Page 263 of Things Left Unsaid

I can’t help but feel like something’s changed and I missed the memo.

Because I’m at a loss, I ask, “What else did the sergeant say?”

She lifts the glass of wine in her hand to her mouth and takes a deep sip. “Doug received a letter from Lydia after she passed away. It detailed the location of a journal and advised him to send it to the police if anything happened to her?—”

“The journal that Colt was questioned over!”

She nods.

“I wonder who sent the letter.”

“According to Terry, Jessica Cardinal.”

“Two women bound by their mutual hatred of the Korhonens.”

“One Korhonen, in particular,” Lindsay corrects. “Not that I can blame her. Anyway, Doug said that Lydia had been acting strangely ever since they put their house on the market. He put it down to the stress of moving, but this diary… he’d never heard about it before. He thinks she must have found it when Lydia was packing up Marcy’s room.” Lindsay stares at the arrangement of flowers she’s installed in the empty hearth since the weather grew warmer.

“I wonder if the police came across any mentions of her having a relationship with Clyde in it… They must have or surely they’d have brought Colt in for more questions.”

Her brows lift. “You knew about Marcy and Clyde?”

“I witnessed it.”

“You’ve developed a habit of being a witness, haven’t you?”

Blankly, I stare at her. “I never thought about it that way before. Tee always did say I was sneaky. I thought it was more about having the knack of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“Or the right, considering.”

“Right?” I ask warily as I perch on the edge of the armchair opposite her.

It’s the first time I’ve ever been welcomed in here, so despite her ‘greeting,’ I’m unsure of my place.

“You see things that no one else does. It’s to your misfortune that you never had a voice before.” As I grimace at how accurate that is, she clicks her fingers. “Not anymore. You’re Colton Korhonen’s wife. People will listen.”

So, Colt looped her in about what I saw during the fire.

“Will they? They haven’t so far.”

“That’s because you’ve been living like a hermit. It’s half the reason I didn’t think you and Colt were getting along.

“Somehow, under this roof we all share, you managed to move into his bedroom with none of us knowing.”

“Not even Ida?”

“No.” She studies me. “Are you going to talk to the police about the arson in the stables?”

Uncertainly, I shift on the seat. “I wasn’t going to. I mean, if he’s behind Lydia Armstrong’s death then?—”

She tuts. “He murdered our private herd of horses, Zee. The loss of which my sons still mourn to this day. Why shouldn’t he be punished for that crime? Even if the only true punishment will come from him defrauding the insurance company.

“You’re Mrs. Colton Korhonen,” she repeats. “There are some perks to the name. If you have the strength to use them.”

“Did you?”

Lindsay wiggles her hand from side to side. “I knew how to throw my weight around in town. It was under this roof that I never found my feet.”

“I’d have thought this place held nothing but bad memories for you.”

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