Erica Spindler - In Silence

Hunter reached across the table and touched her hand. "I'm sorry, Avery."

"If only I could go back, take that call."

"But you can't."

Silence fell between them. Hunter broke it. "Why were you at Trudy Pruitt's last night?"

"Remember the caller I told you about? The woman who said Dad got what he deserved?" He nodded. "She called again. A couple of times. She said Dad was a liar. And a murderer."

"Your dad? Avery, you can't honestly belie-"

She stopped him. "That woman was Trudy Pruitt. Donny and Dylan Pruitt's mother."

"They're the ones who killed that woman."

"Sallie Waguespack." Sarah whined and laid her head on Avery's lap. Avery scratched her behind the ears. "She claimed they didn't do it. That they were framed."

"Of course she did. She was their mother."

"She said Dad was part of the cover-up. That she had proof."

"And?"

"She was killed before she could give it to me."

"And you think she was murdered because of that proof?"

"It's crossed my mind. It's an awfully big coincidence, she lives all these years, contacts me and gets herself killed."

He was silent a moment. "And you believe whoever was involved with your dad in this frame-up killed him then Trudy Pruitt?"

She leaned forward. "You ever heard of a group called The Seven?"

He frowned. "My mother was part of a civic organization called The Seven something or other."

"How about a woman named Gwen Lancaster? Ever heard of her?" He shook his head. "Her brother, Tom Lancaster?"

His expression altered subtly. "That name's familiar but I can't place from where."

"He disappeared in February this year. Similar situation to Mc-Dougal. A Cypress Springs outsider. No sign of violence, but the police suspected foul play. The Gazette ran the story on the sixth."

"That's right." He paused as if remembering. "The big difference between the two, of course, was the car. Lancaster's was left out in the open. McDougal's had been hidden. Which to me suggests the two are unrelated."

"Unrelated? Two young men disappear from the same small community, barely eight weeks apart and you don't think those disappearances are related?"

"Modus operandi, Avery. Criminals tend to repeat their crimes, how they carry out those crimes. If a murderer leaves a body out in the open the first time, they'll do it the second, then the third. Basic investigative technique."

She shook her head. "Trudy Pruitt, Elaine St. Claire, Tom Lancaster, Luke McDougal. If I accept your definition, we're dealing with four different killers."

"McDougal may very well have chosen to go missing. People do it all the time. Coming on the heels of Lancaster is a coincidence. Or clever planning from a man intent on disappearing."

"For heaven's sake." She made a sound of frustration. "Three killers then. In a town that has had only a couple of murders in a decade?"

He pushed his plate away. Sat back. "Okay, you're obviously up to your elbows in this. You tell me."

She began at the beginning, with Gwen Lancaster. She told him about how they'd met, the things she had told Avery about a group called The Seven. And about her brother Tom, who had disappeared while researching the group.

"At first I didn't believe her. The idea of a vigilante-style group operating in Cypress Springs seemed ludicrous. According to Gwen, the original group disbanded after only a few years, but are operating again. Willing to murder to achieve their goals."

"You'll forgive me if I chuckle under my breath."

"I felt the same way." She leaned toward him. "She dared me to check out her facts. I did, Hunter. What I found stunned me. In the past eight months there have been ten unexpected deaths. Not counting Elaine St. Claire, Trudy Pruitt or McDougal and Lancaster. Cypress Springs is a community of about nine hundred, Hunter. That's a lot of deaths."

"Accidents happen."

"Not like that they don't." She paused, then drew a deep breath. "Gwen claims The Seven are responsible for her brother's death. He got too close and they killed him."

"And she hooked you by claiming they're responsible for your father's death as well."

She held his gaze despite the pity she read in his. "Yes."

"Avery, the woman was trying to pass herself off as your father's daughter. Doesn't that tell you something?"

"I know. I thought the same thing at first but-"

"But you want to believe it."

"No." She shook her head. "That's not it."

"Have you talked to Dad about this?"

"I talked to him about The Seven. He says no such group exists-now or ever."

"But you don't believe him?"

Just considering the question felt like a betrayal. "It's not that, I just…I'm thinking he's out of the loop."

"Dad? Out of the loop in this town?"

"Listen to me, Hunter. The day I drove into Cypress Springs, the first thing I thought was that the town hadn't changed. Like it hadn't been touched by time." She paused, then went on. "Since then, what's struck me is how homogeneous this town is. Look in the phone book. How many names do you recognize? It's all the same families as when we were kids."

"What are you getting at, Avery?"

"What does it take to keep time from marching on, Hunter? What does one have to do?"

For a long moment he said nothing. His expression revealed nothing of his thoughts. When he finally spoke, his tone was measured.

"Avery, listen to me. I want you to think about what I'm about to ask you. What would you get out of this? If it's true."

"I don't understand."

"If your dad was killed by this…Seven, what would you get out of it?"

She began to tell him she would get nothing out of it, then swallowed the words.

If he hadn 't taken his own life, she would be absolved from guilt.

Avery fisted her fingers, furious at the thought. At the longing that accompanied it. She pushed both away. "You think I want Dad to have been murdered? You think I want Cypress Springs to be home to some murdering, extremist group?"

His expression said it all and she shook her head. "I don't, okay? How awful, how-"

She bit those words back, searching for others, though whether to convince him or herself she didn't know.

"I was always on the outside, Hunter. I never fit in here, never felt like I really belonged. Now I do. Now Cypress Springs feels like home."

He stood. Crossed to her. Cupped her face in his hands. "Grief twists reality."

"I know, but-"

"Don't do this to yourself, Avery."

"I have to know. For sure. I wish I could trust…I know I should, but I can't."

"Then get your proof. Of innocence or guilt. If that's what you need, get it."

Gwen glanced at her dashboard clock. The amber numbers read 10:45. A knot of fear settled in her belly. She gripped the steering wheel tighter, her palms slippery on the vinyl.

The woman had warned her to come alone. She had promised information about The Seven, past and present.

Information about Tom.

Gwen acknowledged that she was scared shitless. She pressed her lips together. They trembled. Tom had disappeared on just such an errand, on just such a promise. Like hers, his meeting time had been a late hour, his destination a deserted spot off an unnamed country road.

If not for Tom, she wouldn 't go. She would simply keep driving, not stopping until she reached the lights of New Orleans.

She had grown to hate Cypress Springs. The quaint buildings and town square, the people whose welcoming smiles hid judgment and suspicion. The sour smell that inundated the community when the wind shifted from the south. The way people went about their business, pretending it didn't exist.

Gwen realized she was holding her breath and released it. She drew another, deeply, working to calm herself. She was alone. No allies. No one to share her fears with. Avery Chauvin had been her last hope for that.