Want to Know a Secret? (81)

But tonight, I want company. I can’t stop thinking of Brianna’s last phone call to me. What happened to her? I called Maria to see if April had shown up to the book club, and apparently, they had turned her away. God knows where she went after that.

Keith rolls over in bed and the phone starts ringing. His eyes spring open. “Who the hell is calling in the middle of the night?”

I snatch up the phone before Keith can see the name on the screen. He knows exactly who Riley Hanrahan is, and he won’t be happy to see that name pop up on my phone. “Sorry. I’ll go to the other room.”

Keith grumbles something and punches his pillow with his hand. I take the phone outside before I press the green button.

“Riley?” I whisper.

“Hey, Jules.” His voice is low, almost a whisper like mine. “Sorry it’s late.”

“Did you find her?”

“Yeah.” He heaves a sigh. “She’s dead, Jules.”

The room starts to spin. I lean against the wall and sink onto my knees. “What happened to her?” I manage.

“I shouldn’t be talking about this,” he murmurs. “I’d get in a lot of trouble.”

“I’ve stuck my neck out for you too,” I remind him.

“Yeah, I know.” Back when I was at the DA’s office, we worked together a lot. We shared information not everybody got to know. I trusted him. He trusted me. “We found her lying behind some trash bins. It looks like she was hit repeatedly in the head with a blunt object, but we won’t know for sure until the autopsy.”

“Oh my God,” I breathe.

“Look,” Riley says, “I gotta be honest with you. I know you think April Masterson did this, but I don’t know. It would have taken a lot of force. That Masterson woman doesn’t look like she has it in her.”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “She has it in her. Trust me.”

“I don’t know.” I imagine him scrunching up his brow, the way he always did when he was deep in thought. “Anyway, like I said, I could get in a lot of trouble for calling you like this. So this is the last time. But we’ll probably have you come in tomorrow to talk to us on the record about your phone call with Brianna.”

“You’re staying on the case?”

“Yeah. I got approval.”

“Good.”

There’s a long silence on the other line. “Be careful, will you, Jules?”

“I will.”

“Don’t do anything crazy. Your part is done. You’re not a prosecutor anymore. We got this.”

“I know.”

He lets out a sigh like he doesn’t entirely believe me. “Good night, Jules.”

“Goodnight, Riley.” I grip the phone tighter. “Thanks… for…”

“Yeah,” he says.

We hang up the phone, and I just sit there on the floor, shaking. I sit there so long, I drift to sleep in that position.





Chapter 53


I’m not going to lie. I’m not blameless.

Maybe I am partially responsible for what happened to Brianna. Maybe I drove April crazy with my text messages and the comments on her videos. Maybe sending her that photograph of her shoplifting was what drove her over the edge.

I regret a lot.

I spend most of the morning sitting in the kitchen, contemplating what I’ve done. I thought I was serving justice to April. But that’s not what I’ve done at all. And now there’s nothing I can do to fix it. Riley is right—I’m not a DA anymore. I’m a housewife who is completely out of my element. I need to stay out of it. All I can do is sit here and hope Riley has enough to pin the murder on her. So she doesn’t get off scot-free yet again.

I’ve opened up a pint of ice cream. It’s this ice cream with little blondie bits in it and a core inside of salted caramel. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. I’ve already eaten half a pint. Each spoonful has about five-hundred calories. I don’t care.

“Julie?”

Keith is standing in the middle of the living room. I look up in surprise. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen my husband in the middle of the day.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

Keith is dressed for work in his gray suit. He bought that suit about a year ago, and it’s already too tight. “I had a dentist appointment,” he says. “But I’m heading to the office now.”

“Oh.” I listlessly scoop ice cream into my mouth. “Okay.”

“Watch the ice cream, Julie. You don’t want to weigh five-hundred pounds.”

I shoot him a look. “Or else what?”

He shrugs. “Or else maybe I get myself a new wife.”

I toss the metal spoon on the table. Ice cream splatters all over the marble counter. “That sounds like a great idea. We’re through.”

Keith’s eyes widen. “Hey, don’t get all bitchy. I didn’t mean it.”

“Well, I do.” I put the lid back on the ice cream and shove it in the freezer. I shut the door with a slam. “I’m done here. I don’t want to be married to you anymore.”

“Come on, Julie.” He frowns at me. “Look, I’m sorry. You can go back to eating whatever you want and doing whatever you want and spending my money whenever you want.”