The Terrible Truth of Faerywood Falls Page 7

  “What’re your names?” I asked.

  “Are you with the police?” the girl with braces asked, folding her arms.

  “Definitely not,” I said. “I’ve just been worried about you guys the last few days. I wanted to give you some space to try and deal with everything, but…I can’t imagine this whole thing has been easy on you.”

  The girl with braces seemed to give in first. “I’m Megan. This is Becca. And no. The whole thing has been awful, really…”

  At once, the poor thing dissolved into tears, holding up a hand to her face, pinching her eyes closed.

  Becca clenched her jaw and looked up at me. She had pretty grey eyes and a sweet face. “We just can’t believe she’s gone,” she said, her eyes as large as a doe’s. “This was supposed to be our last big senior trip before Greg graduated…”

  “Greg was Annie’s boyfriend, right?” I asked.

  Megan nodded, sniffling. “He’s graduating a semester early to study abroad in London,” she said. “He was planning to propose to Annie this trip.”

  “Really?” I asked. That made my heart ache even more. “That’s terrible…”

  “Not that I’m sure she would’ve said yes…” Becca said, arching her eyebrows. “She never really seemed sure about Greg.”

  “Becky, stop,” Megan said, turning and glaring at her with bloodshot eyes. “How can you say something like that?”

  “All I’m saying is that it wasn’t all perfect in la-la-land,” Becca said, glaring right back. She looked over at me. “I dated Greg for a while, and I guess Annie was just starting to see some of his flaws finally. I don’t know if she would’ve said yes.”

  Megan huffed and teared up again.

  Interesting…Becca and Greg used to be an item?

  “Not that I cared or anything,” Becca said, flipping her wavy hair over her shoulder. “But even if she had said yes, there’s no guarantee that things would’ve worked out when he went away to school. Long distance relationships hardly ever work out.”

  “Greg loved her,” Megan said. “Haven’t you seen how messed up he’s been the last few days?”

  “Not really, no,” Becca said. “He won’t let me get anywhere near him.”

  “He won’t talk to you?” I asked.

  “He won’t talk to any of us,” Megan said, snatching a napkin off the table and dabbing at her eyes with it. “He’s just been holed up out on that balcony every second of the day. I think he’s hoping she’ll just come out of the water, and that this whole thing was just a bad dream…”

  “Well, sooner or later, he’s going to have to realize that she’s gone,” Becca said with a hard tone. “Annie’s dead, no matter how he – ”

  “Look, Becky, I don’t care if you’re in denial or whatever, but you’ve got to stop talking about this all so flippantly,” Megan said. “Does saying that Annie’s gone out loud help you or something? Why won’t you just cry like the rest of us?”

  Becca looked at me, and there was a horror in there that I’d seen in my own reflection at times. “Crying won’t bring her back,” Becca said, and there was a distinct tremor in her words. “Sitting around and staring at a wall won’t bring her back. Nothing will. She’s gone, and I – ”

  Megan grabbed Becca and pulled her into a hug.

  I felt as if I was intruding on a very private moment between them, knowing I had no place in grieving with them over the loss of their friend.

  Becca still didn’t cry, though. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, staring off into space.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, getting to my feet. “I didn’t mean to make this harder on you.”

  “No…it’s okay,” Megan said, letting Becca go and wiping her eyes. “It kind of helps to talk about it with someone who doesn’t really know us or Annie. Kind of like therapy or something.”

  A twinge of guilt passed through me. “I wouldn’t call myself a therapist or anything…” I said.

  Megan shook her head, sniffling again. “It was just so weird…” she said. “I keep thinking about that night, and I – I just don’t understand what happened.”

  “Well, you can talk through it with me,” I said. “Sometimes it helps to say these things out loud.”

  Another punch of guilt right to the gut. I was pulling this information out of them in the most selfish way possible. But I didn’t stop myself.

  “Everything was great,” Megan said. “We’d spent a few great days here. I loved hiking with everyone. Tyler got a really cool antique sign for his garage down in town. Becca got some super cool pictures of us all down by the lake…that last night we’d just been hanging out down by the campfire, roasting marshmallows and hot dogs. I remember Tyler suggesting we play Manhunt, but I was so tired from hiking that afternoon that all I wanted to do was curl up in bed and watch a movie. Erin, one of the other girls with us, wanted to do the same. We stayed by the fire as long as we could keep our eyes open. But eventually, I just got too tired, so she and I went up to our room to crash.”

  “So you didn’t see anything weird?” I asked. “No one in your group was acting strange?”

  Becca shrugged. “I mean, Tyler’s always weird, so that’s not a good question.”

  Megan elbowed Becca in the ribs.

  “Ow,” Becca said, massaging her side. “No, no one was acting weird. I stayed with the others for a little longer, but I went up to bed soon after Megan and Erin did. The boys kept telling me I was a party pooper, but I was tired, too. The last three down by the fire were Tyler, Greg, and Annie.” Becca’s gaze hardened. “I wouldn’t rule out Tyler and Greg doing something stupid, and that’s how Annie – ”

  “They’d never do anything like that,” Megan said, shaking her head. “Besides, I saw all three of them when I went to go brush my teeth like an hour later. They were all upstairs.”

  “But Tyler said they all went back outside after that,” Becca said.

  “Can I interject a question?” I asked.

  They both looked over at me.

  “Was there any alcohol involved in your activities that day?” I asked.

  “Oh, definitely not,” Becca said, shaking her head. “First off, Tyler and Erin aren’t even legally allowed to drink. And second, Annie wouldn’t ever have anything to do with the stuff. Hated the sight of it.”

  I didn’t point out that some of the kids had told Sheriff Garland otherwise, earlier.

  “So clearly something happened that night after everyone went to sleep…” I said.

  “That’s the only thing I can think of,” Megan said. “Because none of us knew that anything happened before morning.”

  Becca’s eyes narrowed. “There’s been one thing that’s nagging me, though…” she said. She glanced toward the door, obviously hoping not to be overheard. “That guy that works down at the boathouse? The one in charge of the bike and boat rentals? He was like, super into Annie.”

  Megan’s eyes widened. “I forgot about him…”

  “You mean Paul Chase?” I asked. I’d never really spoken much to the middle-aged man who took care of a lot of the external workings around the lodge for my aunt. He always kept to himself, but he always seemed nice enough.

  “I think so,” Becca said. “Tall, kind of heavy? Bald spot on the back of his head?”

  Not how I’d describe him, but he was balding. “Yeah.”

  “Yeah, well, he saw us outside a few times, and made it a point to stop and talk to us. He insisted that he kept talking to Annie because she looked soooo much like his daughter, but come on, it was creepy.”

  “It was kind of creepy…” Megan said.

  “What was he doing?” I asked.

  Becca shrugged. “I don’t know, he was just weird. Annie even told some of us that she thought his flirting was way over the top, and she was debating about telling the lodge’s owner about it so that it would stop.”

  The little hairs on the back of my neck stood up. That was interesting information…

  “
I don’t know, though…” Megan said. “I thought she was overreacting…”

  “Even still, I thought the whole thing was weird. And Greg really didn’t like it,” Becca said. “I think he was even more angry about that guy’s behavior than Annie was. Maybe his reaction is what upset her so much.”

  “Maybe…” I said.

  I glanced up at the clock on the wall.

  “Alright, ladies. I’m sorry to have bothered you.”

  “That’s okay,” Megan said. “Thank you for caring enough to check in on us.”

  “Yeah, everyone else around here is treating us like we have the plague or something,” Becca said.

  “Well, feel free to talk to me anytime, okay?” I said. “I should get back to my chores though. I’ll talk to you later.”

  I made my way from the room and reached out to Athena with my thoughts.

  So I’ve got good and bad news…I said. I might have some new suspects, but it’s more than one. First, it’s clear that Becca has some kind of issue with Annie and her boyfriend, Greg. Then there’s Greg, who is so reclusive he won’t talk to anyone. I’m on my way to talk to him, next. Third, Paul Chase that works down at the boathouse was apparently making advances toward Annie, making her incredibly uncomfortable. I need to talk to him, too.

  Well, I guess the only way you’ll find anything out is if you check things out, huh? Athena said.

  I found Greg sitting out on the porch where he’d first seen Annie’s body, exactly where the girls had said he would be.

  My heart ached as I watched him for a minute, his gaze fixed on the lake.

  Gently, I knocked on the doorframe as I stepped outside.

  He didn’t look up as I slowly walked over toward him. He could’ve been sleeping for all I knew, sitting there in that chair, staring out at the lake. His hands were folded in his lap.

  He had a few days worth of scruff along his jawline, and from the puffiness around his eyes, I figured he couldn’t have slept more than a few hours total since stumbling out here and seeing Annie’s body floating in the water.

  Not that I blamed him. He loved her so much that he’d planned to propose to her.

  Hesitantly, I took the seat beside his.

  His gaze never left the shoreline.

  “Hey…” I said in a voice just above a whisper.

  He blinked. He had to have known I was there.

  “I don’t know if you remember me,” I said. “I’m Marianne. Candace Brook’s niece? She’s the one who owns the Lodge?”

  “I remember you,” he murmured; the only thing about him that moved was his lips.

  I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it wouldn’t budge. “I wanted to check in on you…see how you were doing.”

  “I’m alive still,” he said. “Not sure how, though. Haven’t eaten in days, can’t remember the last time I slept…”

  “It’s okay…” I said in a gentle whisper. “Believe it or not…I might understand better than anyone what you’re going through.”

  That got him to shift his eyes toward me. And I was hit with the full brunt of his anguish.

  “How?” he asked. “Did you lose the love of your life, too?”

  My throat grew tight, and the back of my eyes stung with tears. “Yes,” I said, remembering Jacob back in my old town of Hillbilly Hollow. “He was murdered.”

  Greg’s gaze sharpened briefly, but the fire of his anger died quickly, and he turned to look back out over the water. Too many emotions to process right now.

  “I just…” he said, his voice empty. “How am I supposed to – ”

  “Move on?” I finished for him. “Forget? You won’t. Not completely.”

  He didn’t react to that like I thought he might. I had no reason to lie to him. He’d experienced perhaps the greatest loss a person ever could, and at such a young age…It was better if I was honest with him.

  “But you will learn to be happy again,” I said.

  He shook his head. “I can’t,” he said. “I won’t ever be able to – ”

  “Yes you will,” I said. “It’s going to keep hurting. There will be days when you’ll feel like you just want to curl up and die. But you won’t. You’ll survive, and you’ll learn to live without her.”

  His jaw clenched, and a single, fat tear splashed onto his cheek. “I loved her. Why did this have to happen?”

  “I can’t answer that…” I said. I leaned forward. “But you could help me figure out who did this to her.”

  His brow furrowed, and he glared out at the lake that was as flat as glass in the late afternoon stillness. “So I’m not crazy?” he asked.

  “Who said you were crazy?” I asked.

  “Becca did,” he said. “And so did Tyler. They all think I’m crazy that I think someone did this to her.”

  This was going the right direction, now. “What happened the night she died?”

  “Nothing out of the ordinary,” Greg said. “We were hanging out by the campfire. She and I were the last ones to go to bed. We were happy and cuddling and stuff…Tyler got grossed out so he went to bed. I walked her up to her room, kissed her goodnight, and that was the last time I saw her…” he said.

  His story matched Megan and Becca’s. He didn’t look me in the eye when he said it, though.

  Was that enough of a reason to doubt his story? Had they all practiced beforehand?

  I was less inclined to believe that, given how devastated he clearly was.

  “I shouldn’t have left her…” Greg said. “If I’d stayed up with her like she wanted, then this never would’ve…”

  “Do you think she did this to herself?” I asked.

  “No,” he said icily, his gaze darting back to me. “She wasn’t like that. Not at all.”

  “Then would anyone in your group do something like that to her?” I asked.

  “No…” he said. But he didn’t sound as confident this time.

  “I talked to Becca and Megan,” I said. “They both told me you’ve been keeping to yourself since this all happened. They also wanted to make sure I wasn’t police. Did something happen they didn’t want to tell anyone else?”

  Greg’s brow furrowed. “Annie was always too pretty for her own good. Attracted all sorts of unwanted attention. She even caught the eye of that guy that works down in the boathouse.”

  “Paul,” I said. “Yeah, the girls said the same thing.”

  Greg’s lip pulled back in a momentary sneer. “He kept hitting on her when I wasn’t looking. If he did or said one more thing, I was going to let him know how I felt about him pulling that kind of crap.” His shoulders sagged. “But he’s one in a million.”

  “Did you tell the police about him?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No. At the time, it didn’t seem relevant. But now…I’m wondering if he got a little too jealous for his own good.”

  His hands gripped the arms of the chair.

  “If he so much as touched a hair on her head, I’ll kill him – ” Greg said, all the muscles in his neck tightening.

  I reached out and laid a hand on his arm. “Easy…we don’t know anything yet. But maybe it would be a good idea for us to get a hold of the police again so you can give them a statement about him?” I asked.

  “Yeah…” Greg said. “Maybe you’re right.”

  “You’re upset,” I said. “You’re hurting. It’s only natural that you’d be looking for answers, and grasping at anything that might look like them. But it’s best to just stay patient, okay?”

  “Yeah…” he said.

  “What about between all of you in your group? Was anything strange going on there?” I asked.

  Greg shrugged one shoulder, his blank stare returning. “I don’t know. The girls were kind of catty to each other on this trip. I told Erin and Megan that I was planning to propose to Annie. I guess Becca got wind of it and didn’t really like that much. She’d been giving me death looks the whole time.”

  That was interesting. “
Becca mentioned that you guys were a thing once.”

  “Becca and me? Yeah…she always hated that I started dating Annie. She never got over me. She’s told me as much since Annie died…” he said.

  Did she now?

  “But Becca loved Annie. They were best friends. I think she’s taking her death even harder than I am. She’s like a robot now, which is totally unlike her…she won’t talk to anyone about it. It’s like she’s pretending it didn’t even happen,” he said.

  That sounded about right. I thought the same thing about her when we’d spoken. “It’s called denial,” I said. “And it’s a real thing. A lot of people experience it right after someone close to them dies…”

  Greg shook his head. “I think we just all don’t know how to handle it. We’re all clinging onto reality in every way we can. Megan can’t stop crying. Tyler’s locked himself in our room. Erin and Becca keep fighting about it, since the four girls were all staying in a room together. Becca says that she and Erin should’ve been keeping a better eye on her, and Erin says that they had no reason to think anything was going to happen…”

  This story just kept getting sadder and sadder.

  “I just…don’t know what happened. Did she just get up in the middle of the night? Did someone come in and kidnap her? I can’t bear the thought that she might’ve done something to herself…” he said, and his bottom lip trembled.

  I’d pushed him too far. “I’m sorry, Greg…” I said, reaching out and squeezing his arm affectionately. “It doesn’t help to ask yourself these questions, because you’ll never get the answer you want.”

  Greg let out a shuddering breath. “I know. It just sucks so much…” he said, his head falling into his hands.

  “I know…” I said. I laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I know.”

  I decided it was best to give him some space for the time being. Everything was still so raw for him that I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any more information out of him.

  That meant taking the leads he and the other girls had given me and running with them.

  Both had mentioned Paul Chase. I’d seen men kill for things less severe than unhealthy crushes.

  I’d meant what I said to Greg about calling the police for another statement.