Pretty Little Wife

by Darby Kane

  Jared made a strangled noise. “Maybe he thought he was helping Karen.”

  “Oh, please.” The snort escaped her lips before she could stop it.

  Both men stared at her, but Jared was the one to voice the confusion. “What?”

  The words had come out more dismissive and more flippant than she intended, so she tried to backtrack. Now was not the time for this discussion. She doubted Jared could handle a real talk, heart-to-heart. “Nothing.”

  But Jared wouldn’t let it go. He leaned forward in his chair. “Say it.”

  Tobias started to stand up. “Maybe we should take a break.”

  “Say. It.” Jared made the demand through clenched teeth.

  Tobias sat back down. “This is not the time. Trust me on this.”

  “Ignore him,” Jared said. “Talk.”

  Fine. If he wanted her theories, a walk through the sordid truth, she’d drag him there. “He was screwing his students, Jared. That type of guy doesn’t somehow uncover evidence about a missing woman that every law enforcement agency in the state has been searching for and missed, then without word to anyone run out there to be a hero.”

  “What exactly are you saying?”

  How could he not get this? “Aaron is not a fucking hero. He’s the villain in this story.”

  They’d stepped right into a heated argument. Before this, they’d never raised their voices to each other. They’d listened and supported. Now they sat on the edges of their respective seats and yelled back and forth, not caring about the fallout that would come later.

  “You never told me any of this before.”

  “How do I start that conversation, Jared? Your beloved brother is a pedophile, but watch out, because he’ll deny it? I just found out and had my life turned upside down. I didn’t know how to tell you.”

  Tobias reached out and touched her leg. “Lila.”

  Their sign to rein it in. She ignored it this time.

  The explanation—the only one she could see—spilled out of her. “The likely answer is that he knew Karen was in that cabin. That he put her in that cabin. I don’t know why he needed the GPS help to get back there, but he went on purpose.”

  Jared slowly stood up and faced her across the coffee table. “What the hell is wrong with you? He’s your husband and you’re willing to believe the worst about him.”

  This was his family. His brother. His gene pool. He’d been hit with so many shocks today, but he had to believe more were coming. “You know I’m not lying about what I saw and heard on those videos. So is it really such a big jump to go from him abusing young girls to killing women?”

  “In your family? No,” Jared shot back.

  Tobias stood up this time. “Hey. That’s too much.”

  The shot rammed right into her. Because that was the point. She’d married the one man she vowed never to get involved with—a man like her father, with his fetishes and weakness.

  She tried to drop her voice from a yell. To keep it soothing even as the vicious words snapped and stung. “Knowing what I know and how Aaron lied to me and to all of us about who he really was and what he was capable of, it’s not hard for me to imagine he killed Karen Blue. I don’t know why he escalated, but no other explanation makes sense.”

  Jared looked horrified . . . by her. “I get that your upbringing sucked and your dad—”

  “Don’t switch the subject,” Tobias said, breaking into Jared’s sentence right as he was warming up for the big hit.

  Lila felt it coming. A part of her welcomed it. In a way she’d brought them to this point. She’d forced the issue with Aaron. She’d hunted him. Planned and suffocated him. She’d just failed to finish the job. She had to wonder if Karen Blue would be alive if she’d moved faster. Been more thorough. “No, say it.”

  “Everyone has been telling me you did something to my brother. I’ve defended you. Insisted you wouldn’t hurt Aaron.” He pointed at her across the table. “All I’m asking is that you do the same honor for the man you married.”

  Her heartbeat thumped so loudly in her ears. She could almost hear the blood whoosh through her. “I can’t.”

  He walked away from her then. Dodged the chair, taking the widest berth around her, and headed for the doorway. He stopped at the last minute and looked at her. “I don’t know who or what you are.”

  A heavy, unseen weight pulled her arms down and pressed against her back. She’d never felt this tired. “That’s exactly how I feel about Aaron.”

  “Keep it to yourself.” When she didn’t say anything, he continued with his voice growing deeper, more full of fury, with every word. “You hear me. Whatever sick shit is going through your head as you confuse Aaron with your father, do not say it out loud or to the press.”

  He marched down the hall toward the front door.

  “Where are you going?” She had to stop him. He wasn’t fit to drive.

  The door slammed. Lila felt it vibrate through every inch of her. For the first time since battle lines were drawn, she and Jared stood on opposite sides.

  She mourned that loss more than she mourned Aaron.

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  THE NEXT DAY PLAYED OUT LIKE A NIGHTMARE. PEOPLE VISITED and more of the press gathered. Lila insisted to Cassie and Christina, even to Tobias, that she felt fine when she felt anything but. She threw up the coffee she’d used as a replacement breakfast. Counting back, it had been more than a day since she’d eaten anything. She couldn’t imagine that would change anytime soon.

  Jared ignored her calls. Ginny put her off, saying they were collecting information and forensics and she’d get back in touch.

  When Ryan’s name showed up on a text on her phone’s screen, she answered without thinking. Ginny likely still tracked her calls and texts. Right now, lost in this haze of confusion and frustration, she didn’t care.

  Ryan: You ok?

  Lila: no

  Ryan: I heard about Karen Blue and the cabin. Do u think Aaron was involved?

  She no longer trusted her instincts or him. This felt like fishing, maybe for the police to clear his name by throwing her under a bus the size of Texas, or for a more selfish motive.

  She spun her phone around in her hand as she mentally searched for the right thing to type. The bar stool at the kitchen counter squeaked under her as she shifted around. Seeing Ryan’s name pop up on her phone used to make her smile. The day could be shit, but he’d ask some innocuous question about how she was and a light would flick on inside her.

  Seeing his name now made her wary. Careful. Nothing sounded genuine, and that tiny light had extinguished.

  Lila: Is this for the book?

  Ryan: I care about u

  Lila: I don’t know.

  Ryan: It’s possible he knew Karen.

  That’s not what she meant. After months of being on the same wavelength, they were talking past each other.

  Lila: Gotta go

  Ryan: Call me. CID still doesn’t believe someone planted the phone at my house.

  Lila: Did you ever meet him?

  Ryan: NO

  Even this little bit of conversation was about him. She’d heard the university wanted to suspend him, but he’d brought in a lawyer and fought it. He was taking the rest of the semester off from teaching but would be there, on campus, strutting around as he finished his book. She guessed he’d also be willing to answer questions about her life. His fungible boundaries would likely allow for that.

  After Ryan’s texts, Cassie came over with a cake and words of encouragement. Still nothing from Jared, but Brent stopped by. She debated whether to let him in.

  The first thing he did was hand her a stack of mail. “I thought you would want it before the press looked through it.”

  She didn’t care anymore. The press dug through her life. She’d seen photos of her father plastered on the front page of the news. She’d dropped her birth name to keep people from connecting her to him, but now, thanks to Aaron, everyone would know ab
out her past. Every last detail would get dredged up again.

  She walked back to the kitchen, listening to Brent’s footsteps as he followed her. “What are you doing here?”

  “I owe you an apology.”

  Guilt and shame didn’t matter to her unless he was confessing to letting Aaron get away with his hideous behavior. She walked around, battered and half out of it from lack of sleep. Her mind refused to turn off as it churned through anxiety that had her up and staring out the window, trying to puzzle through what the cabin and the stabbing meant.

  She dropped the stack on the counter. “It’s fine, Brent.”

  “I didn’t know about the girls at school. I mean, I knew their names when Ginny asked. That’s how it works as principal. I know students, but, with most, I didn’t have a personal relationship. They weren’t close enough for me to know about their private lives, and no one ever contacted me to point out a problem with Aaron.” He shifted his weight as he talked to her. Failed to give her eye contact.

  She tried not to read anything into his nervousness, but that didn’t mean she intended to go easy on him. “You should have known.”

  He lifted his head and looked at her. “How? None of them complained.”

  “Okay.” But people were yelling now. She knew from the news that parents wanted him fired. An emergency school board meeting had been scheduled to hear complaints and arguments. There was talk of a suspension and an outside investigation. All things she secretly craved, but she couldn’t take comfort in a minute of it. Not when everything else—every other piece of Aaron’s disappearance and death—was a question mark.

  “Do you really think Aaron had something to do with Karen Blue?” he asked.

  “He had enough of a connection to have been killed in close proximity to her.” Ginny still hadn’t filled in those blanks or talked about forensic evidence that connected the two of them. The only thing that was clear was that Karen likely hadn’t killed Aaron, dumped him in the back of the SUV, and then gone back into the cabin to die.

  Tobias told her that meant the spotlight remained on her. Ginny, the press, and most people in town thought she’d killed Aaron. The Karen Blue piece was still a mystery.

  He cleared his throat. “I know I accused you—”

  She refused to make it easy on him. “Yes?”

  “People are saying . . .” He swallowed hard. “Some think if you did kill him, that was okay.”

  She wanted him to leave. It took all of her strength to stand there and not shout questions at him. “Why?”

  “The girls.”

  “How many were there at school?”

  He went back to staring at her floor. “So far, four.”

  The number was far too low. She knew with every cell inside her that Aaron had been playing that game for years. There was a line of victims out there. Many probably viewed themselves as former girlfriends and not as his prey, but she knew the truth. From the drawn look on Brent’s face, he knew, too.

  “My wife—”

  “Ex.”

  “Right. Ex.” He stumbled through his words. “She won’t let me see our kids until I prove I wasn’t involved with Aaron.”

  She was lucky to live in another state, but clearly the gossip had reached her. Lila hoped she did what she needed to do to protect those kids. “Smart.”

  “Come on. You can’t believe that. I wasn’t.” He coughed. “Involved, I mean.”

  That counted as the least convincing denial she’d ever heard. But it didn’t mean he was lying. More like his life had been flipped upside down. He’d gone from Aaron’s fiercest advocate in the search to a significant target.

  She didn’t care.

  “And I didn’t kill him.” When she said it now she believed it was the truth. She had no problem selling it.

  “I should go.”

  “Yeah.” She didn’t beg him to stay. What few niceties she used to manage with him since the whole case had unfolded were gone. It was a struggle not to shove him and shout at him. She still wasn’t convinced he was innocent of anything.

  Ten minutes after he left, she dragged her body back into the kitchen to make coffee. As the water warmed, her gaze fell on the stack of mail. She’d turned the bills and financial stuff to email delivery right before Aaron went missing. Her mail usually consisted of magazines she forgot to read and mailers she didn’t want. A few days ago, she also received a death threat. She guessed that investigation was sitting on the corner of Ginny’s desk, inactive.

  She pushed the pieces around. A few letters that likely included more theories and hate. No thanks.

  She was just about to turn away when she spied it. The familiar white unlined card. It rested white side up in the middle of the stack. She turned it over and threw it on the counter. Let it lie there.

  I FIXED YOUR MESS. YOU’RE WELCOME.

  She silently repeated the words in her head. None of the notes had been from Aaron. They’d been from his killer. The person knew what she’d done and wasn’t finished with her.

  Chapter Forty-Eight

  This is Nia Simms and Gone Missing, the true crime podcast that discusses cases—big and small—in your neighborhood and around the country. This week we’re talking about Aaron Payne. Isn’t everyone talking about Aaron Payne? He led this pristine life as a teacher. Devoted coach. The guy around town who would do anything for anyone.

  Little did we know.

  As more and more female students, current and former, come forward, we have a new picture of Aaron Payne. As a predator. As a pedophile. As a sick, twisted man who fooled everyone. His body being found with Karen Blue’s only adds more questions to the growing stack.

  The task force has switched its focus and police in several jurisdictions across New York State are looking into Aaron’s activities and his past. Any information you have about that cabin or Aaron, call in and we’ll talk about it. Law enforcement is listening, and, don’t forget, we all want to bring Yara and Julie home.

  In addition to talking about Aaron, I want to talk about another woman. Lila Ridgefield, Aaron’s wife. People have very different views of her. Beautiful and dangerous. Mysterious and aloof. Introverted and misunderstood. Wealthy . . . but from where?

  A lot of listeners saw her as a heartless killer, but now what we know about Aaron shines a different light on Lila. Was she one more victim? Try to imagine what she faced at home with a man who believed in violence and had no boundaries.

  And that brings me to my point for the day . . . someone killed Aaron. I can’t say I’m sorry about that, though I wish it had happened soon enough to save Karen. What if we were right all along and Lila did kill her husband? Makes sense, right? She lived in that house.

  So, let’s say Lila did kill him. She figured out she was married to a monster—one just like the monstrous father she escaped years before—and then she decided to do something about him. Not let him run or hide. Not give those students the burden of having to face their abuser in court and testify against him.

  If Lila broke out and went rogue, if she became a vigilante, determined to do what law enforcement had failed to do, and stop her vicious husband . . . would that be so bad? Is Lila Ridgefield a killer or a vigilante hero, or maybe both? And when you answer, think about whether Lila’s decision to kill Aaron makes you feel safer. About what your opinion might be if one of your kids or friends or loved ones was one of Aaron’s victims.

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  THE CROWDS OUTSIDE LILA’S HOUSE MORPHED FROM AN ANGRY mob to a cheering squad virtually overnight. The reporters remained, and their ranks swelled. No one jeered or lobbed threats at her from the safety of the street. Banners and signs sprang up. One called her a hero. Another said, WE BELIEVE IN YOU, and the newest thanked her for doing the justice system’s job.

  She hated all of it.

  When the doorbell rang, she only answered because Christina texted first to say she’d just pulled in the driveway and needed to come in. Lila cracked the do
or wide enough to hear a cheer and people calling her name. She ushered Christina inside and slammed and locked the door behind her, blocking out the sounds that disturbed her silence.

  “Wow.” Christina’s eyes went wide as she repeated the word two more times. “It’s wild out there.”

  “I think the word you’re looking for is ‘nightmare.’” Lila rested her back against the door, determined to physically and emotionally put a barrier between them and her.

  “It’s a good sign for you. People no longer believe you’re evil.”

  Lila groaned instead of answering. She gestured for Christina to head into the family room.

  “I guess all of this means you’re even less likely to come back to work.”

  “I’m afraid so.” The idea of burying herself in paperwork and negotiating deals sounded like a dream. But no, she wasn’t ready to drag her butt around town, pretending to be okay. She’d never been the type to live a happy, carefree life, but she’d managed to eke it out and be fine. Solid and workable. She had things she liked to do and a job that kept her just busy enough.

  Aaron’s secret life blew a hole through what little balance she’d attained and rattled her security. She’d done and thought things over the last weeks she’d never believed would have been possible. He’d burned through the last of her humanity, leaving her hollow and empty. A shell of a person, without drive and with no clear vision on how to move forward.

  “I refuse to feel sorry for him. I’m talking like a thinking, breathing real person. A mom with two girls under sixteen who now doesn’t have to worry about her kids being preyed on at school.”

  “You do, and you will. Aaron being dead doesn’t eradicate all evil in New York.” If only, then maybe she could function again.

  Christina snorted. “It helps me sleep better at night. That’s the point.”

  “Tell Ginny that,” Lila said.

  “I did even better. I wrote the prosecutor and my congressman.”