Page 75 of Such a Quiet Place
I nodded slowly. “It’s pretty bad.” I closed my eyes, saw the image again. “I hid something after the trial,” I said. I understood now—I had to give information to get it in return. And I had nothing left to lose. “It looks really bad.”
She stared at Nicholas again, then leaned closer, the words spilling out. “A few months ago, I needed a break, and I left the baby with Paul. He must’ve gone to run some errands. Two birds, very Paul.” She took a deep breath in. “I was sleeping when he came back, but I heard him. And I didn’t hear the baby.” She took a step closer to the stroller. “Nicholas was in the car, Harper. Paulforgotabout him.” Her hand fluttered to her mouth, like she couldn’t believe it. “He was fine. Heisfine. It was just a few minutes. We had a huge fight, and he thinks I don’t trust him with the baby anymore, and maybe that’s true—”
I could see her hands were trembling, and I grabbed one to still it. “It’s okay, Margo. You’re right, he’s fine. Nothing happened.”
“No, but someone must’ve…” She trailed off, eyes on the empty road behind me. “Someone must’ve seen him there. Someone took apicture,Harper. A picture of my baby in a car. You know how hot it’s been this year.” A noise escaped her throat. “Do you know what happens to people like that? They have charges brought against them, in the best case. In the worst?”
“Oh, God, Margo, I’m sorry.” Her recent behavior was understandable—a reaction to that fear. Always with the baby, never wanting him out of her sight. The fear, and stress, of knowing someone had witnessed it. That one of us had seen. “We would all vouch for you, you know. You’re a great mom. And you can’t tell from a photo whether it was a minute, or five, or ten. It wouldn’t prove anything.”
A visible shudder rolled through her. “You know what gets me the most?” she asked. “Whoever it was, they didn’t try to help. They didn’t knock on our door to tell us. They just took a picture, Harper. What kind of person does that?”
I felt a chill in the air, even in the heat. A cold sweat breaking out, because I wasn’t sure what kind of person would do that, either. “Maybe they would’ve come back,” I offered. “You said you noticed quickly.”
“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t know about anyone here anymore.”
She cleared her throat, took a quick step away from me. I followed her line of sight, out the pool gate. Chase Colby was walking down the sidewalk and changed direction to cross the street when he saw us.
“Don’t say anything,” she said, damp hand on my forearm. “Please.”
“I won’t,” I said, walking beside her as she pushed the stroller out the pool gate.
Chase stopped on the cement square beside us, where grass was starting to push through the gaps. His sunglasses were on, and I couldn’t read his expression. “I was just coming to check on you guys. Make sure everything went okay with the state police.”
I stared at him, no longer sure what side he was on. What side he was ever on. He knew what Mr. Monahan had seen that night. He knew Tate and Javier had seen Ruby, too.
“Everything’s fine, Chase. I’ve got to get Nicholas settled,” Margo said, weaving the stroller in the other direction.
I felt Chase’s gaze on me, even behind the glasses, like he was waiting on me to fill him in. “You shouldn’t be involved,” I said as soon as Margo was out of earshot. “You’re not supposed to be. This is all because of you, you know.” I waved my arm in front of me, trying to take in the entire neighborhood—the past and the present, all of it, because of his involvement. I had a place to focus my anger. My fear.
But his face barely changed, his voice steady and measured. “Oh, no, Harper, don’t you dare. I only went with the information you provided me.”
“You pushed us to it,” I said, remembering the message board post that I’d found in Ruby’s things.
“No one needed any pushing. You were all too willing.”
I stepped closer, lowered my voice. “I know what Mr. Monahan saw. What Tate and Javier saw. And you buried it.”
His face went slack. “Two people who think maybe they saw someone in the dark? Eyewitnesses don’t hold up the same as hard evidence, especially in the dead of night. We had the evidence. The rest was just noise. I’ve done nothing but give you all full transparency. Every one of you. If I made any mistake, it was that.”
“It wasn’t for you to decide.”
“You’re right,” he said, his words coming faster, with more bite. “It wastheirdecision not to say something in the end. You want to blame someone? Look in the mirror, every one of you. I only tried to keep this place safe. I only tried to keep youallsafe. You were my friends. My community. I knew you all. I knew you wouldn’t do it. Tell me, was I wrong?”
“You must’ve been wrong about someone, Chase.”
He breathed in sharply through his nose. “Okay, Harper, go ahead. Who do you think it would be if it wasn’t Ruby?” He raised his sunglasses like he expected me to understand. And I did, even as I was fighting it. The same truth that we all understood: If it wasn’t her, it must’ve been one of us. And none of us wanted to believe it.
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Really, now?” He leaned closer, just slightly, so I had to tip my head up to look at him. “I know what Ruby said to Mac down by the lake.”
I flinched, and I could see in his face that he knew he’d made a mistake. Mac had told me that Ruby didn’t say much, that she was drunk and not making any sense. Mac had lied. “What?” I asked.
Chase waved a hand between us, took a step back.
“What did she say, Chase. You said transparency, so prove it.”
He nodded once, as if conceding the point. “Apparently, she said,Harper, of all people, can you believe it?” And then he smiled. “What do you think she meant by that?”
