Chapter 14 - What the Pond Kept
Divers arrived after midnight.
By then the wedding guests were long gone. The flower arch still stood on the terrace, covered in snow like a forgotten stage set from someone else’s life.
I sat in the estate kitchen wearing Ethan’s coat over my wedding gown.
He placed a mug of coffee in front of me.
“You don’t have to stay.”
I looked at him. “Where exactly would I go?”
“I mean with me.”
There it was.
The conversation we had avoided since the ceremony stopped.
He rubbed his hands together. “My family lied to you. My father grabbed you. Someone shot at us. This isn’t exactly the marriage weekend you signed up for.”
“No.”
He gave a tired half-smile.
I reached across the table. “I don’t know what happens with us after this. But what your father did isn’t yours.”
His eyes filled. He looked down before the tears could fall.
At 1:12 a.m., Sheriff Molina came inside.
“They found a vehicle.”
Everyone stood.
It was an old green Ford pickup registered to Thomas Bell.
Inside the cab were bones.
Human.
Eleanor sat down hard.
“But Thomas was found below the ridge,” Dad said.
Molina nodded. “Those remains were identified by clothing and a wallet. DNA testing didn’t exist here in 1989.”
Richard whispered, “Caleb.”
“Maybe.”
The sheriff placed a sealed evidence bag on the counter.
“Divers also recovered this from the truck.”
Inside was a woman’s bracelet engraved C.C.
Eleanor made a broken sound.
Then Molina added, “But the skeleton in the driver’s seat appears male.”
My head lifted.
“Thomas?”
“Possibly.”
“Then whose body was found below the ridge?” Ethan asked.
Nobody answered.
Molina looked at Richard.
“We’re reopening both deaths.”
Before Richard could respond, the estate phone rang.
An old landline nobody had noticed all night.
Eleanor answered.
A man’s voice spoke through the speaker.
“Ask Daniel where Claire really went.”
Dad’s chair scraped backward.
May you like
The caller laughed softly.
Then said, “Because she didn’t die in 1989.”
