Dirty Truths (17 page)

Shouldn’t she know what she hid for him? Kristina set the stroller down and stepped to the stack of boxes, moving the upper ones until she found Wade’s. Before she could change her mind she carried it upstairs, her walk forgotten.

She stared at the box on the coffee table, her fingers itching to open it, but a dull ache started in her belly. She should trust Wade and do as he asked.

Leave it alone.

Standing next to the couch Kristina argued with herself, telling her conscience she had a right to know what he asked her to hide and then telling her curiosity she’d be better off not knowing. Curiosity won out. She glanced at Cadence who bounced in her chair, gurgling to her reflection in the little mirror on the tray, and then ran to the door and slid the bolt in place before running back to sit on the couch. Her fingers flipped open the battered flaps before her butt touched the cushions.

She peered inside and a fire burned her gut, moving up to her face. Snippets of conversations between her and Wade, rumors whispered by nosy customers and friends, and finally, Amy’s warnings ran through her head with the force of a freight train.

No, she had to stop overreacting and letting her imagination get carried away. Kristina
pulled her sleeve over her hand and then picked up one of the items lying on top, bundled in oilcloth. The weight of the bundle filled her stomach with ice. She opened the cloth to reveal a small gun that could fit easily into her hand. Kristina wrapped the cloth around it and set it beside the box, and reached for the other bundle. She knew what to expect, but her breath caught as she peeled the cloth away. This gun was larger with a fat tube-like attachment beside it. A silencer? She never imagined she’d encounter such a thing. Swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat, she set it next to the smaller gun and turned back to the box.

Reaching inside, Kristina lifted her gaze to her daughter who bounced happily in her chair, oblivious to the can of worms her mother had just opened. Kristina’s hand closed around another bag and she pulled it out, fighting the urge to just drop it and forget what she’d already seen. Inside the thin plastic was a set of keys, the ring holding them a brass P, which didn’t signify they were Wade’s.

Cadence squealed and Kristina jumped. She laughed, chastising herself for being so silly. She was in her own house damn it. No one could see what she was doing. Still, the guns lying on her table were enough to make her feel watched; guilty. Should she look at the rest? She had to.

Kristina turned back to the box and pulled out a half roll of duct tape, a tiny clear bag containing several dirty little pebbles, and a coiled white rope. Kristina peered at the pebbles, unable to determine what they were or why Wade would keep them. The bag shivered. She realized her hand shook and she took a breath to steady her nerves. None of this meant he’d done anything terrible. Lots of people had these items in their house. True, the guns were probably illegal and the bag of powder could be a problem, but nothing she’d found made Wade anything other than what he said he was.

The last item, wrapped in grey cloth, lay across the bottom of the box. Kristina picked it up and pulled the loose end of the rag, unrolling it until a thick plastic bag lay in her palm. Her heart pounded against her chest painfully as the sunlight from the window reflected off the blade of the knife inside. Her gaze traveled the length of it. She jumped and dropped the blade on the table.

Cadence looked up from her chair, stuffing a hand in her mouth. Kristina smiled at her and Cadence turned back to her toys.

Rust… or blood crusted the knife’s tip, and next to it, lodged in the corner of the bag was a leathery looking lump. Kristina instantly thought of beef jerky, but the silver ring around the base with the emerald encrusted ‘J’ told her it wasn’t jerky at all. Kristina sat back and stared at the table. The items in front of her, when lying together, told such an awful tale she wanted to close her eyes and pretend she’d never seen them.

What have you done, Wade?

If anyone knew about this box, Wade would be locked up forever. The question was could she ever feel the same about him now that she knew?

CHA
PTER 20

Kristina closed the box. Then she stood and glanced at her daughter.

Cadence bounced in her chair, babbling to her toys.

Kristina groaned and cursed herself for opening the damn thing. Wade had told her not to look and she hadn’t listened. She paced the room trying to figure out a solution, a way to get rid of the box without hurting Wade. Her heart pounded and her palms grew moist. Anxiety over what she should do built in her chest until Kristine thought she’d pass out from lack of oxygen. “Jesus, calm down,” she mumbled.

Outside the sun shone bright, a slight breeze blew leaves and dust down the quiet street. She’d wanted to go for a walk but now the urge to close the curtains and lock herself inside was stronger.

She should call Wade; ask him to come get the box. Its contents could put her and Cadence in danger. Snorting, Kristina rolled her eyes; they were already in danger.

Cadence whined, tired of her chair.

Kristina leaned over to pick her up.

Cadence pointed to the box, “Ta?”

Kristina turned so neither of them could look at it. “No. Garbage.”

Cadence curled her nose.

Kristina smiled. She should call Wade.

She picked the phone up, careful to hold it from her daughters grasping hands; and then punched in the number for Wade’s cell. When a canned voice answered, Kristina waited for the prompt. “Hey, it’s me. I really need to talk. I’ll be home all day.” She pressed ‘end’ and set the phone back on the base.

“Ta?” Cadence reached for the phone.

Kristina shook her head. “Mommy’ll get your phone, okay?”

She set Cadence down and rummaged through the laundry basket in the corner of the room that served as a toy box. Holding a blue and red phone—with Elmo’s googly eyes staring out from the top—she turned to Cadence.

The baby had already found something else to occupy her. She’d crawled, or most likely rolled, to the coffee table and pulled herself up to touch the box.

Kristina rushed over, scooping her up and away from the wretched thing.

Cadence protested. “Na!” she yelled.

“New word?” Kristina chuckled. “How about ‘mama’?”

“Na,” Cadence reached for the Elmo phone.

Kristina flipped it open for her and pressed the buttons.

Cadence grinned when her favorite monster said hello.

Standing by the phone would only make her dread and growing panic worse, so Kristina carried on with her day. She cleaned the living room—a chore that was long overdue—and took the box back to the basement where it belonged. She didn’t hide it this time, determined Wade would be picking it up soon. It had to go. She’d never sleep with it in the house.

He didn’t call until she’d bathed Cadence, settled her into her crib, and ran water for her own bath. Kristina growled when the phone rang downstairs. She pulled it back on. Her irritation was short lived. As she reached the living room, the dread she’d managed to shove below the surface emerged once more. Her hands trembled.

“Hey, you called?” Wade asked.

“I did. Where are you?”

Silence. Then several male voices, low.

“I’m around. Things are a little complicated right now. I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again. I mean, I could come over if you need me too, but unless it’s an emergency, it’s not safe for you and Cadence.”

He
had
to tell her, it couldn’t be so bad he wouldn’t. It
had
to be connected to what was in the box. If he came over, then someone might know she had it. But who? Surely he wasn’t this afraid of the police. “What’s going on? I don’t like this.”

“Honestly, it’s best you don’t know.” He paused and sighed. “You didn’t look in the box, did you?”

“What if I did? Would you tell me what’s going on then?” her voice rose and Kristina hated the fear she heard in it.

“I know you’re smarter than that. Look if you want, but I can’t explain anything you find. Not over the phone anyway. I asked you to trust me. You said you’d love me no matter what. Remember? If we’re going to get through this, you’ve got to believe I love you too.” He paused, the phone sounded muffled, as though he covered it with his hand. “I have to go. Just remember, unless the police know you have it, there’s nothing to worry about. I’ll come by soon and pick it up.”

“But what if I looked? What then? What if someone finds it and I can’t lie and I tell them I looked? I’m a terrible liar, Wade. The worst.”

“You’re worrying about nothing. For fucksakes, just forget about the damn box,” an edge sharpened his voice.

Kristina shrunk. The paint had begun to chip in the top corner. Wade had said just the other day he’d get someone in to repaint. “Okay.”

The line went dead. She held the phone, startled to be cut off so quickly. She knew what was in the box and that was the problem. She couldn’t forget it.

Doubt swirled in her head, about Wade, about herself, about what to do. The box housed terrible things, more than terrible.

Sinking to her knees, phone still in her right hand, Kristina stared at Cadence’s bouncy chair. Her favorite keys still hung from the tray, next to a half-eaten cookie, mostly slobbered into sogginess. Torn between moral rightness, and what her heart wanted her to do, she had to think of her daughter. Cadence didn’t ask for any of this. Kristine’s priority was her child’s safety, not what her heart pleaded with her to do. Besides, the note she’d heard in Wade’s voice had terrified her, a hard edge that sent shivers down her spine and coated her stomach in ice. Loving him could be too dangerous.

The phone buzzed and the operator’s tinny voice droned on to hang up or try her call again. Kristina looked absently at the phone, hit ‘end,’ and then turned to the basement door. The latch was in place. She’d even moved a small stand with a couple of books and her small CD collection in front of it. As long as the damn box stayed in her house, she’d know nothing but terror and dread. She couldn’t do it. He asked too much.

The phone sounded again and Kristina closed her eyes to still her racing heart.

“Hello, Kristina?”

Amy? Kristina looked at the clock above the TV, just half past nine.

She took a deep breath “Hi.”

Shuffling noises, the sound of a lighter and then Amy clearing her throat. “Hey, you coming back to work? I had to hire two more girls last week. With Wade taking off at all hours and your shifts to cover I’ve been worked to the bone.”

Kristina hesitated “No, I need a few more days.”

“So? Is something wrong?”

“Not really, a bad cold and then the baby caught it too.

“All this time for a cold?” Amy sounded amused and Kristina imagined her rolling her eyes and pursing her lips.

“I also needed a short vacation to straighten things out with Daniel and the house. Wade said it was okay.”

A long pause traveled down the line. “Have you seen him lately?”

“Wade? On my last shift.”

“I mean since,” the voice changed and a feline note entered Amy’s voice.

Kristina frowned. “No.”

“I’m worried.”

Kristine waited, Amy didn’t sound worried at all.

“According to others I’m just the bitchy wife, out to ruin him. But I care, you know? I’m not the awful person he makes me out to be. I’ve spent hours looking for some things he’s going to need. Soon.”

The box.
Kristine’s mind reeled.

Amy sighed before continuing, her voice lowered, “He wouldn’t have dropped them by you, would he?”

“Why would he bring a box of his things here?” As soon as the words left her mouth, the room spun and a sickening feeling gripped her stomach.

Silence.

“I see…” Amy’s voice went from conspirator to interrogator, “sweetheart, you’re too pathetic to live in Wade’s world. You can’t even lie properly. I never said anything about a box. Where is it?”

Kristina cringed at her tone. “I—don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You mentioned a box.”

“I—assumed… I thought that’s what you meant…a box of his things. What else to people carry their stuff in
?”
Pull yourself together.
“Look, Amy, I haven’t seen Wade. Really. There’s nothing in this house that belongs to him either. Everything here belongs to me.”

Amy chuckled. “From what I’ve heard, nothing in your house belongs to you. Forget it. Go out with your daughter; enjoy the break. Get your dad to take you to Wonderland or something before the season is over. Know what I mean? Just forget it.”

Kristina’s feeling of strangeness deepened at Amy’s sudden change of tack. Had she believed her? “I don’t know—”

The lighter clicked again, followed by Amy’s deep inhale. “Just forget I called, honey, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Go on. Do something fun with the next couple of weeks. Let me know when you’re ready to come back to the bar. Your job is always there, even if Wade isn’t.”

“Okay, thanks. I really appreciate it” Guilt washed over her. She’d betrayed him.

“Another piece of advice; stay away from Wade. Don’t answer his calls. If he comes over, tell him you’re through with whatever it is you two have. I’m not saying this as his wife. I’m talking woman to woman here. You get me?”

Something in Amy’s voice built a knot of apprehension in Kristina’s gut, it settled into the bottom, leaving her feeling sick.

“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon. Remember, go live your life, and forget about this shit.”

Kristina pushed ‘end’ and stared at the phone.

Why had she mentioned the box? She got scared, that’s what happened. But she was always scared, why did she flake out now? Kristina replayed Amy’s words in her mind.

I’ve spent hours looking for some things he’s going to need. Soon.

She moaned and stared up at the ceiling. Amy had tricked her and she’d fallen for it. Her knuckles whitened, rage replacing dismay. Wade had tried to tell her what he’d done. He said Amy knew where the bodies were buried and she’d refused to understand. She’d heard what she wanted to hear. She’d been so certain he wasn’t a murderer. Cadence gurgled and Kristina straightened, suddenly alert, as if a veil of fog had lifted before her eyes. Did it matter? Did she love Wade less?

If she had a cell phone, she could send a text, although if he had the phone turned off, Wade still wouldn’t know she needed to talk.

I have to warn him.