I Wish You Missed Me

by Bonnie Hearn Hill

  Monique. That’s who it had to be. ‘Did you see the woman?’ Kit asked.

  ‘She turned her head.’ Her voice broke and she took a deep breath. ‘But when he was in the barn getting his stuff, I told her she needed to get away from him, that he was a killer.’

  ‘Interesting,’ Kit said. ‘I called her not long ago and told her the same thing.’

  Megan gasped. ‘You know her?’

  ‘Her father owns the radio station where Farley works. She was his girlfriend.’

  ‘But he wanted to get away from her.’ Jonas stood, pulled his chair around and stood behind it. ‘I’ve shared this with Priscilla and no one else, not even you, Megan. She had decided she and Farley were in love and she was doing things like logging into his email, even checking out his bank account to see where he was having lunch and what kind of stores he frequented.’

  ‘I knew it,’ Kit said. ‘Considering that her dad owns the radio station, her job was pretty vague but she excelled at the technical stuff.’ She looked from Megan, to Jonas, to Priscilla. ‘Monique was stalking Farley. He never invited her to go surfing with him, I’ll bet. He just told her he was going surfing.’

  ‘And he told me he was coming here to get away from her.’ Jonas shook his head. ‘Once we know Farley is getting the right care, I’ll tell you more. For now, I’ll just say, she approached me and pretended to be you, Kit.’

  ‘She did?’

  He nodded. ‘Megan knows all about it now. Monique was obsessed with finding Farley. I’m sure that’s how Will found her. I hope he doesn’t harm her.’

  ‘John Paul will get her away from there,’ she said. ‘I think all we can do right now is wait.’

  ‘In a minute.’ Megan took Jonas’s hand in hers. ‘The night I met Chuck – the night Will set me up with him – Chuck was wearing a watch that had been his father’s. I commented on it because I had never seen a watch like that and because it seemed kind of off for a guy like Chuck to be wearing it.’

  Kit’s stomach clenched. ‘Was it a curved band?’ she asked. ‘Rose gold?’

  Tears sprang to Megan’s eyes. ‘You saw it, didn’t you?’

  ‘On Will,’ Kit said.

  ‘That’s one of the reasons he rushed in and out of here so fast,’ Megan said. ‘I’m sure there were other things that would have incriminated him but the watch was the big one.’

  ‘Of course,’ Kit said. ‘Why did you let him take it?’

  ‘I didn’t.’ She reached into the pocket of her smock and lifted out a gleaming rose-gold watch. Then, she burst into tears. ‘Take it.’ She shoved the watch into Kit’s hands. ‘There’s your proof that he killed Chuck. I can’t tell you anything else right now.’

  ‘Come on, now.’ Jonas put his arm around her. ‘You’ve done the right thing. It’s time for your guitar lesson, so let’s not let what’s happening keep us from what matters. Farley’s going to recover. Finally we’re all going to be OK.’

  ‘We are.’ Megan smiled up at him.

  ‘Amen,’ said Priscilla.

  Kit hoped John Paul would get there soon and that Farley would continue to improve. She headed down the hall and decided to stay there in the room on a cushion beside his pallet.

  She slid down beside him and whispered, ‘I’m here, Farley.’

  He mumbled something she couldn’t understand.

  As Kit looked around the small room filled with his steady breathing and the screeching laughter of the children outside, she realized how incredibly lucky Farley was that Megan had insisted that Will bring him here. She felt lucky too. John Paul would get help and join her any minute. Farley would get the right care until he was well again. She didn’t want to deal with the rest of it yet – what would happen to Monique or what Kit and John Paul could salvage from their uncertain relationship. All she wanted was to stay here with her friend, breath by certain breath.

  FORTY-TWO

  Jonas and Megan leaned against the pillows on the floor of Michael’s and Priscilla’s screened-in sunroom. The earlier mist had ignited the scent of the clumps of lavender growing outside and the entire porch was drenched in the heady fragrance. Megan’s guitar rested beside her. The glistening crystal rose stones of the strap looked almost effervescent in the afternoon light. She ran her fingers over them while Jonas strummed his guitar.

  ‘La Catedral. I love it.’

  ‘Very good. And what do you love about it?’

  ‘Well,’ she said, ‘the way it moves from one mood to the next – from serenity to exhilaration. And the fact that you’re playing it.’

  ‘All good reasons.’

  ‘Thanks, teacher.’ She rested her head on his shoulder and cradled the guitar she was supposed to be playing.

  ‘Once we’re married,’ he said, ‘we can move into a cabin here. I’ll give mine to Farley. He’s totally capable of taking over the school.’

  ‘Do you think he’d leave the radio station?’ she asked.

  ‘He’s not happy there and, after what happened to him, he might have the same kind of wake-up call I did.’ He kissed her forehead. ‘I hope one day he finds a woman like you.’

  With her cheek against his chest she could feel his heartbeat, and Megan wondered how she had ever gotten this lucky considering the dangerous path she had traveled to this man’s life.

  She looked up into his eyes. ‘I love you, Jonas.’

  ‘This was supposed to be a guitar lesson,’ he said, yet his eyes were focused on her lips. ‘Once we’re married, we’ll teach the kids, the two of us. Maybe have some of our own. You’re a natural. Besides, you have great compassion and empathy. The kids here already love you.’

  He took her into his arms and Megan kissed him with all the hope she felt. ‘From now on,’ she whispered against his cheek, ‘we’re together.’

  ‘Excuse me.’ Will stepped through the screen door. ‘I believe you have something of mine.’

  They pulled apart and Jonas jumped to his feet. ‘We don’t have anything of yours, Will. How did you get in here?’

  ‘You forget you idiots don’t believe in keys?’ He laughed, and Megan realized he was wearing new clothes again – a yellow ski sweater and chalk-gray pants.

  He knelt down beside her on the floor. ‘That wasn’t nice what you did, Megs. You shouldn’t have scared my new woman like that. She’s turned against me too.’

  ‘I didn’t.’

  ‘I heard the message you left.’ He shook his head as if scolding a child. ‘You told her I was dangerous, which was pretty ridiculous considering that I didn’t harm you when I had every chance.’

  She stood, pressed her back against the wall and thought about how fast she would have to move to get out the door. ‘You tried, Will. You put pills in the tea I was taking to Jonas.’

  ‘That wouldn’t have killed you.’ He moved closer to her. ‘They were just painkillers. Same as I was giving Farley. I saved his life, Megs.’

  Only after you almost killed him. She didn’t dare say that, though. Will’s talk and the jerky way he moved were much more reckless than he had been all of the time they had been together.

  She inched herself along the wall, closer to the door. ‘I don’t want any trouble, Will. Tell me what you need from me.’

  ‘First of all.’ He stabbed a finger at Jonas but his voice remained calm, almost professional. That terrified her more than if he had shouted at them. ‘This gentleman needs to leave the room. This is between you and me.’

  ‘I’m not leaving her,’ Jonas said.

  Will smiled, too calm for what was happening.

  ‘You can have the watch,’ she told him.

  ‘It’s too late for that.’

  She needed to get him out of here before he tried to hurt Jonas and the others. The screen door stood open.

  ‘Don’t even try that.’ He took a step toward her.

  She screamed and ran through it, into the woods.

  Dry branches crashed underneath her. She slid around the muddy base o
f one large tree and then another, heading deeper into the branches that scratched and bloodied her arms.

  Finally she stopped and rested her forehead against the thick, gouged trunk of a pine tree. As the cool air filled her lungs, Megan could feel her frantic heartbeat slow down. Shouting came from the camp. Good. Jonas was on his way, maybe even John Paul. Once they had Will she’d let them know where she was hiding. Tonight she would sleep beside Jonas without fear.

  The voices blended into the sounds of the forest. She thought she heard her name called but she didn’t dare move. Something hit the tree and she jumped. Sweat covered her face. No, not a gunshot. Just a pebble. Then another.

  She jerked around. Will leaned on a tree behind her, holding a handful of small rocks, smiling.

  ‘Hey, Megs.’

  She screamed and tried to run. Will grabbed her by an arm, yanked her around and shoved her against the tree.

  ‘Let me go. Please.’

  ‘Sorry, Megs. I gave you chance after chance and you lied and cheated at every turn.’ He slid his hands up her throat and squeezed. She kicked and struggled with everything in her but his fingers kept tightening. ‘I’ve always wanted to do this.’ His voiced sounded dreamy, blurred. ‘You have such a perfect neck.’

  ‘Get away from her.’

  Megan tried to make sense of the words, of the shouting, but she was sliding too fast now down the trunk of the tree as each breath exploded in her chest.

  FORTY-THREE

  ‘I said get away from her.’ Kit clutched the fireplace poker and glanced over at Megan’s body on the ground. Her chest still heaved. She was alive.

  After shouting to Priscilla that Will was back, Kit had grabbed the closest weapon she could find and run from the cabin. She followed the voices and found Will strangling Megan. She swung the poker but he heard her, jumped away and it barely grazed his head.

  Now a strange calm controlled her as she focused her gaze on him.

  ‘Hey.’ Will grinned at her and lifted his palms. A thin trail of blood made its way down the side of his face and he wiped it away. ‘Looks like you have the upper hand. You wouldn’t really drive that thing into me, though, would you? It would make one gruesome mess out here in the middle of all this natural beauty.’

  ‘I’ll do whatever I have to.’ She clenched it tighter. ‘John Paul is on his way right now. So are the police.’

  ‘And you really think I’m going to stand out here with you two women and wait for them?’

  ‘I don’t care what you do.’ From the corner of her eye she saw a flash of blue fabric before it disappeared behind a tree and knew Jonas had found them. ‘I just want you out of here and away from Megan.’

  ‘Figures.’ He made a face. ‘You’re no better than she is.’

  In a sudden lunge, he grabbed her and Kit tried to hang onto the poker as it slid from her grasp.

  ‘Now.’ Will shoved her against the same tree where he had pinned Megan. ‘What am I going to do with you, Kit?’

  ‘You won’t be doing anything.’ Jonas picked up the poker and stood beside Megan, who moaned and sat up from where she had fallen. ‘I’d be happy to use this on you,’ Jonas said.

  ‘I get it.’ Will grimaced. ‘And you can put that thing down, man.’ He lifted his arms in a calm gesture of surrender and Kit saw the sweat stains under them imprinted on the pale yellow sweater.

  ‘Don’t put it down,’ she told Jonas. Then she went over and helped Megan to her feet.

  ‘I’m not about to,’ he said. ‘You killed a man, Will. It’s not up to me to decide what happens to you but I’m going to protect my woman until the police get here.’

  ‘Your woman?’ Will laughed. ‘Your woman who stole the watch from the guy I pimped her out to?’

  Megan gasped, and Kit grabbed her arm and eased her onto the ground.

  ‘She didn’t steal it,’ Jonas said. ‘You did.’

  ‘Pretty hard to prove with him dead and all. For all you know, maybe she killed him.’

  Kit’s text dinged. ‘John Paul,’ she read aloud. ‘Just pulling in.’

  ‘Good to hear.’ Will grinned and began pacing back and forth in front of them. ‘Cops coming, sad ending for me. What would you do if you were in my place, Jonas?’

  ‘I’d keep my mouth shut.’ Jonas kept the sooty black poker pointed at him.

  ‘Good answer.’ He turned back in the direction of the cabin. After a couple of steps he stopped and glanced back at them. ‘I will tell the police all about Megan. She’ll probably be arrested for soliciting.’

  ‘I told you to shut up,’ Jonas said. ‘Get moving.’

  ‘Excellent idea.’ Will yanked a gun from his jacket. Jonas charged him and the gun fired before dropping to the ground.

  Kit screamed.

  Megan, her face stark white, jumped up, grabbed the gun and fired it at Will. Then, still holding it, she knelt down beside Jonas’s still body.

  Kit ran toward the shouts of those coming for her. John Paul was the first one she saw.

  ‘Will shot Jonas,’ she told him as he grabbed her hands. ‘Megan’s out there. She shot Will but I think he’s still alive.’

  ‘Get inside and call nine-one-one,’ he said as he headed into the dense curtain of trees.

  Will had killed Jonas. There was no way that still body on the ground had a breath of life in it. Now, Kit walked inside, knowing that John Paul and the police would handle the rest.

  Farley was out of danger. Priscilla had gathered her children close to her and was speaking to them softly in the sun room. Kit went past them, down the hall and into the room where Farley lay, his eyes open and his expression startled.

  ‘Kit?’ He tried to sit up against the wall. ‘How did I get here?’

  She ran to him, crouched, and threw her arms around him. ‘Oh, Farley.’ For that moment, they held each other tightly. ‘You’re going to be fine,’ she said. ‘I’ll tell you everything as soon as you’re stronger.’

  Someone walked into the room. She let go of Farley and jerked around toward the door.

  John Paul stood there, arms at his side.

  ‘Just wanted to be sure you’re all right,’ he said. ‘They took Will in. He died on the way to the hospital.’

  ‘And Megan?’

  ‘She’ll be staying here with Priscilla’s family and she’s pretty messed up. Jonas didn’t make it.’

  ‘Jonas?’ Farley’s voice broke. ‘What do you mean? Where’s Jonas?’

  Kit put her hands against his shoulders and pushed him gently back into the pillows. ‘We can talk later. You need to rest now.’

  ‘No.’ Tears filled his eyes and ran down his cheek. ‘He just said Jonas didn’t make it. You have to tell me, Kit.’

  She could tell he was alert enough to hear her now, and what she had to tell him tore her apart. ‘Will shot Jonas, Farley. He murdered him.’

  ‘I’m sorry, man,’ John Paul said.

  ‘God.’ He shut his eyes and seemed to retreat.

  Kit put her arms around him, trying to pull him back. ‘It’s horrible but Will’s dead now. Everyone here can try to start over.’ She felt as if she were chanting, saying anything that came into her mind. ‘You can start over, Farley.’

  ‘Monique?’ He tried to say more but retreated to silence again.

  ‘She won’t bother you anymore, I promise. You’re going to be OK – better than OK. You can do this.’

  ‘Love you,’ he said, eyes still squeezed shut, damp hair shoved back from his face.

  ‘Love you too. Stay strong.’

  ‘Don’t leave.’

  ‘I won’t. I’ll stay until you’re better.’

  ‘Don’t leave,’ he said again. ‘Oh, Jonas. Oh, God.’

  Kit didn’t know how long she held onto Farley’s hand like that. In the hours that passed, he occasionally called for Jonas, pushed her away and, later, held her close to him, squeezing her hand in his uncertain sleep.

  Finally Kit relaxed and straightened
up, but still kept his hand in hers. Early morning sunlight filtered into the room. She had barely closed her eyes all night. Each time she tried, violent images appeared again – Megan’s body on the ground in the forest, the horrible thunk of the fireplace poker as it grazed Will’s head and the easy, thoughtless way he’d shot Jonas.

  Someone knocked softly and Virgie stepped inside the bedroom.

  ‘I’m helping Priscilla cook breakfast,’ she whispered and leaned against the door. ‘If you don’t want the toast to get burned why don’t you come on out?’

  That wasn’t like her. Kit knew something else must be going on.

  ‘Is Priscilla all right?’

  ‘She’s doing better.’

  ‘So is Farley.’

  She followed Virgie down the hall and into the kitchen, where Priscilla stood at the woodstove.

  Kit looked at the empty table. ‘Where are your children?’ she asked.

  ‘In the sun room.’ She rested her hands over her belly. ‘Tea’s on and I toasted some oat bread. You shouldn’t travel hungry. There’s fresh jam too. Take whatever you like back with you.’

  In spite of her easy manner and the mixed smells of food coming from the stove, something about the room didn’t make sense.

  ‘Where’s John Paul?’ Kit asked.

  ‘He’s taking off,’ Virgie told her and motioned toward the window. ‘Going back.’

  ‘Leaving this early?’ And without saying goodbye?

  ‘He left these for you.’

  Kit glanced over at the kitchen counter where a bunch of dried lavender lay. Then she turned and rushed to the window in time to see him walk down to his truck, lean against it and look back at the cabin. As she watched, he stared as if he could see her. For a moment, Kit considered running out there to him but she couldn’t. She had nothing to say. Instead, she watched as John Paul climbed behind the wheel of the silver pickup and drove away. She stood at the window until the truck was only a small shape, a shadow on the horizon.

  FORTY-FOUR

  Although Virgie and Kit didn’t discuss John Paul’s sudden departure, Kit knew Virgie hadn’t missed its significance.