Page 19 of Outlaw Ridge: Griff
“I just want it to stop,” Margo added a heartbeat later. “I want my sister to rest in peace.”
Griff’s voice came low and even. “Maybe Hannah’s not resting in peace.”
Margo’s head snapped toward him.
“If her killer’s still out there,” he spelled out, “maybe she’s still waiting for someone to do the right thing.”
The reaction was immediate. Margo flinched, visibly, as if he’d struck her. Her mouth opened, then shut again, and her eyes flicked away from Lily for the first time.
Guilt. Fear. Something she hadn’t expected to hear.
Griff leaned back slightly, letting the silence stretch between them.
And Margo? She looked like a woman who knew a lot more than she wanted to admit.
Griff didn’t move, didn’t blink, just watched as Margo shifted.
It happened in an instant. Her posture changed, her tone softened, her expression smoothing out like she’d remembered herself. Or at least remembered who she was supposed to be.
“No one’s saying Bobby Ray wasn’t troubled,” Margo went on, quieter now, more controlled. “But… please, Lily. Just let this go.”
Lily’s voice was steady. “I can’t.”
Margo looked at her sharply.
“I won’t,” Lily said. “Because Bobby Ray sent me a letter. A week before he died.”
That stopped Margo cold. Her face went still, eyes locked on Lily like she hadn’t heard her right. “He actually sent you a letter?”
Lily nodded once. “A letter. Handwritten.”
Margo’s breath hitched. It was quick, but Griff caught it. So did Lily.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the gossip by now,” Lily added. “Half the town’s been whispering about it.”
“I… I heard,” Margo admitted. “But I thought it was just a rumor.”
“It’s not,” Lily verified. “I have it.”
Margo’s mouth parted slightly, her brows drawing together. “What did it say?”
Lily didn’t hesitate. “I didn’t kill her. Prove it.”
Margo stared at her like she’d been knocked off balance. Her knees gave out a second later, and she dropped into the nearest chair. Griff’s. It wasn’t theatrical. It was real. Genuine shock. Maybe fear.
Margo stayed in Griff’s chair for a moment longer, her hands gripping the arms like she needed the grounding. Her eyes were still on Lily, but she wasn’t really looking at her, more like through her, as if trying to piece something together.
Then she exhaled, short and shaky, and stood.
Griff watched her carefully. The way she moved, the way she squared her shoulders. She was trying to steady herself, trying to act like the words hadn’t rattled her. But they had. That much was clear.
What stood out to him most, though, was what shedidn’tsay. Not once did she ask the question she should have asked.
If Bobby Ray didn’t kill my sister… then who did?
That silence said more than anything else.
Margo cleared her throat. “I don’t expect to be in town much longer, so I won’t have to deal with people’s calls andbehind the hand whispers,” she muttered, speaking mostly to Griff now. “I’m only here to clear out my mother’s house.”
