Chapter 7
My heart stopped.
The doorknob turned all the way.
The door creaked open.
And Brian stepped inside.
He looked terrible.
His clothes were dirty.
His hair was a mess.
He had a black eye and a cut on his lip.
But it was him.
Brian.
The father of my baby.
The man I’d loved once.
The man who’d left me when I needed him most.
The man who’d probably framed me for murder.
Mia stepped in front of me, bat raised.
“Get out,” she said, her voice like ice. “Get out of this house right now or I swear to God I’ll break every bone in your body.”
Brian held up his hands.
“Wait,” he said. His voice was hoarse. Scared. “I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just need to talk to Lila. Please. Five minutes. That’s all I ask.”
“You have five seconds,” Mia said. “Before I call the police.”
“Then you’ll be making a mistake,” Brian said. He looked past her, right at me. “Because I know who killed Mrs. Whitaker. And it wasn’t me. And it wasn’t Lila.”
The words hung in the air.
Mia hesitated.
“Mia,” I said, my voice trembling. “Let him talk.”
She looked at me like I was crazy.
“Lila, he’s the one who—”
“Just let him talk,” I said. “Please.”
Mia lowered the bat, but she didn’t step aside.
“Five minutes,” she said again. “And I’m calling 911 the second you say one thing that sounds like a lie.”
Brian nodded, stepping further into the house.
He didn’t try to come closer.
Just stood there by the door, looking at me.
His eyes went to my stomach.
To the life growing inside me.
His child.
“You look good,” he said softly. “Pregnancy suits you.”
“Cut the crap,” Mia snapped. “Who killed Mrs. Whitaker?”
Brian’s jaw tightened.
“Jake,” he said. “Jake Miller.”
Mia and I exchanged a look.
Jake Miller.
Brian’s friend from work.
The one with the trailer by the lake.
“Jake killed her?” I said. “Why?”
“Because he’s in deep,” Brian said. “Deeper than you can imagine. He owes money to some very bad people. People who will kill him if he doesn’t pay up. Two hundred thousand dollars. That’s what he needs. And he needs it fast.”
He ran a hand through his hair.
“He came to me three months ago. Had this plan. Said the old lady next door to you was loaded. No kids. No family. Just sitting on a fortune. Said we could take it. All we had to do was get her to change her will.”
I stared at him, horrified.
“You went along with it?”
“I was desperate too!” Brian said, his voice rising. “I owed those same people fifty grand. They were going to break my legs, Lila. Or worse. Jake said if I helped him, he’d pay off my debt. Said we’d split the money. I didn’t have a choice.”
“So you pretended to be me?” Mia said.
“Not me,” Brian said. “Jake had this girl. A friend of his. Cindy. She looks a little like Lila. Same build. Same color hair. Jake paid her a thousand bucks to go over to Mrs. Whitaker’s house every week. Pretend to be Lila. Gain her trust. Tell her all these sad stories about being pregnant and alone. The old lady ate it up. Just like Jake knew she would.”
He paused.
“Then two weeks ago, Cindy got Mrs. Whitaker to change her will. Leave everything to Lila. Jake said it had to be Lila. Because no one would suspect the poor pregnant girl. He said once the old lady was dead, we’d get Lila arrested, the will would be thrown out, and we’d find a way to get the money through the back door. He had a lawyer friend who could make it happen.”
“So you killed her,” Mia said.
“NO!” Brian shouted. “I told you, it wasn’t me! Jake was supposed to go over there yesterday. Just scare her a little. Make it look like a robbery. Get the fifty thousand she’d withdrawn. But he… he lost control. Said she recognized Cindy’s voice on the phone. Said she was going to call the police. So he hit her. Over and over. Then he gave her the pills to make sure she didn’t wake up.”
Tears were streaming down Brian’s face now.
“I didn’t know he was going to kill her,” he said. “I swear to God. I thought we were just going to scare her. When I found out what he’d done… I panicked. Jake said I had to help him plant the evidence. Said if I didn’t, he’d tell the police I did it. Said he’d make sure I went down for it. So I wrote the note. Forged Lila’s signature. Jake put the money in the mailbox. We were going to disappear. But Jake… he said I knew too much. Last night, he tried to kill me. That’s where the black eye came from. I managed to get away. I’ve been hiding ever since.”
He looked at me, his eyes pleading.
“I’m sorry, Lila. I’m so sorry. I was stupid. I was scared. I never meant for any of this to happen to you. To the baby. I’ll do whatever it takes to make it right. I’ll testify against Jake. I’ll tell the police everything. Just… please believe me. I didn’t kill her.”
The room was silent.
I looked at Brian.
Really looked at him.
He was terrified.
Broken.
And for the first time in a long time, I believed him.
He was a coward.
A liar.
A selfish idiot who’d gotten himself into trouble and dragged everyone else down with him.
But he wasn’t a killer.
Jake Miller was.
“Where is he now?” Mia asked, her voice cold.
“At his trailer,” Brian said. “By the lake. He’s packing. Planning to leave town tonight. He’s got the rest of the money. The jewelry he stole from Mrs. Whitaker. Everything. If he gets out of state, we’ll never find him.”
Mia pulled out her phone and dialed 911.
She gave the operator Jake’s name and address.
Told her he was armed and dangerous.
That he was the prime suspect in the Whitaker murder.
Then she called Hollis.
Told him everything.
Ten minutes later, the sound of sirens filled the air.
Sheriff Hale and three patrol cars went screaming past the house, heading toward the lake.
Brian sank down onto the bottom step of the staircase, his head in his hands.
“I’m sorry,” he kept saying. “I’m so sorry.”
I walked over to him.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He looked up at me.
For a second, I saw the boy I’d fallen in love with.
The boy who’d brought me flowers on our first date.
Who’d held my hand when my mom died.
Who’d been so happy when I told him I was pregnant — for about five minutes, before the fear set in.
I reached out and touched his face.
“You hurt me,” I said quietly. “You left me when I needed you most. You helped frame me for murder. You put my baby at risk. I’ll never forgive you for that, Brian. Never.”
Tears ran down his cheeks.
“I know,” he whispered. “I know.”
“But,” I said. “You’re doing the right thing now. That counts for something.”
I pulled my hand away.
“After this is over,” I said. “I don’t want to see you again. Ever. You’ll pay child support. You’ll send it through the courts. But you won’t come near me. You won’t come near my daughter. Is that clear?”
He nodded slowly.
“Crystal,” he said.
Another twenty minutes passed.
Then we heard the sirens coming back.
Hollis called Mia’s phone.
He was laughing.
Actually laughing.
“We got him,” he said. “Caught him red-handed. Had Mrs. Whitaker’s jewelry in his duffel bag. The rest of the cash. Even the Lorazepam. He tried to run, but Hale tackled him into the mud. He’s in the back of a squad car right now. Singing like a canary. Already confessed to everything. Says Brian was just a patsy. That he planned to kill Brian too and pin the whole thing on him.”
He paused.
“Lila,” he said. “You’re free. Well, as free as you can be with an ankle monitor. We’ll have the charges dropped by morning. The DA’s already agreed. You’re going to be okay.”
I sank onto the couch, the strength leaving my legs.
It was over.
It was actually over.
Mia sat next to me, pulling me into a hug.
Brian stood by the door, watching us.
Two deputies arrived a few minutes later to take him into custody too.
He’d be charged with conspiracy, forgery, and a few other things.
But he’d get a deal for testifying against Jake.
He’d probably do a year or two, then get out.
And that was okay.
May you like
Because he was out of my life.
Forever.
