And, really, what kind of friend does that: leaves you with no good way out?
ONE YEAR LATER
DETECTIVE JULIA SCUTT
I don’t have to be doing this, going through everything again. But it will be my last chance. Jane’s case files are on their way to long-term off-site storage, where the files of all the closed cases go.
And so I’ve looked through the bagged evidence one last time— the bloody clothing and the dried remains of Jane’s favorite lip gloss and that rusted tent stake. I’ve felt the weight of each object in my hands. I read through all of the old witness statements again, too, and looked over the ME’s report in detail for the first and last time. It wasn’t easy, but I owe at least that much to Jane. To bear witness to her loss. To allow myself to fully feel it finally, after all this time. It turns out, there is a certain solace in sadness. Solace, and maybe freedom.
It’s unfortunate that Bethany didn’t have to sit in front of a jury and spectators and be called to account for Jane’s murder at a trial. So the whole world would know the monster she really is. But Bethany wouldn’t have felt bad anyway. She might have even enjoyed the attention. And with my parents gone, it would have only been me there to genuinely care. I knew about the plea deal in advance, of course. The prosecutor is a good guy. I’ve known him for a long time. And so I trusted him when he counseled against risking a trial, given how good an actress Bethany is. A jury can get easily swayed by a defendant’s outward appeal. And Maeve is outwardly appealing, that’s for sure. It’s her insides— Bethany’s— that have always been rotten to the core.
In the end, Bethany pleaded guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence for the four homicides— Jane, Evan, Alice, and Derrick. Thirty years with the possibility of parole. I can live with that for now. Because she’s not going anywhere. I’ll be at each and every parole hearing to make sure.
Stephanie, Jonathan, and Keith pleaded out, too, after telling us where we could find Crystal, in a remote forested area twenty minutes from the Farm, sheltered carefully at least under some trees. Keith pleaded out from his hospital bed. Even now I’ve heard he still has some lingering physical damage, but no permanent brain injury. And I’m guessing, on the upside, the lengthy hospital stay also helped him get clean. Felony improper disposal of a body was the charge in the end related to Crystal’s overdose and the hiding of her body, pleaded down to a misdemeanor, no jail time. Word is, though, that Stephanie has left her firm, and that Jonathan’s defense team wasn’t funded by his parents— so there have been other consequences. There were no charges against anyone other than Maeve for Evan Paretsky’s death. The others weren’t actually legally obligated to call for help, believe it or not. Morally? That’s another story. They’ll have to figure out a way to live with that for the rest of their lives.
The door opens, startling me. “Oh, sorry, Lieutenant, I didn’t realize you were still in here,” Cartright says. “The record storage guy’s here for the files. You want me to hold him off?”
Cartright is growing on me. He’s trying, at least. Not that he’s got much of a choice. I’m his boss now. The boss, until Seldon’s replacement arrives. It took a while to find an underage girl willing to testify against Seldon and Gaffney about the extra extracurriculars on their fishing weekends. But I did eventually. I am tenacious. I know how to sink my teeth into something until they knock against bone.
Dan appears in the doorway next to Cartright. “You’re still here,” he says, his eyes moving to the files. “Take your time. I can meet you at home.”
He gets it, of course he does. Dan’s been exactly what and where I needed him to be this entire time. Patient and kind, but honest, too. A really good friend. And, it turns out, so much more.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll come,” I say, rising slowly to my feet. “I’m ready to go.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Endless thanks to my supremely talented editor, Jennifer Barth, for bravely stepping into this book— well, before it was a book and for doing so with indefatigable grace and profound generosity. I am grateful for your wisdom, creativity, and compassion and for your unwavering ability to see past what is, to the glory of what could be.
Much gratitude to Jonathan Burnham and Doug Jones for your relentless passion and deep commitment. To everyone else at Harper in the marketing, publicity, sales, and library departments— thank you so much for your hard work and dedication. Special thanks to Leah Wasielewski, Tina Andreadis and Amelia Beckerman. Leslie Cohen and Katie O’Callaghan— I adore you both. Thank you for being so gifted at what you do and for being such delightful people. Thanks also to the very talented Sarah Ried, production editor Lydia Weaver, copyeditor Miranda Ottewell and the rest of the Harper managing editorial team for always working so hard on my behalf. My deepest gratitude to incredibly talented designer Jaya Micelli for my beautiful cover and to Robin Bilardello for so patiently shepherding the process. Thanks also to Kyle O’Brien for the lovely interior design.