came over her.
She and Bryce had plans to go to dinner and a movie next weekend, when Holly would be visiting her grandmother. Life was good, except for the unsolved mystery looming over her.
“Okay, Holly. It has been a pleasure playing with you today. I have to head home and get some work done, but I’ll see you later.” She rubbed the top of Holly’s head and sucked in her breath as Holly slammed her with a hug.
“Wow.” Naomi laughed, hugging her back.
“Okay, Naomi needs to breathe, sweetheart. We’ll see her later tonight, right?” Bryce asked.
“Yes. I’m bringing dessert. Your favorite, Holly.”
“Cannoli?”
“Yes, and I know a place that makes the most delicious ones around.”
Naomi waved good-bye as Bryce followed her outside. He reached over and placed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. “You’re a natural with kids.”
“Oh, please. It’s so easy with Holly.”
“Still.” He moved a piece of hair from her eyes. “I’m looking forward to dinner with you tonight.”
“Me, too. I’ll see you guys around six.”
“Stay out of trouble, you.”
“Of course.” Naomi winked. Heading back to her house, her mind was focused on finding Ryan.
Instead of heading for her front door, she veered off in the direction of the cemetery beyond. Maggie’s body had been returned to her resting spot. The spunk that Maggie showed as a spirit got Naomi thinking about how much she would have liked to have known her in life. They could have been great friends if their paths had crossed.
Naomi bent down to touch Maggie’s headstone. “I miss you, Maggie. A lot.”
Turning to look back at her house, she spied Zelda sitting near the window. No more manic pacing or howling. She never thought there would be a time when she longed for the spirit of a ghost to haunt her home.
“I’m trying to help you, Maggie. I won’t rest until I do.” A lone tear slid down Naomi’s cheek as she whispered the words.
With her head down, Naomi made her way back to her house.
It was a sickness of sorts, she supposed. Being obsessed with Maggie and Ryan left her little time to focus on anything else. Glaring at her laptop, she frowned. Forget about writing. There would be no writing until she had finished figuring out this mess. Then she would write a hell of a story about Maggie and all she had been through. She would write about the good and the bad. She would write what made Maggie smile and what made her cry.
Ultimately, she would write what made Maggie die.
Needing to feel close to Maggie, she did the only thing she could think of to pass the time. Naomi placed a call to Maggie’s parents asking if she could stop by for some coffee.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Naomi
“WE KNOW YOU’VE been up to something, dear, so spill. Where have you been?” Mr. Field narrowed his gaze on her.
“Yes, Naomi. We’ve stopped by several times to see you, and you weren’t home. Aren’t writers supposed to be working on their books?” Virginia chuckled.
They both knew her too well. “Yes, you’ve got that right, Virginia. I actually was working on my book, but just not in the way you would imagine.”
“Your research. Tell us, is there anything new?” Tom lifted his head from his mug of coffee.
“Yes and no. Ryan is still missing, but I finally got some more clues. You see, these dreams I’ve been having, I realized that it’s Maggie. She’s been sending me clues all along.”
“What kind of clues?” Virginia studied her.
“Flashes of the woods near the river. A spot where she and Ryan had a picnic.”
“I still can’t picture him going by the name Ryan. He was always R.J. to us.”
“I know, Virginia. This can’t be easy on you.” Naomi reached out and touched Virginia’s hand.
“And I still can’t believe in my heart that he’s a cold-blooded murderer.” Virginia turned away so Naomi wouldn’t see her tears.
“Oh, come on. It’s clear as day. Why else would he run?” Tom interjected his own opinion.
“Tom, did you see his tortured face at the police station? I’ve been thinking a lot over the past few days. He’s hiding something all right, but a murderer? I find that very hard to accept.”
Naomi had been over this in her mind a thousand times as well and didn’t feel as confident that Ryan was innocent. He was all tangled up in this mess. What his role was exactly was yet to be determined.
“Oh, dear. I keep forgetting how devastating this must be for you, too. He was your boyfriend. I can’t even imagine the betrayal you must feel right now,” Virginia said.
“Honestly? I’m not sure what our relationship was, especially toward the end. As we became less involved romantically, it seemed we became closer. Does that make any sense?”
In her own mind, she still hadn’t come to terms with their close friendship and swift deception. It stung so badly.
“Listen. When they were having their picnic, there was a noise in the woods.” Naomi attempted to recall the specifics of her dream.
“Oh my God. Why didn’t I pick up on this before? She pointed to her chest, she told him she loved him that day. It was such a special day for her.”
Turning her head away from Maggie’s parents, she realized her words were bittersweet. It was a special day, and it was the worst day.
“I’m sorry.” She lifted her gaze to meet their distraught faces.
“It’s okay, sweetie. You’re just trying to remember.” Tom moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, urging her to continue.
Naomi shut her eyes tight, fighting the impending tears. “I… She was happy. So happy at that moment leading up to the sound coming from the edge of the woods.” Tears slid down her cheeks as Naomi swallowed.
At this moment, she couldn’t bear to see their faces. She continued on, with her eyes closed, so that she could escape the pain and focus on the memory of the dream.
“He told her it was nothing. He acted as if she were imagining the sound. That was it, but I saw a flash of Nick’s face before I woke. And I knew where to look for the etching.”
“Whoa. Slow down. What etching?”
“Tom, there was a heart with Maggie’s and Ryan’s initials carved into it. I went back up there and found exactly where that tree was. Thanks to the dream, I had a point of reference.”
Naomi grabbed her cell phone from her bag on the kitchen table. “Here, I took a picture of it.” Naomi found the photo and showed it to them.
“Oh my God, you have to go the police.” Virginia covered her mouth. “It might mean something.”
“Where was this tree exactly?” Tom asked.
Naomi hesitated as she glanced back and forth between Maggie’s parents.
“It was right at the edge of the cliff.” She barely got the words out. Hanging her head, she struggled for her next breath.
“What? She… Maggie was deathly afraid of heights,” Virginia whispered.
Tom sunk down to his chair, covering his head with his hands. Holding on to Virginia’s quaking hands steadied her. The soft sobs were almost too much to bear.
Through her own tears, Naomi guided Virginia to her seat. Nobody spoke—there was nothing left to say. Naomi knew her next step would be to sit down and talk with Officer Marty. For now, she stayed right where she needed to be.
Beside the two people who loved Maggie most in this world.
Naomi
WAITING FOR HER appointment with Officer Marty, she rev
iewed all of the details she wanted to bring forth to their discussion. She wasn’t even sure that Miriam Marty would believe a word she said. Knowing their relationship, the officer might just dismiss the current information.
Swearing under her breath, Naomi figured Miriam Marty was purposely making her sweat out the meeting. It wasn’t as if there was a line of people waiting to see the officer.
Naomi thumbed through the only available reading material: a hot rod car magazine. After a minute, she threw it back on the table. This was getting ridiculous. She had been waiting for over a half hour.
“Excuse me?” Naomi spoke to the officer covering the front desk area. “Do you know how much longer it will be?”
Pushing her glasses up further on her nose, the woman scowled at Naomi. “Officer Marty will be with you as soon as she can. Like I said before, she’s aware that you’re waiting.”
“I’m sure she’s getting a big kick out of it, too,” Naomi mumbled.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. I’m going to go back and sit down to read that fascinating car magazine.”
Her comment earned a smirk from the officer. Boredom was setting in. What did one expect to happen in these circumstances? Normally Naomi wouldn’t consider herself to be a wiseass, but this place seemed to bring out the worst in her.
Minutes later, Miriam Marty walked through the main door, a red scarf wrapped tightly around her neck.
Reaching to take her scarf off, Miriam nodded in Naomi’s direction. She leaned over to whisper to the officer behind the desk before making her way over to Naomi.
“Sorry about that. I got held up in town.”
“No problem,” Naomi responded. “I was enjoying this fine magazine.” Naomi lifted it in the air with saccharine smile.
Miriam smirked. “Come with me.”
Following in the officer’s path, Naomi was led to the familiar office. It was just as cold and unappealing as the last time she was here. She took a seat in the hard chair across from Miriam Marty. She stared at the gray walls, devoid of decorations of any kind.