Page 133 of A Forgotten Mistake

Gabriel turns ramrod straight as what has been said settles in.

“Do you have any of them?” I ask.

“No, I got rid of them as soon as I found them. Abby was irate when she found out. She threatened me, told me to stay out of her business. I didn’t feel safe, and I didn’t feel like you were safe. I had you relocated in the hope she couldn’t keep track of you because it seemed very unhealthy, whatever was happening with her.”

“Fascinating,” I say.

“It’s not fascinating,” Gabriel hisses. “Fuck.”

“It’s very fascinating,” I reiterate. “Thank you, Lisa. If you think of anything else, let me know.”

Her hand stops me from getting up. “Are you good?”

“Yeah. I have Gabriel, so literally nothing could be better.”

“I’m proud of you. It looks like you really worked hard and did a lot with your life. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there for it.”

I shrug, uncertain why she’d want to be a part of it. “It’s fine.”

She seems dubious about that, but I’m really not sure what I would have needed her for.

“Maybe you guys could get a coffee sometime or something,” Gabriel the Traitor says. Like… I don’t need more humans in my life. I’ve already filled my quota. I can’t fathom having more to deal with.

Lisa’s face lights up. She seems like a different person than the one I’d met who was being pulled thin from all directions while dealing with two struggling teenagers and a husband who seemed to enjoy younger women that he blew their money on. “I would love that. Can I get your phone number?”

I decide I will simply ignore her request for coffee or hope she forgets as I grudgingly give her my number. Does Gabriel not realize the only person I ever need is him? “Do you have anything of hers left?”

“No, I sent anything of hers with the social worker. I probably should have turned in the tapes instead of destroying them, but Ijust felt like she was weirdly obsessed with you and that if there was a big deal made of it, it could change everything for her. She had it in her to be a good kid. I hope she’s doing well now.”

“That’s questionable,” I say as I stand up, glad to finally be free.

Lisa looks a bit uncertain after that, but she still tries to go in for a hug. It’s painful and equally dreadful but I still just grin and bear it and do a little pat on her back like that might solve everything. Pleased to finally be done with that nonsense, I hurry out the door.

“You really think it was Abby?” Gabriel asks once we’re back in our car. “You think she’s the one recording people?”

“I think Abby is the person picking them out,” I say. “Is she the one killing them? No. She picks them. They kill them.”

“But… if she’s arrested… she could tell them everything that happened.”

“Who are they going to believe?” I ask.

“But Liam, there’s so much riding on this. She knows where you buried Jonah.”

“She does… but she has no idea where Ireburiedhim.”

“You… excuse me, you dug the body back up andmoved it?” Gabriel asks in disbelief.

“Of course I did. I was going to tell you that and then things just got distracting and I forgot to. I didn’t believe her lying ass for one minute. I took her with me as she requested and made it a place she’d remember, and then once she was tucked in bed, I went back out and moved the body.”

“That is… brilliant.”

I beam at my lovely Gabriel. “Thank you. Now we just have to figure out who is still doing her bidding out here. Could be someone I don’t know at all, but now that I’m seeing through her lies a bit more, I’m questioning where the guy who spiked her drink, if he did, fits in.”

“You don’t think he spiked it? You think Abby was manipulating you, don’t you?”

“I think she was trying to find someone who would dispose of the people she wanted dead. She targeted me and had me kill her father, but she had to have realized that I wasn’t going to bite on other instances. She couldn’t snag my attention like she had the others. I was too fixated on myself and my own desires to ever care about what others needed or wanted, so she picked someone else to be her killer.”

“But what if she says something to get them to look into you?” Gabriel asks.