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“Take another drink.”
She did.
“All right. Now look at me, and tell me what happened.”
She rubbed the back of her neck. “I went to the gym today.”
“So you went to the gym. That’s a good thing.”
“I’ve been meaning to get back into my aerobics. There’s a new step class over at the gym, and I wanted to try it. So I went over today, and I renewed my membership.”
“And?”
“I had missed the class I wanted to attend, so I decided to get on the elliptical for a while.”
“Okay.”
“I did forty-five minutes, worked up a good sweat…” She gulped in a breath.
“Relax, honey. I’m here.”
“So when I got off the elliptical, I went over to get a towel to wipe my face, and there was another guy standing there, his back to me. He had gray hair.”
“Okay.”
“He lifted his arm, and I saw…”
“What did you see?”
“A…” She choked. “A birthmark. Shaped like Texas, like what Talon described to us. Right on the underside of the arm. Just like he said.”
My blood ran cold. “Who was it, Marjorie?”
But I already knew.
“It was the mayor, Joe. The mayor. Bryce’s father.”
My heart thumped against my sternum. I had all the evidence I needed. I had been racking my brain to find a way to get Tom Simpson to tell me where his birthmark was without alerting Bryce, and my innocent baby sister had discovered it unintentionally.
Although I hated what this was doing to her, I was glad to know.
“Calm down, honey,” I said.
“It’s him, Joe. And Bryce lives there…with that little baby.”
“He’s looking for his own place. He told me. He won’t live there much longer, not if I have anything to say about it.”
“Are you going to tell him?”
I cleared my throat. “I haven’t told any of you this, but I’ve suspected the mayor for a while.”
“Oh my God! Why didn’t you tell Talon? And why didn’t you tell Bryce? He’s living there with his child!”
“Relax. Henry’s fine. I didn’t have any real evidence until now. I knew Tom had a birthmark like that, but I didn’t know where. You’ve filled in the blank for me.”
“But even to be suspicious… We have to get that baby out of there.”
“Bryce grew up there, and nothing happened to him. And his mother’s there. But don’t worry. I’m going to tell Bryce.”
“And we have to tell Talon.”
I nodded. “Marj, I have to tell Bryce first.”
“Why?”
“Because he’s my best friend, and he’s living there with his infant son. And this is his father.”
“But Talon is your brother!”
“I know. But Talon is fine and needs a break. First I have to get Bryce and Henry out of there.” I sighed. “Don’t worry. I’m telling him tonight.”
“Oh my God. You’re not going there, are you?”
I shook my head. “No, I’ll call him and tell him to come over here, that I have something important we need to talk about.”
Marj shivered. “Make sure he brings the baby with him.”
“I will.”
I just hoped my friendship with Bryce was strong enough to withstand the accusation I was about to lodge against his father.
Chapter Six
Melanie
The car.
I had a car at my disposal.
My head was clouded and pounding, but how had this not occurred to me before now? As much as I didn’t want to even think about turning that ignition back on and flooding the garage with more carbon monoxide, the automobile was the best weapon I had.
I opened the driver’s side door, again ignoring the pain in my ankle, and pushed the jagged glass from the broken window onto the floor. I winced as several shards cut into my right hand. I sat down in the driver’s seat and turned the car back on. Would I have a better chance of backing through the garage door? Or pummeling forward, attempting to knock the wooden back door off its hinges?
I could no doubt get better speed going forward than in reverse, and I needed everything on my side. All I needed to do was dislodge the back door so I could escape.
Then again…I had no idea what was back there. I could see out the front. It was a driveway, and surely I could get through an old wooden garage door.
I just hoped I could do more damage to the door than I would undoubtedly do the back end of the car at the same time.
No more time for thinking. I put my seat belt on.
I pulled as far forward as I could and floored it in reverse.
Took three times, but I finally busted through the old wooden garage door.
I laughed like a maniac as I drove in reverse out of the driveway and onto a dirt country road with a bashed back end. I put the car in drive and stomped on the gas.
I needed medical care. I needed a blood test to see how much carbon monoxide had gotten into my system, my ankle probably needed an X-ray, and my hands and forearms needed to be patched up.
And I needed oxygen. I was light-headed and dizzy, my vision was blurred, with objects coming in and out of focus. But I had no choice. I had to drive out of there.
I had no idea where I was. I glanced at the dash. A half tank of gas. I had no money and no ID, so this half tank had better get me somewhere.
I regarded the vast prairie as I drove down the road, a drum still pounding in my head.
And I laughed like a maniac again.
I’d been driving almost an hour, my mind still foggy, when I finally saw a sign. Delta, ten miles. Delta was a tiny municipality about forty miles away from Grand Junction. If I could get to Delta, I could get home. All I needed was for the gas to hold out, and it probably would.
I drove with all the windows open—not that I had a choice on the driver’s side. I wanted only fresh air. I never wanted to inhale car fumes again. I was driving with a lead foot, and I reached Delta in less than ten minutes. Night had fallen, and Delta was a small town. Would their police station be open? Most likely, but I had no idea where it was, and I didn’t want to waste the gas looking around.
So I hopped on US 50 to Grand Junction. I knew how to get to the police there, but that wasn’t where I was going.