Page 126 of The River We Remember

“You say anything—”

“I won’t,” he promised.

The women were in the living room. Del’s mother lay on the sofa, her shoes off, a pillow beneath her head. She looked awful, worse than Del. And Creasy was still out there, still a threat.

“We’re going for a walk,” he said to his mother. “Del and me.”

“I don’t think so, Scott,” Angie replied.

She sat in an easy chair with flowered upholstery. It looked so normal, so comfortable, so familiar. So why did it all feel so alien to Scott at that moment?

“Just around the block,” he said. “Del’s kind of upset. He can’t sit still. I’ll be with him. It’ll be fine.”

She considered him carefully and at last gave a nod. “Not long, though.”

“Not long,” he said. Because he was already steeped in lies. And how much worse could one more be?

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT

UNTIL SAM WICKLOW called Charlie Bauer that Monday morning to ask if he could talk to Noah and Kyoko Bluestone, the lawyer was completely in the dark about what had happened the night before at the Bluestone farmstead. Sam filled her in on what he knew, and she got herself together and ready to speed off to the jailhouse. Just before she left, however, the telephone rang. She was in such a hurry that she almost chose not to answer it.

“Miss Bauer?”

Charlie recognized the voice right away. “Good morning, Fiona.”

“Miss Bauer, I wonder if I could talk to you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Not over the phone. I need to talk to you in person.”

“All right. Would you like me to come there?”

“No. Not here.”

“Would you prefer that we talk in Jewel?”

“It’s too far, and I don’t have that kind of time today. Would you meet me partway?”

“Of course. Where?”

“Do you know Pilot Knob? In northern Iowa?”

“Of course.”

“Meet me there. At the observation tower. Can you make it by one?”

“I can. And thank you, Fiona.”

In Des Moines, their brief time together had ended on such a sour note that Charlie had expected never to hear from Jimmy Quinn’s daughter again. She replayed their phone conversation, tried to recall the timbre of the woman’s voice. Afraid, Charlie thought. Whatever it was Fiona had to say, it scared her.

But there was much to do to in Black Earth County first, and Charlie headed quickly to the jailhouse. Connie Graff was there with Asa Fielding, and when Charlie arrived, Kyoko was in her husband’s cell. Asa told her about what Tyler Creasy had done to Ramona and Del. He said that Brody was out talking with the state police about getting some help tracking Creasy down.

Charlie went to the door of the cellblock and waited for the deputy to get the key. What she heard as she stood there surprised her. In a very low and angry voice, Kyoko Bluestone was arguing with her husband. She couldn’t hear most of the words, but Kyoko was clearly upset. Then she said something that Charlie did hear: “I don’t know if I can go through with this. I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”

To which Bluestone replied, “The truth will only make everything worse. Trust me, Kyoko. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. And I don’t think you could either.”

Asa fumbled the key in the lock of the cellblock door and the voices inside died abruptly.