Come Find Me(75)

“What did you do to him?” I ask, my thumb jutting over my shoulder, pointing to the edge of the quarry behind us. Needing to know, and needing desperately to be wrong about all of it.

Mike shakes his head. “He did it to himself. I’m so sorry. Your brother was good at a lot of things, but he didn’t know how to keep his mouth shut.”

I picture Liam over the sink, the razor clattering, the drop of blood—his hand shaking. Something had been on his mind. Somehow, I knew, even then—something was wrong. But I said nothing. The thought was fleeting, barely registering. And in the chaos that followed, I’d all but forgotten it.

“I thought you…” Everything twists. I thought Mike was on our side. I thought Liam trusted him. And now I see that he did; I finally understand how Liam would disappear from the park, with a dog, without putting up a fight: only if it was someone he knew. Only if he trusted that he would make it back unharmed. I remember, then, how Mike told my parents Liam probably ran away. Because it was unlikely someone would take and harm both Liam and the dog. Mike planted that seed, and it grew.

“Someone was spreading rumors,” Mike explains. “About me. It’s all so unimportant, such a small thing. All of this about people who don’t even matter. Who no one even misses. But someone confided in your brother. And he couldn’t let it go.” He shakes his head, like it’s all some big regrettable thing. Instead of something he had control over all along.

    “But this, Nolan. I am truly sorry. I want you to believe that.”

I shake my head, not understanding. A step behind, as I’ve always been.

“Thing is, Nolan, this body is going to be found, one way or another now. The land was purchased. It’s unfortunate, really, but that’s the truth of it. Your brother’s case was going to be reopened, with or without that email. And I’m tired of trying to hide it. It’s time he was found, don’t you think?”

Yes, I do, except I also realize exactly how Mike wants Liam’s body to be uncovered. An email, with a photo, sent from me.

“So, what, you decided to blame it on me?” I say. It’s ridiculous. He couldn’t imagine this would work.

But he smiles, his lips pulling back, baring his teeth. It’s a look I’ve never seen on him before. “I didn’t realize you’d know the location, Nolan. Didn’t know it meant anything to you at all. But it was obvious you figured it out. Left it up on the computer screen right before you took off on this little excursion.” He shrugs. “You make do with what you get.” Then he smiles again. “Maybe it was a sign.”

I’m confused. I don’t see what he has at all. “The body will still be discovered,” I say.

“Yes. And the person who sent the picture, who obviously knew more about what happened to Liam Chandler all this time but tried to hide it, has been overcome with guilt. He came out to the spot where he was responsible for his brother’s death.”

    We’ve been shifting, slowly, as he leans closer and I lean back. Inch by inch. And then it dawns on me. The edge is behind us, and there’s nothing to stop his momentum—it’s just the granite below my feet, and then a cliff. “You’re going to frame me and then make it look like I killed myself?” He’s out of his mind. There’s no way I’m going down without a fight. I look all around me for something I can use.

I’m almost his size. I could strike first. But then I run the risk of being tossed over the edge, with or without him. There’s one way out, and he’s standing in front of it.

Oh God, Kennedy’s out here somewhere.

Either he found her and I’m too late, or he doesn’t know she’s here. And I don’t want him to figure it out.

“It’s a sad story, either way,” he continues. “One brother, missing for years. Another, suffering alone, overwhelmed with his grief and regret. It’s a story people will believe. This moment was inevitable, Nolan.”

I take a deep breath in, because I think I finally understand.

This moment was inevitable; he’s right. My brother was going to be found. That picture would be recognized by me. I would be out here, looking for him. Mike would find me.

All of this, I can see, a fall of dominoes set in motion—leading us to this moment, right here, right now.

I shake my head at him, but he doesn’t understand. He thinks I’m giving in. But I feel surrounded suddenly.

I look beyond him, into the trees, and everything is perfectly clear. Why the universe sent me to her, and her to me. It wasn’t to prove anything. It wasn’t for a picture, or a clue, or a sign.

It was for us.

    Maybe it was my brother talking to me all along. Because this moment I’m facing was almost inevitable. Almost. But Mike has one part wrong. He doesn’t know I’m not out here alone.

Her shadow hovers just beyond Mike’s shoulder. She’s so quiet, moving like a ghost—easy to overlook if you’re not paying attention.

She’s got my bat in her hands. For a moment, everything is too bright. The sunlight escaping from between a gap of clouds. I close my eyes. She knows what to do. Don’t be afraid, I think.

She swings.





The man before me stumbles for a second, and I start to panic, thinking I’m going to have to hit him again, but my hands are already reverberating from the impact—and then he sinks to his knees before collapsing onto the ground, face-first. I swung just the way Nolan showed me—for power. My hands are still throbbing, my fingers trembling.