Page 115 of Confessions of the Dead

In the bathroom, a heavy weight fell against the curtain, grabbed it from the inside, and fell over the side of the tub to the bathroom floor, bringing the curtain down with him.

John Hicks.

One of Stu Peterson’s buddies.

Dead.

Addie whimpered but didn’t move.

Both her hands were at her side, and Ellie’s Colt was on the floor about three feet in front of her. Her eyes darted toward the wall to the left of the doorway, then back to Matt.

Matt trained the shotgun on the back side of that wall and silently mouthed the wordshow many?

Before she could answer, Rodney Campos’s deep voice rolled from the bedroom. “I’m wearing a vest, Matt. You can try and shoot me through that wall, but you’re unlikely to hurt me. You might even hit your girlfriend with some stray buckshot or whatever the hell you got in there. This is the important part, so you’ll want to pay attention. I got my 9mm pointing at her belly. You can guarantee I’ll get at least one shot off before you can put me down—ifyou can put me down. I don’t like to brag, but I’m pretty quick on the draw.”

Downstairs, more glass broke and Gabby fired two shots, screamed, and went quiet. Matt heard the stomping of boots across the wood floors, what sounded like the couch under one of the windows toppling over.

“That’s Stu and a few more of the guys,” Rodney went on. “Wecan do this without anyone getting hurt, or we can do it with a lot of people getting hurt, that’s entirely up to you. You ask me, it’s already over. Best not to make things hard on yourself.”

Matt stared in at Addie.

He motioned with his hand, tried to get her to dive to the side, give him a chance to take a shot, but she was either too panicked or didn’t understand. She didn’t move.

“You know me, Matt. I ain’t got much in the way of patience.”

From downstairs, Stu Peterson shouted up. “We got no reason to hurt Gabby, Matt. Don’t give us one! I need you to put down your hardware. Surrender yourself to John and Rodney.”

“I think John’s dead!” Rodney Campos shouted back. “Matt shot him!”

There was a momentary silence, then, “That’s fine, Matt. I won’t hold it over you. I never much liked that kid.”

“You’re not the law, Stu! You’re setting yourself up for a lot of time behind bars! Whoever you got with you, too!”

“All I’m doing is safely escorting all of you to a town meeting, like any good citizen. Anyone asks, that’s why we’re here. Would have helped the sheriff and that girl get there, too, but looks like Josh told the truth about them leaving. We came here to help you, keep you safe, and you started shooting. You killed a man. You’re acting irrational. That’s how I’ll tell it to the staties if they eventually show. Let’s see who they believe.” Peterson paused a beat. “We don’t have to turn this into a pissing match. Just put down your gun, come with us peacefully, and nobody else will get hurt. You got my word on that.”

Framed by the light of the window, Addie shook her head.

Matt’s heart was pounding so hard, he could hear the blood rushing through his ears. “We all go to the meeting. Talk this out with the rest of the town. Nobody else gets hurt!”

“You got my word,” Peterson repeated.

Matt edged the barrel of the shotgun closer to the spot wherehe believed Rodney was standing and tightened his finger on the trigger.

“You really gonna make me kill your kid, Matt? Your kidandyour girlfriend?”

Matt saw it then: Rodney’s reflection in the mirror at the corner of Ellie’s room. Rodney was watching him, able to see his every move.

He couldn’t risk it.

Matt had no choice.

He gently placed the shotgun on the floor and raised both his hands over his head. “Okay! Nobody else gets hurt!”

89

Sheriff Ellie

BUCK’S GAZE FELL TOthe floor, and there was a quiver in his lips. Even after all these years, it was clear he still loved Emily Pridham. His voice cracked when he finally spoke. “I suppose you heard the same story everyone else did—Emily went off into the bushes to go to the bathroom, stepped too close to a cliff, and vanished. Probably fell.”

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