A Secret Worth Keeping by Drew Strickland

Author:Drew Strickland [Strickland, Drew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Striller Publishing
Published: 2024-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

Stella

Is that really a car pulling around the cabin right now? Maybe it’s just passing by, looking for their rental. Clearly, it’s not uncommon around here. But then why does it sound like it’s pulling up to the house and into the driveway?

I know it’s not Joel since he made it a point to not park in the driveway, but instead, down the road. Even if he had parked in the driveway, why would he invest all this time and bail now?

At this point, I think Joel is in this with me. Which is good, because I’d be totally screwed without him as part of this plan.

I spring up from the plastic Adirondack chair I had dragged into the shade near the cabin wall and peek through the gap in the slats of the fence.

That’s when my stomach drops.

Not only is it a car that’s not just passing by, but it’s driving directly up to the cabin. To top it all off, it also looks to be a sheriff’s vehicle, going by the emblem on the side of the door.

I wipe the sweat from my brow, now from pure stress instead of physical exertion, and squint to see who might be inside the car. The person behind the wheel doesn’t look like the sheriff. He’s far too young. More than likely a deputy.

He gets out of the car, and I quickly swivel my head around, seeing the state of the backyard. We’ve dug a big trench in the backyard, and there’s still the rolled-up tarp. Thankfully, no body parts can be seen, but the trench still looks awfully suspicious. Body-sized, to be exact. How am I going to explain this?

The deputy steps out. He’s fairly good-looking, with his brown hair only slightly disheveled, and wearing a pair of aviator sunglasses. I can tell he’s not overweight, but not quite the young, fit stud straight out of a movie or romance novel. He’s headed right for the gate, but suddenly stops and turns to the door.

The way Joel handled the last interaction with people, I have zero faith that he can talk his way out of this one. Of course, the deputy had to come right now, when we’re in the middle of digging a grave, and now he’s going to ruin the whole plan.

I know I have to intervene if we have any chance of getting out of this one. So, I quickly unlatch the gate and step out of the yard with a smile. I try to pull the gate closed behind me, but don’t make a big deal about it, knowing the deputy’s focus might turn to what I’m doing back there.

“Oh, hello,” I say to the deputy, trying to keep it light and acting surprised to see him. Of course, I am surprised to see him, but not in the thanks-for-stopping-by way I pretend to show.

“Hello, miss,” he says, his head dipping slightly. His eyes are hidden behind his sunglasses, but I can tell he’s giving me a good up-and-down with them.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.