Anonymous(55)

“Yep. He just got out of surgery. I just wanted to say hi to you both before I headed out. Take care, okay?” We say our goodbyes and he gives us Bryan’s room number.

Jake puts his arm around my shoulders as we head that way. We stop outside his door and I look up at Jake. “Did you know about Owen last night?”

Jaw clenching, he nods. “I knew that by us being together and you being pregnant, it would set him off. He was on edge the entire night. As you already know, Owen had an impulsive nature. He would’ve killed me the first chance he got.” He taps my chin and kisses me gently. “And I knew you’d ask him to follow me on the mountain. Exactly what I wanted to happen. It was his chance. He knew no one was going to come after you at the house.”

I shrug. “Well, someone did. Bryan showed up and scared the shit out of me. He’s lucky I didn’t shoot him. I should probably apologize to him.”

Jake places a hand on the door. “I need to do the same.”

We walk in and Bryan’s in the bed, flipping through the TV channels. His shoulder is bandaged up and the look on his face is melancholy. “Hey,” I call out softly.

He turns his attention to us and mutes the TV. “Hey.” When he gets a good look at Jake, he grimaces. “You look like shit.”

Jake chuckles and then grabs his side, wincing in pain. “I feel like it too. At least I’m not the one who got shot.”

I stare at them both incredulously. “Are you two bantering back and forth? You must’ve spent a lot of time together back at home.”

Jake pulls up a chair beside the bed and I sit down, while he stands on the other side. They look at each other and Bryan grins. “Maybe a little. He tried to choke me to death a couple of times, but I survived.” His smile fades when he looks at me. “You want to know everything, don’t you?”

“Please,” I beg, sneaking a glance over at Jake.

Taking a deep breath, he lets it out slow. “I was with Jake at your house when I traced the two phone numbers to Owen. One of the phones was at his house, and the other up here in Canada.” My stomach churns and I hold a hand over my mouth. I know it’s only going to get worse. “What’s really fucked up is when we got to his house. Terry let me join in on the search and that’s when we found splatters of blood on the carpet. Turns out, it was Kimberly’s. From the looks of things, I’d say she got snoopy and found the video. Owen comes home and finds her. He has no choice but to silence her.”

Swallowing hard, I close my eyes. The thought of the police department seeing a video of me being raped makes my stomach roll. “I’m assuming you watched part of the video?” I can’t even look at Jake right now. What if it happened recently, while Jake was out of town?

My baby could be Owen’s.

Bryan clears his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “I only watched a few seconds. It was shut off once you were identified. You were clearly drugged and not coherent.”

“I’m pregnant, Bryan,” I state clearly. His eyes widen, and I nod. “I need to know more details. What were the surroundings like? Can you describe the room?”

Jake looks away, and I know he’s trying to calm himself down. I don’t know what he’ll want me to do if there’s a chance I could be caring Owen’s child. I can’t even go there right now.

Bryan sighs and closes his eyes. “Let’s see . . . the walls were light gray, and the bedspread navy-blue. There was a guitar in the corner, along with a desk. It reminds me of an apartment bedroom.”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I meet Jake’s gaze. “That was Owen’s apartment many years ago. Before you.”

“That’s good news, at least,” Bryan announces. “Now you know it’s not his baby you’re carrying.” Placing a hand on my stomach, I send a silent prayer up to the heavens. “Another thing we found is both mine and Samantha’s DNA in the basement.” His eyes tear up and he huffs. “The two by four he used to kill her was in there. He must’ve hit her on the head again when she woke up.”

Jake shakes his head, his eyes full of sadness. “Oh God. Those were the screams you heard that night.”

Bryan nods. “I was too drugged up to do anything. It’s like I was aware of everything going on around me, but I was paralyzed. It’ll be an ongoing nightmare I’ll never forget.”

Taking his hand in mine, I squeeze it reassuringly. “I’m sorry about Samantha. She was a beautiful woman.”

“Yes, she was,” he agrees. “I wanted to marry her, to grow old and have a family together.”

“You’ll find someone again. It’ll just take time.” Slowly, I let his hand go and stand. “We should probably let you get your rest. Hopefully, after tomorrow, we can fly home.”

Bryan lowers his head. “I still haven’t gotten the courage to go into my house. First thing I’m going to do is find a new place to live.”

Jake comes over and holds my hand. “Why don’t we help you? Ellie and I can box up Samantha’s things.”

Tears form in Bryan’s eyes and they fall down his cheeks. “You’d do that for me?”

“Of course,” I murmur. “Without you, our case never would’ve been solved. We owe you so much.”