ʺNo,ʺ she said, looking him straight in the eye. ʺMurder.ʺ
IVY DOUBLED OVER AS IF SHE HAD TAKEN A FIST IN the gut. She could barely walk to the cottage door, and finally reaching it, sank down on the step.
A few minutes later, the female officer returned, winded. I couldnʹt catch him,ʺ she reported between gasps. ʺHeʹs in good shape and knows the area better than me. Of course, I could have used some back‐up.ʺ
The older officer replied, ʺI didnʹt hear his bike take off. And we know where heʹs living. Weʹll get him.ʺ
Then he nodded toward Ivy. ʺI want you to take her in and get a statement. She doesnʹt seem to know anything.ʺ
ʺHow old are you?ʺ the woman asked.
ʺEighteen,ʺ Ivy said, assuming that would keep them from contacting her mother. ʺWeʹre not charging you with anything, we just want to ask some questions. Even so, you have a right to have a lawyer present.ʺ
I donʹt need a lawyer.”
ʺWant to bring your friend along?ʺ the woman suggested, gesturing toward Will, who was approaching them. Will to the rescue, Ivy thought, Will to the rescue one more time. ʺThanks. I prefer to go alone.ʺ Will stopped in his tracks.
ʺOkay, my carʹs in the lot.ʺ
The older officer stayed behind, waiting for assistance in picking up the motorbike. Ivy followed the police car in her Beetle. At the small station she was led to a room that reeked of burnt coffee and the artificial butter of microwave popcorn.
ʺCan I get you anything — water, coffee, tea?ʺ the police woman asked, pouring herself some muddy coffee, then mixing in dry lumps of creamer.
Ivy shook her head.
ʺMy nameʹs Donovan,ʺ the officer said, sitting down at a table across from Ivy.
ʺRosemary Donovan.ʺ She handed Ivy a card with her name, badge number, and phone number, then opened a folder. ʺIʹve got some questions.ʺ
Slowly, painfully. Ivy answered all of them — how and when she met Luke, how he left the hospital, and what he had told her about his past — nothing. The final question was the most difficult for her: What had she observed about him when she was with him?
Ivy stared at the coffee rings on the table between them. What could she saythat she had observed his kindness toward a stray cat?
That when Guy— Luke — kissed her, she nearly wept at his tenderness?
How could someone who had seemed so loving be a murderer? How could he have acted so convincingly? Gregory is here. Remembering the message from the Ouija board, Ivy went cold all over.
Gregory had come back, just as Beth said. And Lacey was right: Slipping inside Guyʹs mind, Gregory could easily persuade, tempt. After a long silence, Donovan asked, ʺAre you in love with Luke?ʺ
Ivy felt sick. How could she have fallen in love with a heart haunted by Gregory? She dropped her head in her hands. ʺIs there something you want to tell me?ʺ the officer asked quietly.
ʺNo.ʺ
ʺMaybe you want to ask some questions,ʺ the woman suggested. Ivy looked up.
ʺWho was killed? Why do you think thatʺ—she hesitated, then made a determined effort to use his real name—ʺthat Luke did it?
How did Will know Luke was wanted for murder?ʺ
ʺWill OʹLeary?ʺ Donovan checked the file. ʺHe contacted the hospital in Hyannis, telling them about a patient who had skipped out on them. OʹLeary supplied the patientʹs first name, and the hospital contacted the local police, who contacted other municipalities.
A match was made and we realized we were investigating a person who had more than unpaid medical bills on his record. ʺAs for the victim—ʺ She handed a photograph across the table. Ivy gazed down at a girl with dark hair and dark eyes, eyes with a spark of mischief in them. ʺHer name is Corinne Santori.ʺ ʺHow old?ʺ Ivy asked. ʺNineteen. She was a former girl friend of Lukeʹs. One friend said they were secretly engaged. She broke it off and he was furious.ʺ
ʺHow did he… do it?ʺ
ʺStrangled her.ʺ
Ivy shut her eyes, remembering, halfway between heaven and earth, the tenderness with which he had kissed her throat. ʺYou okay?ʺ the woman asked.
ʺYeah.ʺ Ivy took a deep breath, then described the girl she had seen him talking to at the carnival. She did not hide the fact that he had lied, denying that the girl had called him Luke.
Lying, denying, and pretending to care, Ivy thought. Why didnʹt I see Gregoryʹs presence in Guy? When they were done, the officer offered to follow Ivy back to the cottage. ʺIʹm okay,ʺ Ivy insisted.
ʺThen Iʹll tell my partner to expect you.ʺ Ivy nodded.
ʺBe careful. Ivy. Be really careful. We donʹt want to find another dead girl.”
WHEN IVY ARRIVED BACK AT THE INN, SHE SAW A truck loaded with Lukeʹs motorbike exiting the lot and the older police officer following in his car.
Aunt Cindy was still out, but Ivy knew a guest might have spotted the police car and would ask her what had happened. Retrieving a pen and paper from the kitchen, Ivy carried them out to the swing to write a note of explanation.
She put down the basic facts: She had learned Guyʹs name was Luke McKenna and he was wanted by the police; when theyʹd tried to arrest him, he had fled.
The police had questioned her, but she knew nothing about Lukeʹs previous life.
Ivy felt eerily calm as she wrote.
It was as if her heart and mind had shut down before they could fully grasp the horror of Lukeʹs actions. She was signing the note when she heard the cottageʹs screen door open. Beth stood in the doorway, looking out at Ivy. ʺHow are you doing?ʺ
Bethʹs voice had its usual sweetness, and the high coloring in her cheeks had disappeared; if Ivy hadnʹt witnessed the Ouija session earlier in the evening, she wouldnʹt have guessed it had happened.
ʺOkay,” she replied, figuring that Will had told Beth all the ugly details.
ʺDo you want to be left alone?ʺ ʺNo. Iʹm glad youʹre here, Beth.ʺ When Ivy showed her the note, Beth rested her hand on Ivyʹs. ʺIʹm sorry. Iʹm really sorry.ʺ
They were such simple words. Ivy sobbed. The pain was so bad she felt as if she couldnʹt breathe. Beth laid her hand gently on Ivyʹs back.
ʺHow could I have been so blind?ʺ Ivy said, choking with tears. ʺYou were right, Beth. Youʹve been right all along. How could I have imagined that Guy was Tristan?ʺ
ʺI can understand how,ʺ Beth replied. ʺYou still miss Tristan. Youʹre still healing. Your heart wanted so much for it to be him, you convinced yourself.ʺ
ʺBut you and Will warned me. And I refused to listen. Iʹm so sorry.ʺ
Beth remained silent. ʺLately Iʹve been thinking to myself, Whatʹs wrong with Beth? But I was the one acting strangely. And you, you could see me making the same mistakes I made before, trusting the wrong person.” Ivy took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
ʺIt was the night of the séance, wasnʹt it, when we let Gregory come back into our world?ʺ Beth nodded, her light hair tumbling forward, shielding her face.