Brian Freeman - The Cold Nowhere

‘Meaning what?’

‘I don’t trust Cat Mateo. She’s obsessed with knives, and I think she’s becoming obsessed with Stride. I don’t like it.’

‘Jonny can take care of himself.’

‘Yeah? For all we know, Cat murdered Vincent Roslak. Hell, maybe Margot figured it out and Cat killed her, too. Did you think about that?’

‘Come on. This girl’s not a serial killer.’

‘I forgot, you’re biased, too,’ Maggie said. ‘Stride feels guilty because of Michaela. You feel guilty because of your childhood. What a cute little co-dependent trio you guys make.’

‘I’ve never worn rose-colored glasses about anyone. Except maybe you.’

‘Fair enough. I deserve that, but I’m not kidding around. I got a call from a friend of mine on the Minneapolis police. Ken McCarty. He did some digging on the Roslak case and he found something about Cat in Roslak’s files. A video. He says it’s pretty scary stuff.’

‘Ken McCarty,’ Serena said. ‘Is he the latest friend you’re sleeping with?’

‘Where the hell did you hear that?’ Maggie demanded. ‘Did Stride tell you?’

‘Guppo knows. You can’t keep things from Guppo.’

‘Fine. I’m sleeping with Ken. So what?’

‘Well, you can see why I don’t exactly swoon when you cross your heart and swear that you and Jonny are just friends. You seem to make a habit of fucking your friends.’

Maggie’s fists clenched. ‘All I’m saying is, you need to be careful about Cat.’

‘Understood. Is that all you want to say?’

‘No, it’s not.’ Maggie dug in her pocket and pulled out a ring of keys. She flipped the keys until she found the one she wanted, and then she pried it off the chain. She held it in front of Serena’s face. ‘See this? It’s Stride’s key. I’ve had it for years. Back when Cindy was alive? I had the key. When you two were shacking up? I had the key.’

Maggie slapped the key on the bathroom sink in front of Serena.

‘Now I don’t have it anymore.’

*

Stride and Serena sat on the screened porch at the back of his cottage, with their feet propped on an old plastic cooler. He had a bottle of Miller Lite in his hand. Serena, who didn’t drink, sipped mineral water. He felt as if time had gone backwards; this was like old times. It was dark and cold, and the lake growled beyond the dunes. In the main part of the house, they heard the buzz of the television. Cat had fallen asleep on the leather sofa in the living room, and they’d left her there.

‘Do you think Maggie could be right?’ Serena asked, after a long stretch of silence filled with nothing but the rush of the waves.

‘About Cat? No, I don’t.’

‘She says Ken McCarty found a video of Cat and Roslak. It’s not good.’

‘I wouldn’t trust anything involving Roslak.’

He shook his head to stay awake. He found his eyes drifting shut.

‘What about the murders? There’s still no sign of the stolen Charger?’ Serena asked.

‘None.’

‘Maybe the killer knows there’s evidence inside. Blood, DNA.’

‘Or maybe he knows that if we tie the car to Kim’s death, Cat’s off the hook.’

He heard Serena sit up straighter in the darkness. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I mean, why stab Kim Dehne with a knife? There are cleaner, faster, easier ways to kill someone.’

‘Roslak was killed the same way. This guy could be a psychopath. What’s your point?’

‘My point is, what if Cat hadn’t gotten away?’

‘He’d have stabbed her, too.’

‘I wonder.’

‘You don’t think so?’

‘I think we never would have seen Cat again,’ Stride said. ‘If we found Kim Dehne stabbed to death, and Cat was nowhere to be found, what would we be thinking right now?’

‘We’d be thinking Cat killed her,’ Serena concluded.

‘Exactly. Maybe Roslak and Margot, too.’

‘But why try to frame Cat? Why not just kill her? He’s been after her for weeks. What’s changed?’

‘Cat came to me,’ Stride said. ‘I started listening to her.’

Serena took another drink of mineral water, and the plastic bottle crackled. ‘There’s something I don’t understand, Jonny. Bill Green said Margot was asking about Cat’s parents. Why? What was she looking for?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Was there anything unusual about their deaths?’

‘No, it was a straightforward murder-suicide.’

‘So what did Margot want?’

‘Maybe she wanted to get inside Cat’s head.’

Serena was quiet. ‘You know, you never told me the truth about you and Michaela,’ she said finally. ‘I know she was important to you.’

She’d opened the door for him, and all he had to do was walk through it. All he had to do was open up. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to do what she’d done for him and lay himself bare. He wanted to let Michaela into his soul again and share her with Serena, but instead he sat frozen. He didn’t say a word, which was the worst thing he could do.

Next to him, Serena stood up, and her demeanor was suddenly like a cool breeze blowing on the porch. He knew she was angry at his silence. ‘I have to go.’

‘It’s too late to drive back to Grand Rapids. Use one of the other bedrooms.’

‘I don’t mind the drive. Good night, Jonny.’

‘Serena, wait.’

He stood up and took hold of her shoulders and turned her around. He remembered the feel of her body. He could barely see the contours of her face, but he’d memorized them years ago. She was close, but she was distant from him. He’d pushed her away again.

‘There are things you don’t know,’ he said. ‘I have secrets I’ve never told anyone.’

‘I know more than you think. You feel guilty. You promised to protect Michaela, and you failed. She was probably half in love with you. Maybe more than half. It’s okay. I just wish you’d told me.’

‘It’s not just that. There’s something else.’

‘What is it?’

She waited for him, and he thought: Tell her . He could hear Cindy’s voice in his head, and she said the same thing. Tell her. It was the right time to free himself. It was the right time to admit it. Instead, like a stranger, he said nothing at all.

The moment slipped away from them.

Serena found Cat on the front porch in an Adirondack chair. Her legs were pulled up so that her knees were under her chin. Her feet were bare. She stared at the quiet street and the black water of the harbor and took tiny sips from a can of Diet Coke.

‘You shouldn’t be out here,’ Serena told her. ‘It’s not safe.’

‘Are you leaving?’

‘Yes.’

‘Oh. I was hoping you’d stay.’

Serena slid down into an empty chair. She still had more than an hour’s drive to Grand Rapids, but the girl looked lonely and in need of company. ‘You couldn’t sleep?’

‘I woke up, and I started thinking about things. So I came out here.’

‘What things?’

‘I don’t know. Everything’s messed up.’

‘It feels that way sometimes.’

‘For you, too?’

‘Me, too.’

Cat bit her nails. ‘I know it’s none of my business, but why not stay, huh?’

‘I’m not ready yet.’

‘But you want to.’

‘Yes,’ she admitted. ‘I want to.’

‘Why did you and Stride break up? You look really good together.’

‘Things happen, Cat.’

‘Like what?’

Serena glanced at the girl, who studied her with wide, serious eyes. ‘I’m not sure he’d want me to tell you.’

‘Tell me anyway.’

‘Stride slept with Maggie.’

‘He cheated on you? Stride?’ She looked crestfallen.

‘It’s complicated. I don’t really blame him for it. We weren’t connecting, and Maggie was there when he needed someone. I haven’t always been an angel myself. It’s just that he won’t tell me things. He won’t say anything that makes him vulnerable. It drives me crazy.’