Every Single Secret(71)

Cerny scuttled back to his office, and I went into the library. Heath was leaning against the mantel, just hanging up the phone.

“Are they coming?” I asked.

He nodded.

“Do you think Luca got out? Maybe he’s called the police too.”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on any help from him. Ten to one, he’s illegal.”

“What if Cerny killed him too?”

“Daphne, come on. We don’t know for sure that he killed Glenys—or whatever her name is. He said she hanged herself with the chain.”

“He also said this was a couples’ retreat, introduced us to a fake couple called the McAdams and told us they were staying in an empty room upstairs.” I was on a roll. “Glenys was in her sixties, and that branch was at least seven or eight feet off the ground. Tell me how a woman that age, or any age, for that matter, could”—I swallowed—“loop a heavy metal chain around her neck, throw it up over a tree, and attach it all by herself? Not to mention I didn’t see a clip or a lock or anything that would’ve held it fast. The whole thing defies the laws of physics.”

Heath shook his head wearily. “I don’t know, Daphne. Maybe we overlooked whatever Glenys used on the chain. I mean, it could’ve fallen in the leaves, right? And look, obviously, the guy’s a nut. But I don’t think he’s dangerous. If he did kill her, wouldn’t he be long gone by now?”

“You’re assuming he’s in his right mind.”

“Anyway, when the police get here, we’ll tell them everything. Let them handle it. I’m going to sit down.”

“I’ll get you some ice.”

“No.” He put his hand on my arm. “We stay together until the police come.”

He eased himself down on the dusty, threadbare sofa and leaned his head against the back. His dark hair and jacket were still damp, but he made no move to dry off. He seemed too focused on the pain. Cerny—or Luca—had lit the gas fire and it was crackling in the grate, animating the fiend behind it.

I moved closer to the fire, rolled my stiff shoulders, and closed my eyes. I pictured Jerry and Donna McAdam the way I’d seen them when we first arrived at Baskens, standing by the bay window, wineglasses in hand. It was hard to believe they were nothing but actors in a play, random people who Cerny had convinced or paid to come up here and lie to us.

Jesus. It was all so preposterous.

Shortly, Dr. Cerny returned with our phones and a tray with two crystal tumblers of brown liquor. He’d already partaken back in his office—I could smell it in a cloud around him, bourbon or scotch, I couldn’t tell the difference.

“Did you drug it again?” I asked Cerny. Across the room, I could feel Heath stiffening, wanting to intervene, but I didn’t care. I was through holding my tongue.

Cerny met my gaze. “I’m sorry about before. I thought it was for your own good.”

“Have a seat, Dr. Cerny,” Heath said. “I think it’s time we all had a talk.”

“I’m not—” Cerny said at the same time, but at the look on Heath’s face, he shut his mouth. I suddenly felt inexplicably gripped with fear.

“I don’t want to talk,” I said.

“I know you don’t, my dear,” Heath said. And, for some reason, I wanted to say something nasty in return. Heath had never called me that—my dear. I hated the way it sounded coming from his mouth. But I was just on edge.

“The police will be here soon,” I said.

“Yes, they will,” Heath said. “But we have a while before that time comes. Can you listen?”

I nodded wordlessly.

“You must already realize this by now,” he went on. “That I brought you here under false pretenses. It was my idea, the story about participating in a couples’ retreat.”

Suddenly, I felt excruciatingly hot, my entire body bathed in a fine layer of sweat. My heart slammed in my chest, and I couldn’t catch my breath.

“Not that I expected the doctor to take the ruse to such elaborate extremes,” he continued. “But then again, he’s always been a bit on the theatrical side.”

Something very bad was about to happen in this room. I understood that now. And there was no way I could stop it.

“We’re going to talk,” Heath said. “The three of us, right now.”

My head had begun to feel buzzy, and I couldn’t shut out the images of Glenys’s dead, bloated face. A rusty chain slung over a branch. An empty three-room apartment. A lawn strewn with dead birds. I breathed deeply, willing my body to settle.

Heath sighed. “I needed you here with me, Daphne. I was scared if you knew what was really going on, you would refuse to come. So, the doctor arranged the week. He arranged the McAdams and Dr. Teague. The economy up here has been squeezed for years. With the promise of cash, it wasn’t that hard to convince a few locals to help us out.”

He shifted, easily. Too easily. His knee didn’t look like it was bothering him any longer, as a matter of fact.

“I wanted us, the four of us—you, me, Cerny, and Cecelia—to come together so the truth could finally come out. I’ve never told you the truth about myself, but I would like to tell you now, if you want. Would you like to hear the truth, Daphne?”