Page 189 of Nightshade

“Some people can’t handle the truth.”

My anger sharpened, like a laser beam. “Evie did this.”

“You think she killed him?”

“Yes. I mean, no. Not directly. She told him his wife was never coming back.”

Whistling, Remy shook his head and pushed to his feet, standing beside me. “That dame definitely has a mean streak.”

“Yeah, she’s a cold-hearted bit--”

“Easy now. Not like she put the blade to his throat. Unless she did.” He glanced down at the weapon. “Nah. This was all him.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Saw him do it.”

I snapped my gaze toward him. “What? You let him do this? Why? Why wouldn’t you stop him?” One hard shove hardly moved Remy, at all, but he held up his hands.

“What do you mean let? When a man wants to end it, that’s on him. It’s not my job to jump in and save the day.”

“He could’ve just been in a bad place. A few encouraging words might’ve kept him from following through!” Another useless shove served as nothing more than to vent some of my anger. “Do you not have a single drop of compassion in you? Damn it, Remy!”

“Settle down, princess. You’re going to have a stroke.”

“Stop calling me princess!” In my fit, I kicked the remaining pile of ash, sending it flying into the air, where it flew back at our faces. The bits of Garic’s remains hit my eyes, and I coughed, wiping the powdery dust away.

“Ah! Fuck!” Remy scraped his finger over his tongue and spat on the ground. “Fucker got in my mouth!”

Slapping a hand over my mouth was all I could do to keep from laughing, but it failed when I snorted and more ash expelled from my nose. At that, I couldn’t contain the laughter that flew past my lips, and I bent forward on a hard laugh.

Remy glanced over at me and what started as a small chuckle turned into a full-on tearful laugh. It wasn’t long before both of us could hardly stand upright, we were laughing so hard.

When it finally died down, a somber stillness clung to the air, and I stared down at the paper still lying on the ground. Beside it lay the frame I’d made, which I must’ve dropped in all my laughing.

I reached down to pick both of them up. “I never understood suicide. For years, I got told that was how my father died. I guess … I never accepted that as a possibility. But maybe I should.”

“Hey, hey, wait.” Remy dug into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a piece of string. “Before you go giving up on me, I need to show you this.”

“A string?” I asked, unimpressed.

He held up a finger, and on his outstretched palm, he folded and twisted the string into a shape. “I found this left behind on the doorstep. Just like this.”

When he held it up for me to see, I nearly choked. An infinity symbol. One my father had left for me on Aunt Nelle’s doorstep a number of times when I was growing up.

I snatched the string from his hands and clutched it tight in my palm. “Where did you see this? Here?” I glanced around like I’d find the answer. “You’re certain it was in this shape?”

“Yeah. I’m certain. But I didn’t find it here. I found it at your house. On the other side.”

“You … you went to my house?”

He shrugged. “You asked me to find your dad. I’m covering the bases.”

“And--and have you had any luck? Any idea where he might be?”

“Not yet. But I’m following a lead. I’m close. I promise.”

I pondered the possibility that my father had left the symbol at Aunt Nelle’s for me. Throughout the years, before his disappearance, I’d sometimes find small trinkets that left me thinking he’d left them behind. Symbols that were obvious to decode at the time, one of which was a string purposely shaped into an elongated figure eight, something he’d always told me represented his love for me. “He’s alive, then.”