It’s been well over an hour and Ethan still isn’t back yet.
I’m getting worried. The temperature has dropped precipitously over the last hour, and the snow is turning to ice. What if he slipped and hurt himself? What if he’s lying out there in the snow, unable to go for help?
And it would be all my fault. After all, I’m the one who brought us here. And I didn’t even do what I meant to accomplish. Jamison’s body is still lying underneath the floorboards.
The worst part is that I have no phone service or way to find help. I already knew that the service out here was terrible, and I was counting on that. If Ethan could have made a call, he would have called Judy and found out we never had an appointment for last night. Or he would have called for a plow and I would not have had enough time to look for the body.
Now what seemed like an advantage has come back to bite me. I don’t know what has happened to Ethan. And there’s nothing I can do. I feel so helpless. I planned things out so perfectly at that cabin and on the night I killed Adrienne. How did I screw this up so badly? It must be pregnancy brain.
I pace across the kitchen, pushing away waves of nausea. I don’t know why they call it morning sickness when it’s all the freaking time. What am I going to do about Ethan? What if he never comes back?
I may need Luke to help me in that situation. But I don’t trust him. He didn’t kill Dr. Hale, but the fact that he cared so much about her makes him dangerous. Plus he’s smart. If he figures out what I’ve done…
Just when I’m about to go out of my mind, I hear a knock at the front door. I don’t know if it’s Ethan or if it’s the police telling me there’s been a horrible accident, but either way, it’s someone. It’s better than being trapped here, not knowing what’s going on.
I almost faint from relief when I see Ethan standing at the front door, the black beanie still covering his golden hair. I throw my arms around him, and he laughs and hugs me back. But I’m not laughing.
“I was so worried!” I bury my face in his dark jacket, which is slightly damp. “You were gone for such a long time.”
“I’m sorry, Tricia.” His arms feel warm and comforting surrounding me. “It took longer than I thought. The snow was hard to walk in.”
“So what happened?”
He pulls his phone out of his pocket. “I got reception right before hitting the main road. I found the number of a local place that does plowing. They’re going to come first thing in the morning.”
“In the morning?” I cry.
“I know…” He sighs. “But the blizzard hit this town hard. Even the main road was a disaster. It probably wouldn’t even be safe to drive until the morning.”
He’s right. But I hate the idea of sleeping here with a man tied up downstairs.
“But do you want to hear the strangest thing?” he says.
“What?”
He yanks his hat off his hair, which is messy in the sexiest possible way. Despite everything, I feel a stirring inside me. “The plowing place was all booked up when I called them. But get this—they already had a reservation for them to come here tomorrow morning.”
“That’s strange…”
I’m lying. I was the one who called and booked the plow for Sunday morning. I did it before even leaving on our trip, knowing we would be stuck here. I was certain I would have found the body by then and taken care of it. Unfortunately, that did not work out according to plan.
Ethan crinkles his brow. “Do you think Judy called for the plow?”
Unlikely, considering Judy doesn’t even know we’re here. The extra keys Ethan “discovered” below the plant belonged to Adrienne. “Probably.”
“In any case, it’s already been paid for.”
Yes, it has. In cash.
I start to bite on my thumbnail, but I put it away. My mother always said that’s a nasty habit. “Did you call the police?”
He shakes his head and I let out another quick sigh of relief. “I figure we can call in the morning.”
Ethan has no idea that his wife is responsible for the dead body in the office.
It looks like we’re not getting out of here tonight, but at least we’ll be able to go first thing in the morning. Thankfully, I’ve destroyed the worst of the tapes.
As for the dead body, I’m not sure what to do about it yet. But I have a feeling the solution will come to me. It usually does.
