Page 85 of Her Dying Secret

“Not at first, but then I realized that I had once told Rosie that when I finally came for her, she could see Aunt April again, too, because she lived nearby. Apparently, Rosie let that slip but when I confronted Seth, he had no idea what I was talking about. I accused him of abducting her. He was mystified.”

“Because Rosie didn’t let it slip to Seth,” Josie said. “She told Ryan.”

A tear slid down Mira’s face. “Yes. The next week, Rosie told me that she’d heard Seth and Ryan arguing about April. Seth kept saying Ryan did a bad thing and had to let her go. I confronted them both, right then and there. I told them I was going to turn Ryan in, call the police, and, well…” She looked away. “Ryan came after me. He wanted to kill me. He only ever cared about protecting his father. Seth got him to calm down, barely. I lied to them both and said if they returned April to me, only me, I wouldn’t tell and that I had enough influence over her to convince her not to tell, either. I mean, she hadn’t told about Shane. They bought it. But then when they brought her, and I saw the condition…”

A sob rose in Mira’s throat. She pressed a hand to her mouth. Rosie shifted but still didn’t wake.

Josie was aware of the EMTs approaching. “Ryan stabbed you both.”

Mira nodded. “When I saw her, I—I wasn’t prepared for it. I got so upset. I started screaming at Ryan. How could he have done this to her? Then I yelled at Seth. How could he have allowed this to happen? What kind of son did he raise? At that point, Ryan decided our deal was off. He wasn’t giving April back. She must have heard him because she made a run for it. Well, she tried. She could barely walk. It must have used up everything in her to take those last steps. Ryan went after her. He was just in a rage. He had that thing in his hand. I tried to stop him. I mean, there was no way that April was a threat, but he just went nuts. Seth finally pulled him away but by then it was too late. He was more worried about getting Ryan out of there than about us.”

“You put April in the car and then you stopped to try to get Rosie.”

More tears streamed down her cheeks. “She’d drawn me the map a few weeks earlier. They hadn’t been there long, but she’d explained to me as best she could where they were. I’d already checked it out. But when I pulled over, I was so dizzy and there was so much blood. I knew I couldn’t go all the way down to the shore, swim there and swim back with Rosie. April was dying. Then there was the accident and…I’m sorry I lied to you.”

“You knew where Rosie was when we spoke with you in the hospital,” Josie pointed out. “We could have rescued her that day.”

An EMT climbed into the bay and started checking Mira’s vitals. Sawyer touched Josie’s shoulder as he followed his colleague. They started discussing whether or not they should put Rosie in the other ambulance.

Mira’s attention was still focused on Josie. She gave a bitter laugh. “Any other day in the history of knowing Seth, he would have immediately come back here, picked Rosie up, and left. I never thought, in a million years, he would stay here. I thought they had left. The next day, Ryan followed me from Bobbi’s house to mine. Brought me flowers, as if that could make up for what he’d done. He’s really sick. I think that woman twisted him up worse than she did Seth. He wasn’t sorry. He just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to turn him in. He told me Seth and Rosie were gone and if I wanted to keep Rosie alive, I’d keep my mouth shut. I promised I would but I guess he didn’t believe me because no sooner had I left my house, he came by with the truck and snatched me off the street.”

“Leave the girl,” Sawyer told his colleague. “Let’s just go.”

The other EMT began checking that both patients were secure on the gurney. Mira took one last look at Josie. “Thank you for saving my Rosie.”

Josie nodded and stepped away from the back of the ambulance. Sawyer gave her a mock salute as he pulled the doors closed. “Until next time,” he said.

No, she thought. Next time wasn’t going to be like this. She’d get him to come to dinner instead. They were family, sort of.

As she watched the ambulance pull away, the weight of the case and its sheer horror pressed down on her. Then Noah’s hand swept across her back, his touch an instant relief from the sadness and tension of the day. “Let’s go home,” he said.

SIXTY-ONE

Noah’s voice floated from the laundry room into the kitchen. From where she stood at the stove, Josie could see his profile as he threw a load of wet clothes into the dryer. “Did you talk to your sister?” he called.

“Yes. Did you?”

Noah laughed. “Yes. She can’t keep a secret.”

Josie smiled to herself as she watched the potatoes boil. Trinity had been absolutely giddy when they spoke.

“She told you why your parents wanted to have this family dinner tonight?” Noah said. She heard him twisting dials on the dryer.

“Yeah.” Trinity had, in fact, told Josie the moment she found out the big news. Their parents, Shannon and Christian Payne, were moving to Denton. If they were going to be grandparents—assuming Josie and Noah would be approved to adopt—they wanted to be nearby. Trinity said they were going to announce it at dinner that evening. The prospect filled Josie with joy and a strange sort of nervousness. What if they didn’t get approved to adopt? What if they did, but didn’t match? Or took years to match? Their home study had been rescheduled three weeks from now, but that didn’t make Josie any less nervous.

“We have to act surprised,” Josie called back.

She turned off the burner and carried the pot to the sink where she attempted to empty the water but leave the potatoes using the lid as only a partial cover. A searing pain slashed across the tops of her fingers. With a yelp, she dropped the pot of still boiling water into the sink. Wedges of soft potatoes tumbled out. The glass lid clattered into the basin as well. Sizzling liquid splashed upward. With another cry, Josie jumped back, grateful that none of it was able to reach her. Near the back door, Trout jumped to his feet and started barking. He frequently barked whenever Josie was agitated or hurt or startled. He didn’t know what was happening, he just knew that something with her wasn’t right.

Josie rested her burned fingers in the other palm, wincing at the pain that grew in intensity with every second. “It’s okay, buddy,” she told Trout, but he didn’t believe her. He was still barking when Noah rushed into the kitchen, looking from Josie to Trout and back to Josie.

She held up her hand. “I burned myself.”

“It’s okay, Trout,” he told the dog, who immediately went quiet. But he kept careful watch on Josie, his brown eyes capturing her every move and the points of his ears standing at attention. “Let me see.”

Josie let Noah take her hand in his large palm. The skin across her index and middle fingers was hot pink. “It feels like they’re on fire,” she said through gritted teeth.

He led her back to the sink and turned on the cold water. The pot she’d dropped just seconds ago sizzled under its spray, releasing another cloud of steam. “Be careful,” she said. “That’s how I just did this.”

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