Dead Girls Don't Keep Secrets

by Ames B Winterbourne

  “I want to go home, and Ryder won’t leave me alone.” My voice wavers. I hate the look of pain that flashes across Ryder’s face.

  Mike glances between us and says, “Is he bothering you? I thought you two were—”

  “Lover’s quarrel.” Ryder tries to sound controlled, but anyone can tell he’s lying.

  “Why don’t you come with me, Lake. It’s freezing out. I’ll take you home.” Mike offers.

  “No!” Ryder says at the same time I say, “Sure.”

  There’s a small possibility Mike might take me back to the station, but I’ve known Mike since I was a kid. He’s one of my brother’s friends. I know he wouldn’t intentionally hurt me.

  As I take a step toward the door, Ryder clings to my arm. “We need to talk about this, Lake.”

  I make sure our eyes meet and that I don’t flinch away. I want him to get it through his thick skull that it’s over. “There’s nothing more to say.”

  I pull my arm from Ryder and open the door to the passenger seat. I sit down and then slam the door shut. As Mike drives away, I chance one more glance back at Ryder. He looks completely lost and soaking wet. As we drive toward my house, the impact of what I’ve just done hits me. I bite my lip, hoping the pain will distract me from the hot tears that are eager to pour down my cheeks.

  Chapter 15

  “You know, the sheriff wasn’t too happy you left. He seems to think you were lying about the smoke bothering you. And from the looks of it, I think he was right. Not that I’d expect anything else from you.” Mike sounds amused as he drives toward my house.

  “Should you be driving a car?” I’m shocked he’s so with it. I’m sure he’s going to suffer a concussion, but he seems fine.

  He blasts the heater in the car and I nod to him then hold my hands out in front of the vent trying to warm them and dry off.

  “They didn’t see a reason not to since they thought I only had a cough.” He snorts. “Let’s just say, Ryder didn’t hit me very hard, and I’m a pretty good actor.”

  I freeze. “What?”

  “Don’t worry. I didn’t tell anyone.”

  “Did you tell the sheriff?”

  He sighs. “That would not have gone down well. Anyway, I saw you two standing by the side of the road and thought maybe you had car trouble.”

  “No car trouble,” I say dismissively. I’m definitely not feeling comfortable being in a car with him anymore.

  “More like relationship trouble.”

  There’s a short silence where all I hear is the pitter patter of the rain and the obnoxiously squeaky windshield wipers.

  Instead of taking a left toward my house, Mike veers to the right.

  “Where are we going?” I tense. Mike’s a nice guy, a little dim, I suppose, but right now he looks like a man on a mission, and that doesn’t sit well with me.

  “To talk.” He pulls into the parking lot of the local market. He parks, turns off the car, and turns his dark eyes on me.

  “I know what you and Ryder are doing.”

  I gulp.

  “I know you’re both trying to figure out who killed Felicia.”

  My heart stops. Well, fuck me sideways on a Monday. Though the words would shock anyone, what’s even more surprising is how calm he sounds. “What are you talking about? Felicia killed herself.”

  “You and I both know that’s a lie. Don’t play dumb with me, Lake. I’ve known you practically your whole life. I can see right through you.”

  “Why do you think I’m trying to solve Felicia’s murder? That’s just crazy.” I try to play it off.

  “Lake,” he says in a brotherly tone. I like Mike. He’s a good guy, but I don’t like where this conversation is going.

  “Are you going to rat us out to the sheriff?”

  “Nope,” he says. “The sheriff told everyone that, for now, Felicia’s case isn’t a top priority and he’s fine with everyone speculating it was suicide. He says he’ll deal with it later, but I have my doubts. I think he’s covering it up.”

  “How do you know all of this?”

  “You’re not the only person interested in finding out what’s going on.”

  “So, you know for a fact that he had a relationship with Felicia?” I ask.

  “From the information I’ve acquired, he was her client.” He scrunches up his nose in disgust.

  “How did you find all of this out? Why?”

  “Well …” He gives me a small, sad smile. “Before she died, Felicia and I were involved.”

  “How involved?” I scrunch up my eyebrows.

  “Come on, Lake.” He rolls his eyes.

  I gasp. “You hired her as a prostitute? Mike, I thought better of you!”

  “No!” he says, exasperated. “Definitely not—we never—I could never. Not while she was … I cared about her. Felicia and I were seeing each other romantically.” His expression is crestfallen.

  “Romantically?” That doesn’t bode well with me. If she was dating Mike, it was not a legit relationship—it couldn’t be. But from the way he looks, I feel sorry for him. If they were together, he was being played by her.

  “We saw each other in secret. Normally, I’d never do such a thing, but she was different with me. Kind, thoughtful, and even loving. She was understanding and made me feel like I mattered.”

  Felicia was a fucking cruel bitch. I never imagined someone could be as pathetic as Mike. He’s heartbroken, and I kind of feel for him, but at the same time, I don’t. Felicia was good at manipulation, and yet she didn’t even mention Mike in the letter. His confession comes out of nowhere, and it’s kind of pitiful. I guess Felicia didn’t want me to think she was that much of a shit person.

  “Don’t take me for a fool, Lake. I see it in your eyes. I knew what Felicia did for a living and all her secrets before we fell in love. She told me she sold herself and that it was to hurt those who needed to be hurting. When she mentioned the sheriff was one of her clients, I was hurt in more ways than just one. The sheriff’s station is like a second home for me. After your brother abandoned me, I felt lost for so long, and this job became my life. To say I felt betrayed by the sheriff is an understatement. I decided to help her take him down by giving her information. I gave her all the information I could think about him.”

  His eyes close with sorrow, and the corners of his mouth droop down. His head hangs. Felicia used him, and yet, he truly doesn’t seem like he realizes it. He wasn’t blackmailed like Ryder. Mike willingly betrayed the sheriff.

  “It all really started the day I caught Felicia and Ryder going through his dad’s office. They acted like it was nothing and that Ryder was just trying to impress a girl. Ryder stayed behind, while I agreed to take Felicia home. She ended up flirting with me, and I rejected her immediately.”

  “So, how did you two—”

  “We kept on accidentally meeting. But nothing happened until one day when she happened to show up on my doorstep. I didn’t even know how she found out where I lived. She came clean to me about her time as a whore and how the sheriff wanted something from her, and she wanted to get back at him. I consoled her, and she begged me not to tell anyone. I didn’t, and it’s something I regret more than anything.”

  Felicia was calculated. She knew just how to get people to do what she wanted by preying on their weaknesses. Mike’s always been a softhearted, dimwitted fool when it comes to love. He’s been easily cat-fished at least three times in the past, and yet never learned his lesson with online dating.

  “How did you two become romantically involved?” I ask.

  He gazes wistfully out the window. “I’m not proud of it, but she was great at seduction.”

  I mutter a curse and say, “So, you had sex?”

  A small blush creeps up on his cheeks. “That’s not something we’re here to talk about.”
<
br />   “Good, because I don’t want the details.”

  “But it was more than that. I know Felicia wasn’t a great person, and that she didn’t truly love me, but she did say she had feelings for me.” He sighs. “I thought what we had was special. But two nights before she died, I invited her to the station. We did that a few times when I’d be the only one around, and we could spend some … time together.”

  My nose crinkles at exactly what kind of time they spent together.

  “I caught her shoving a file into the sheriff’s filing cabinet. I flipped. I demanded to know what it was. She claimed it was a lead in stopping the sheriff. I felt used. I broke up with her then and there, but when she died, I couldn’t help but feel guilty. I was there at the scene when they found her body. When I suggested it was homicide, the sheriff said to keep that to myself. He told all the guys there that this wasn’t his chief concern, and for now to put it all aside. It struck me as extremely careless and sketchy, especially since she was sneaking around in his office. So, I’ve been looking into it all ever since.” One stray tear streams down his face. “I could have helped her. I could have saved her, but feeling used was the worst thing, and it was all because of some stupid file she and Ryder found to hurt his father.”

  I realize just then that Mike had motive. Though, what it had to do with my mother’s death, I don’t know. “Do you have an alibi for the night she was murdered?”

  “I knew you’d ask me something like that. Yeah, I do. I spent most of the night drinking my sorrows away at McGavin’s Tavern. I’d been avoiding her texts for days. But that night, I got one from her. She said she was truly sorry. It broke me,” he says.

  I feel guilty not telling him Felicia was possibly a lesbian, and that she really was using him. She did a number on him.

  He looks like he’s about to cry, but stops himself. “I still can’t fathom that it was all because of some discarded rape case they believe the sheriff was involved in.”

  I do a double-take. “A rape case?”

  “Yeah,” he says.

  “But my mom … Felicia’s body was found just like my mom’s.”

  “What?”

  “Didn’t you know? Weren’t you there?”

  “Lake, your mom killed herself.”

  “No, she didn’t,” I state.

  “Lake—”

  “Trust me on this, Mike. It’s just like Felicia.”

  He shakes his head. “It’s not like I know the details about your mom. No one worked here when your mom died.”

  “They both had three slits up their arms,” I say.

  Some sort of realization crosses Mike’s face. “Like the raped woman.”

  “What?”

  “The pictures of the rape victim, she had three slits up her arm, like Felicia did. Are you saying that your mom had those, too?”

  That definitely was not what I expected to come out of his mouth. None of it is. Felicia was not just looking into my mom’s murder, but a rape, too. And the rape victim had the same markings?

  “Yes,” I say. “Felicia got really tangled up with it, but I don’t even know why. I mean …” I hold myself back from revealing she left me a letter. “What did she think she was going to do? Reveal it all so she could get something out of it all? Maybe get away from it all.”

  “I don’t think so,” Mike says. “Felicia …”

  He stops himself from revealing something. I’m overly frustrated and it’s wearing on me. I’ve been so full of adrenaline since I got into Mike’s car and started learning about all of this, that I’ve ignored my body. I’m thirsty and tired, and my stomach rumbles from emptiness.

  “Mike … I’m really exhausted from all of this. Please just tell me what you’re going to say.”

  “Well, one day Felicia spent the night—”

  I put my hands over my face. “No details, Mike. I’ve already expelled everything from my stomach. I’d prefer not to dry heave.”

  He sighs. “Well, when she was sleeping, she kind of … said your name in her sleep. I think she was in love with you.”

  I feel like I’ve just been slapped. “No. Don’t even think about that.”

  “Lake, I’m pretty sure she was,” he says.

  “That’s not possible,” I say. “It’s just not.”

  “Do you have feelings for her—did you?”

  “Definitely not. Don’t make me laugh.” It’s ridiculous to even suggest it. “And I have no feelings other than loathing for her. So, I wouldn’t be doing anything for her unless it had something to do with my mom.”

  He sighs. “Well, there was also the possibility that you’d want to help the boy you liked, too.”

  I wish there was a pillow in this cruiser so I could suffocate myself with it. “No.”

  “You can lie to everyone, but back there, I could see the hurt in both of your faces.”

  “Let’s get back to the rape case.” I ignore his remark. “What do you know about that?”

  “It was just some report about a woman being raped, but there was barely any information on it. Just her name and a few suspects. No one was really accused, and the case was dropped by the woman soon after.”

  “But she was hurt like my mom and Felicia?”

  “Yeah. At first when we found Felicia’s body, we all thought she’d been raped since she was naked and bruised up.”

  “She wasn’t raped,” I say.

  “No,” he says with a hint of malice in his tone. “She wasn’t.”

  “Do you know the name of the woman who was raped?”

  “Her name was Lori Henry.”

  The name doesn’t ring a bell.

  “I think you and Ryder should be careful, Lake,” he says.

  “Why?”

  He looks me dead in the eye, and I know what he’s about to say is serious. “I think the sheriff is going to be looking for a scapegoat. His questioning of you makes it apparent he’s trying to get you to admit some sort of wrongdoing. Jessica Sanchez came in yesterday and made a stink about how she knew you were involved in Felicia’s death. That you had some connection to an underground sex ring.”

  “What?” I gape at him. “Me?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t say much on that. I didn’t even know the sheriff was looking into some sort of sex ring. But he’s been on edge for a while now, and he’s been taking calls from some guy named Ryan. I think he’s looking into where Felicia was working.”

  That would make sense as to why he asked me those questions. Was he trying to get me to say something about Aunt Dorothy? I think back to what else he’s just revealed. “Jessica came into the station?”

  “Well, the sheriff’s been asking a bunch of people close to Felicia to come in. Her stepmother, her father, her boyfriend. They all came in and supposed the sheriff was just trying to clear up Felicia’s death. Rule out murder. Felicia’s stepmother said she was supposed to meet up with Jessica the night she died.” That’s something I already knew. “She came in and made a big stink about how you and Felicia hated each other so much and how you might have wanted to get back at her. Especially since she was involved with your aunt.”

  I shut my eyes and rub the bridge of my nose. “Crap.”

  “So, it’s true your aunt is a madam.”

  “I didn’t know until two days ago. My aunt is going to go to jail, isn’t she?”

  “Possibly. Maybe.”

  Suddenly, headlights flash from behind us and I realize the rain has finally stopped. I turn and recognize Ryder’s car. “Oh, for the love of s’mores.”

  The brightness of the lights makes my eyes ache, and I tense up. When the lights cut out and Ryder is parked behind us, I relax briefly, only for exhaustion to take over my body and my vision to slightly blur. It’s not the kind of drugged-up blur—more like, I’m exhausted from all t
he information, all the running around. I blame Felicia.

  “It seems like he’s come for you,” he says. “If you want, I can take you home.”

  That sounds good. No, it sounds better than good. But I know I have to talk to Ryder. He’s my partner in this, even if I don’t want him to be. And he should know about his dad potentially investigating my aunt, and its connection to Felicia.

  “I think I should talk to him,” I say.

  “I don’t know, Lake.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugs. “Though I like the kid, his dad is the sheriff, and even though he wants the man to pay, he can’t be totally trusted.”

  I know what he’s saying is true. At the same time, I also know that, even though he keeps things from me, he doesn’t do it to hurt me. “I should talk to him.”

  “I’m not going to tell you not to, but I want to tell you to be careful. I don’t know what his dad is up to.”

  “I will be careful.”

  I unbuckle my seatbelt and open the car door. The chilly air makes me shiver in place due to my still damp clothes. I step out and find Ryder leaning against his BMW. He looks like a freaking Adonis with his wet hair slicked back and the few places where he has exposed skin glisten in the sunlight that’s creeping out between the clouds. Just standing makes my legs wobble. It probably doesn’t help that I’m dehydrated from vomiting. Ryder’s reflexes are faster. He catches me as I stumble toward him.

  “Come on. I’m taking you to get some rest.” He sounds as tired as I feel.

  He helps me to the car, but I don’t let him assist me.

  He closes the door, and I watch as Mike gets out of his cruiser and speaks to Ryder. I don’t know what they’re saying, but it’s quiet, and in the end, Mike puts his hand on Ryder’s shoulder, patting it before he steps away.

  Ryder opens his car door and takes a seat. He reaches over to me and helps with my seatbelt. Then, he gently leans into me and places a featherlight kiss on my forehead.

  “What was that for?” I yawn. I’m completely exhausted.

  “I was checking your temperature.”

  “And?” I say with another yawn.

  “You’re not hot.”