Page 30 of So Dark

She frowned. “Yes? Why not?”

“You couldn’t tell?”

“Tell what?”

“Oh, come on, Faith. Tell me you could tell.”

Her eyes narrowed. “If you think you’re being funny, I promise you aren’t.”

He laughed again. “Faith. She was high as a kite.”

Faith blinked. “You mean pot?”

“Yes! Come on, you couldn’t tell? She was floating through the clouds. What did you think the incense was for? I guarantee you that she had plants in the basement she didn’t want us to see. That’s why she gave us that guff about not searching her property.”

“I thought the incense was part of the whole ‘return to nature’ lifestyle.”

“No! Oh wow. You surprise me every day. Have you never smoked weed?”

“No. Have you?”

“Yeah, in college. Not often, but it happened. I think you’re the only person I’ve met who’s younger than me and hasn’t smoked weed.”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, ha ha. I couldn’t tell she was high. Does this have to do with the case at all?”

“No, it’s just funny. Wow. Good thing you went FBI and not DEA.”

“Yeah, yeah. But it wasn’t just the weed, was it?”

“What do you mean?”

“She was hiding something from us. It wasn’t just the weed.”

“I’m pretty sure it was the weed.”

“No,” she insisted. “I don’t think so. When she talked about the group, she treated it like a soap opera. She talked about them like they were characters in a TV show."

“Well, that’s how a lot of people see others: as characters in their own lives. She was relieved when she heard we were here for murders and not the weed. The group was full of introverts who didn’t really care for each other. Lisa was looking for conversation, and she didn’t find it. They disbanded amicably, but Lisa was the one who officially threw in the towel. Is she a pleasant person for all of that? Not really, but we already know she has an alibi for the murders. As far as the others? I don’t think she lied about them. I don’t think she was correct about all of them. In fact, we know she wasn’t because Kelly isn’t committed to being a survivalist. It’s just one of many interests she has. I just think she gave her best impression, helped along by her altered state of mind.”

Faith pressed her lips. That didn’t seem satisfying to her, but she didn’t know why, so she just let it go. “Yeah. Maybe you’re right.” She sighed. “I think I’m just frustrated. We’ve had two very useless days in a row, and I’m concerned that all three of the other group members are out in the wild.”

“You think there will be another murder?”

“There always is, isn’t there?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, there is.”

He looked out the window of their hotel room toward the darkening sky. It was only four in the afternoon. It wasn’t the first time Faith had noticed that, but it just felt so strange. It was like night was eager to fall here.

She looked at his profile as he looked through the window. He was maybe twenty pounds heavier than the trim one-ninety he was when they dated. Gray crept gradually up his temples, and a few strays had already made their way into the rest of his hair. There were lines in the corners of his eyes, and the lines inhis forehead didn’t completely disappear anymore when his face was at rest.

He was getting older too.

She looked at herself in the mirror and tried to see if she looked different too. It hit her that she rarely looked at herself in the mirror. Even when she stood in front of it, she didn't really look at herself. It felt weird to do it now, but Faith felt weird in general right now. Maybe it was the chilly weather the long nights, or the frustration of the case. Maybe it was all of that combined with all of the changes in her life.

But she looked at herself now. Her face was still pretty. She was never exceptionally beautiful, but she was pretty enough. She had soft blue eyes that paired well with her long light-brown hair, and her features were symmetrical if not striking.

She thought she saw crows’ feet in her eyes, but she couldn’t be sure. They weren’t as obvious as Michael’s. There were no lines in her forehead, and the rest of her skin was as smooth as she remembered. Things were still firm where they were supposed to be firm and soft where they were supposed to be soft.

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