Page 61 of Silent Ridge

If you knew the whole truth, you would have to arrest me.

Sheriff Gray looks at me for a long time. He takes something out of his desk drawer. It’s another copy of my high school picture.

“This was left under my windshield wiper at my house.”

I feel a chill run up my spine. I never thought Sheriff Gray might be in danger. Rader knows where he lives. Of course he does. It is hard to find out where a cop lives if you’re a civilian. But for a corrections guard it would be easy.

“And this article was in a Ziplock bag.” He takes out the newspaper article that has my picture on the front page. The one that says my stepfather, Rolland, was found murdered and my mother is missing. The article says the police are looking for me—Rylee—and Hayden. I’d never told Sheriff Gray about my family. He didn’t know I had a brother. He never asked. And Rylee was dead.

I look at the article. I hope my expression says I’ve never seen it before, but I’m too shocked to see it again. My face feels frozen and my pulse beats in my throat and temples. He folds the article up around the picture and sticks it in his shirt pocket.

“Sheriff, I—”

“I checked into this, Megan,” he says. “You don’t need to tell me about it. But you do need to tell me if you’re in danger. And if anyone else is in danger. I’m the sheriff, you know. I have a duty to protect people. You do too.”

I feel like my life is coming unraveled. I got myself into this situation by not tracking down Michael Rader after I knew he’d threatened Monique. I knew he was onto me and looking for me. I thought I could just disappear, create a new life for myself. But this is what I should have expected. Rader hasn’t given up as easily as I did. He isn’t finished with me.

Plus, if Sheriff Gray found out this easily, what does Dan know? Did Rader leave a newspaper article for Dan? Does he plan to expose me as well as kill all my friends?

I can’t breathe.

I feel the coffee coming up in my throat and run for the restroom.

Fifty-Three

I’m in the women’s room, leaning over the toilet. My stomach and chest hurt and I feel like acid has been poured down my throat. I don’t hear the door open but I hear the click of shoes coming toward me.

“Megan, are you okay?”

It’s Ronnie, thankfully, and not Nan.

“I’m fine,” I say, but the words are strangled. I can barely push them out.

“You don’tlookfine. I’ll get you a washcloth.”

I hear her open a cabinet and then the faucet turns on. She comes back with a wet cloth. I take it gratefully and wipe my face, then put it on my forehead and the back of my neck.

“You had a lot of Scotch last night,” she says.

I grab onto that thought.

“Hangover,” I say.

“Maybe you should go home and take care of yourself. I can come by and check on you.”

The sincerity in her voice is real. I’ve never had anyone really take care of me before. Not even my mother. I took care of myself when I was sick. Hayden was my mom’s golden boy. If he sneezed, she was there with a tissue and taking his temperature.

“I might do that, Ronnie. I feel bad.”

And I do. I feel bad about everything. I have to fix things. I know who the killer is. I didn’t go after him as hard as I should have. I am worried about Dan now. Not only that he may be in danger but that he may know. He may truly hate me. He may be struggling with the decision whether to turn me in or just turn me away.

Rader left the picture and old-new article under Sheriff Gray’s windshield wiper outside of his house. His way of saying he’s not afraid of the police.

Or me.

And another frightening thought hits me. What if Rader knows about Hayden? I bend over the toilet and retch, but all that comes up is more acid.

“Megan,” Ronnie says. “I’ll get you home.”

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