Echoes of Murder (Till Death do us Part Book 2) (7 page)

When Reagan left Garrett’s house a few hours earlier, she had driven around for over an hour, thinking, contemplating her next move. She considered those she loved, those she cared about, and those that deserved the truth. Evan, Nathan, Brand, her mother, Isla’s parents … all of them would be affected by her decision.

In the end, the truth came down to a silly little piece of black plastic. A plain, unsuspecting knob that could easily be tossed from her car window if she wanted, never to be seen again. Never to be linked to the one person who could explain it all. But then the guilt would come, a life where every day she’d have to live with the knowledge of what she’d done. And that was a cross she wasn’t willing to bear. 

And so she turned to Dustin, knowing even though they weren’t right for each other, if there was one other honest person in this world, it was him.

…

“How are you feeling?” Reagan asked.

“Better,” Nathan replied. “I’m getting out of here tomorrow.”

“That’s good.”

“How’s Evan?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been to see him yet.”

“If you wait until tomorrow, we can go together. I’ll make a statement, and we can get everything straightened out.”

Reagan took her time before she spoke again. “Nathan, I have to ask you something. And I need you to tell me the truth, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. Anything.”

“How do you know Dakota Jaynes?”

“What do you mean? I don’t. I told you that yesterday.”

Reagan felt the tears rushing, flooding her eyes. “Stop lying, Nathan. Please.”

“I’m not … why are you getting so worked up?”

“Open your hand,” Reagan said.  

“What?”

“Do it.”

Nathan flattened his hand, and she placed the piece of black plastic inside of it. He stared at the object, puzzled for a split second before awareness set in.

“I found this among some of Dakota Jaynes’ things,” Reagan said. “It’s the broken knob from the stereo in your truck. When I borrowed your truck to pick up the flowers for the wedding the other day, I noticed the knob was missing. You killed her, Nathan, and then you tried to cover it up. I want to know why.”

“Reagan, it’s not what you think,” Nathan began. 

“If you’re going to lie to me again, don’t. I’ll walk right out of this room right now.”

“And do what? Tell whom?”

She stood.

“Wait, don’t go.”

“The truth, Nathan. I can’t take any more of your lies.”

The seconds ticked by as Reagan waited for Nathan to speak again.

“I met Dakota in a bar about a month ago.”

“You don’t go to bars.”

“I know, but that night I did,” he said. “It was stupid, and I was angry. Isla was having second thoughts about the wedding.”

“Why?”

“You know Isla. There’s no telling why. All it takes to get her going is overthinking something too much. She spiraled out of control. I thought she was experiencing a mental breakdown. She took her ring off, gave it back, said she loved me, but she thought I deserved better. She kept going on and on until I couldn’t take it anymore, so I left.”

“And went to a bar.”

“I had a few drinks, was feeling pretty good. Dakota came in, sat on the seat next to me. She introduced herself, ordered a drink, ordered one for me, and we started talking. A couple hours later, I knew I’d had too much to drink and was going to call a cab. Dakota said she’d drive me home.”

“And did she?”

“When we got outside, my truck was parked next to her car. She said something about it, some random compliment, and when I told her it was mine, she opened the door and hopped inside.”

“And then?”

“I got in with her,” he said. “And we … fooled around.”

“You fooled around, or you had sex?”

He hung his head. “Both.”

“I’m guessing that’s how the broken knob happened.”

“She kicked it and it came loose. When it fell, I assumed it was under the seat somewhere. I had no idea she’d taken it.”

“Then what happened?”

“Isla texted me, said she was sorry. I felt awful for what I’d done. I just wanted to get out of there, but the girl wouldn’t stop talking about how bonded she felt to me. She was crazy.”

“What did you do?”

“I told her I had a nice time, tried to let her down easy. It was a mistake. A one night stand. She looked like the kind of girl who’d had her fair share of them. I assumed she’d understand.”

“But she didn’t, did she?”

“I never gave her my name, so after that night, I didn’t expect to see her again. And then there she was the night of my wedding.”

“How’d she find you?”

“She said she saw the announcement in the paper,” he said.  

“When did you talk to her?”

“After you and I danced, I found her in my room. Guess she’d been hiding out, lurking around, waiting to get a minute to be alone with me.”

“She was there long before that, Nathan. She attended your wedding.”

“The only person I was focused on during the ceremony was Isla. I never saw Dakota. When she confronted me, she said she didn’t care if I was married. She wanted to be together. I told her I thought we had an understanding, that what happened was a one-time thing.”

“So she confessed her feelings for you and what—threatened to tell Isla the truth? So you wrapped a cord around her neck and strangled her?”

“You don’t understand. She wouldn’t leave. Isla would have never recovered from that information. I never intended to kill her. I was just—”

“Whatever yours reasons, she didn’t deserve to die, Nathan.”

“Isn’t the fact that I’ll suffer the rest of my life knowing what happened to Isla enough? Please, Reagan. I’m begging you. We’ll find a way to get Evan off, but you can’t tell anyone.”  

From the hallway, Dustin entered the room, his face a mixture of shock and sadness. “I’m sorry, Nathan. But she already did.”

In the presence of Dustin and Chief Hall, an unfortunate story unfolded. No more lies. No more hiding behind the truth. A dead, lifeless feeling coursed through Nathan’s veins, seizing every cell, every fiber. It didn’t matter now. He was already living his own personal hell. 

Dakota Jaynes had come to the wedding to confront him, and he’d killed her, planning to get rid of the body so no one ever knew. In the process, he’d forgotten one important thing. Isla had a key. He hadn’t expected she’d walk through the door, that she’d see him dragging Dakota’s body across the room as he desperately searched for a place to stash it. But she did. And the worst part of it all, in his startled state of mind, he’d uttered the wrong thing. “It was an accident.”

Isla had looked at Dakota, seen the gashes on her neck, the rage in Nathan’s eyes, and she knew he was lying. She turned and ran, and Nathan went after her. He searched for several minutes, but it was too dark. He couldn’t see where she’d gone. Thinking she’d returned to the reception hall to confess what she saw, he entered the hall, accepted his fate.

Only, she wasn’t there.

No one had seen her.

No one knew a thing.

He should have felt relieved, but he didn’t. He needed to find her. He
had
to find her. Even if it meant asking for help and facing the consequences once he did.

When the late-night search yielded nothing, he returned to his room, his stomach sickened to find the dead corpse still rotting beside him. He wanted to get rid of her. But he’d have to wait. As the hours passed, so did the consistent knocks on his door, anxious friends and family desperate to hear if there had been any news.   

During the commotion, Nathan had stashed Dakota in the bathroom, but come morning, it wouldn’t be easy. He
had
to get rid of her, and dawn’s first light provided a golden opportunity. A door several away from his was ajar. He wasn’t aware whose room it was, and he didn’t care.

So what if the body was found?

Why should it matter?

As long as it was somewhere else, it couldn’t be tied to him. Whoever the poor bastard was who found the unwanted surprise, surely he could convince the cops of his innocence. It was only after he secured Dakota inside the closet that Nathan detected the familiar scent of Evan’s aftershave. A kind of woody musk. More feelings of guilt set in. He couldn’t do this. It wasn’t right. But he had to. He was meeting Evan and Reagan in less than five minutes to search for Isla. There wasn’t time to come up with anything else.

Nathan swapped out the lamp on the nightstand, closed the closet door, and left, making a pit stop in his own room to replace the now broken lamp with his. During this time, a new plan formed. A way to get Evan off the hook without implicating himself in the process. When Dakota was discovered, Nathan would say he saw someone enter Evan’s room the night before. A man. Someone that didn’t look like either of them. The plan was perfect. Now he just needed to find Isla, find some way to convince her too.  

It was less than an hour later when Isla’s disfigured body was found. Only Nathan knew what had happened—that she’d died trying to get away from him, plunged off the cliff without even knowing it was there.

She was dead.

And he had no one but himself to blame.

Reagan knelt down, a bouquet of Isla’s favorite white roses in hand, the same flowers she bought every week. Using her fingers she brushed flecks of icy snow from Isla’s headstone until it was clean again. It was the least she could do.

The last five months hadn’t been easy. She’d watched her brother confess, her mother break down in a childish tantrum inside the courtroom, and the town gossips chatter about her “tainted” family. An eccentric mother and a murderous brother. All the hoopla had Reagan considering how much easier life would be if she moved away again.

But she didn’t.

Her mother had stopped speaking to her, preferring instead to look past her like she didn’t exist whenever the two were in the same room. The last time they exchanged words, Sallie had called her the kind of names a daughter imagined weren’t part of her mother’s vocabulary. Of course, Sallie wasn’t an “average” mother, and Reagan was the farthest thing from her favorite child.

The snap of hardened snow crunching beneath the weight of a heavy boot caused Reagan to turn. Evan. She placed the flowers below the center of the headstone and stood.

“Hey,” she said.  

“It’s good to see you.”

“You too.”

“How have you been?”

“All right,” she said. “You?”

“Same.”

“I thought you were the one bringing her flowers every week.”

“It’s not much, not even close to what she deserves. I … hope you don’t mind.”

“Mind? Why would I?”

“With everything that’s happened, I wasn’t sure,” she said.  

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me—why I never saw you in the courtroom?”

“I never know when my presence will incite some kind of emotional outburst from my mother, so I figured it was best if I wasn’t there. Easier, you know? To see the pain in your parents’ eyes and know it was placed there by my brother, and nothing I could ever possibly say could remove it … it’s just easier for me to stay away.” 

“It’s not your fault, Reagan. If it wasn’t for you, we may have never known what really happened. What you did—I can’t imagine how difficult it was—even if it was the right thing. Don’t you think they appreciate you for what you did—that
I
appreciate you?”

“Your family has suffered so much pain,” she said. “I didn’t want to cause any more of it.”

“You haven’t. You never could.”

“You don’t have to be so nice. Truly, my family has been—”

“I’m not talking about your family, Reagan. I’m talking about you.”

“I should go. I’m sure you want some time alone with your sister.”

Reagan placed a hand on Evan’s shoulder as she walked past. He snatched it in his, pulling her back. “Don’t go, Reagan. I’ve come here so many times, sat in my car after I visited, hoping I’d see you here one day, that we’d have the chance to talk. Now that you’re here, I can’t let you go.”

Two Years Later

Reagan stood in front of an oval mirror, admiring the twenty pounds she’d shed in the last thirty days a whole lot more than the white, strapless Vera Wang gown she was wearing. Sure, she still had a little extra “junk” in some hard-to-lose places, but the dress fit perfectly. And she felt stunning in it.

Nothing could spoil her day.

Not today. 

What had started as an unfortunate tragedy matured into an eternal bond. Two people connecting through loss and the mutual desire never to take life for granted. To make each moment count. She almost laughed as she realized she’d broken her own rule, choosing to marry before she turned thirty. But it was worth it.
He
was worth it.

“You ready?”

Reagan looked over, nodded. Brand extended his arm, and she took it.

“You … uhh … look beautiful, Reagan,” he said.

“Thank you.”

Together they walked down the hall into a simple room adorned with vases of white roses, where only their closest friends and family were waiting. Evan gasped when he saw her and reached out his hand. She took it, and he pulled her close, whispering, “I love you, Reagan” in her ear.  

She smiled as she clutched his hand. “I love you too.”

Thirty minutes later, it was official. She was Mrs. Reagan Everley.

Later that evening when Brand clinked a fork to his glass and all the glasses in the room were raised, Reagan stood first, dedicating the day to Isla’s memory.

And this time, everyone in attendance lived to tell about it.

THE END

For a sneak peek of the first chapter of the author’s newest release,
Hush Now Baby
(Sloane Monroe Series #6), click
HERE
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…

All of Cheryl Bradshaw’s novels are heavily researched, proofed, edited, and professionally formatted by a skilled team of professionals. Should you find any errors, please contact the author directly. Her assistant will forward the issue(s) to the publisher. It’s our goal to present you with the best possible reading experience, and we appreciate your help in making that happen. You can contact the author through her website by clicking
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