The Herd(77)

“Can we talk about something else?” Mikki pulled her hands inside her sleeves.

“Right. Sorry.” I shook my head. “That was…a weird thing to bring up.”

We gulped at our drinks for a few seconds. The moment grew almost unbearable.

“It’s weird she married Daniel,” Mikki announced. Cameron and I reared back, and she shrugged. “I mean, I was never allowed to say it. But he’s weird. He always gave me the creeps.”

I gawped at her. “Well you certainly haven’t mentioned that before.”

“No, he’s just…” She shrugged. “He was so perfect. And boring. Aren’t boring people usually the ones who turn out to be psychopaths? I mean, I’ve seen a lot of Criminal Minds.” Cameron looked up from his phone sharply and we both stared at Mikki for a moment before she added, “The show.”

I shook my head. Did Mikki really not see how generous Daniel had been in keeping the blackmail a secret? How he’d protected us out of his love for Eleanor? “He worshiped her. I don’t think he even wanted to open up their marriage, but he did it for her.”

“And you buy that? You don’t think he resented her?” Mikki tucked her hair behind her ear. “I always thought it was weird she didn’t have any pictures of him in her office.”

“No, she had that photo of them on vacation. And that same picture was the background on her phone.”

“Was it? Huh.” Cameron looked around, then leaned askew to slip his own cell back into his pocket.

The doorbell chimed, making all of us jump. Cameron rose and clomped down the hall.

“It’s some girl,” he called, and then we heard dead bolts unlocking, the door opening with a swoosh.

With my head cocked, I could just make her out: “Is Hana here?”

“Katie?” I yelled, struggling to get out of the La-Z-Boy. I hurried down the hallway with Mikki right behind me.

“Hana!” Her relief confused me; she pushed past Cameron and grabbed for me. “Oh my God. It must have been a coyote or something.”

“What’s going on? Why aren’t you wearing a coat?”

“I need to talk to you.” She lifted her brow and leaned forward. “Confidentially. Like, now.”

“Wait, where’s Ted?” Mikki grabbed the front door Cameron was attempting to close and peered out. More snow was falling, thick, wet flakes.

“I thought he came back here. But I need to—” Katie’s eyes did something desperate, an ocular ahem.

“When did Ted leave?” Mikki pushed the door closed, then wrapped her arms around her chest.

“I don’t know, ten minutes ago?” Katie jerked a thumb toward the columned main house. “Is he in there?”

“I’ll check.” Cameron pulled his coat from a peg and scooped keys off a hook. “He can’t have gone far.”

“Wait—we should—” Katie’s shoulders slumped as he pulled the door closed. She turned back to us. “I just learned something crazy. Cameron was there. His car was parked a block from the Herd on that Monday—the night Eleanor was killed.”

“What?” Mikki took a step toward her. “Why?”

“I don’t know, but he’s been trying to hide it. Which seems pretty freaking suspicious.” Her teeth began to chatter. “And there’s something else. I think he was posting in the Antiherd. That hate group? He put up an old photo of her and wrote some other…awful things.”

Headlights crashed through the nearest window, blinding us. We all turned, squinting, in time to see Cameron’s SUV tearing out of the driveway, wriggling in the snow through a wild three-point turn. It gunned down the street, kicking up a rooster tail of snow and slush, then whipped around a corner as its back wheels spun out of control. And then Cameron disappeared from sight.





CHAPTER 22





Katie


MONDAY, DECEMBER 23, 5:58 P.M.

Mikki spoke first: “Did he just make a run for it?”

“Maybe he’s looking for Ted?” Hana said, and then she looked around as if she, too, was shocked by how stupid it sounded.

“Why did he leave, what happened before I got here?” They looked back at me with doll eyes. I flung out my hands. “Something had to make him take off in a blizzard.”

“He was looking at his phone right before you rang the doorbell,” Hana said, scrunching her mouth. “But I didn’t see what was on it.”

“We should call Ratliff. Right?” I listened hard, expecting someone to confirm, and then realized—no, I was waiting for Hana to jump in, to handle things. Like she had the night of the Herd event. “I’ll do it.” My voice was clear and steady. I was proud of myself for exactly 0.3 seconds. “Fuck, I didn’t bring my phone.”

“I’ve got it,” Hana said, hurrying back into the living room. We heard her voice, high and official-sounding, from what I assumed was the living room: “It’s Hana Bradley—sorry to bother you so close to the holidays. We’re in Beverly with Eleanor’s parents, and her childhood friend here, we think he might have had something to do with her death….”

They spoke for a few minutes and then Hana plopped onto the couch. “She’s gonna contact the local precinct,” she said. “She’ll keep us posted.”