Page 85 of A Sea of Unspoken Things

I stared at Sadie, unblinking.

When she found out from Johnny that Autumn was missing, she’d believed the unthinkable. That her son was responsible. And if Sadie suspected that Ben had hurt Autumn, and that Johnny was about to unwittingly expose him, what would she have done? What lengths would she have gone to in order to protect her son?

“James.” Micah said my name again, but now my eyes were fixed on the wall of framed photographs that hung behind the bar.

The glow of the pendant lights reflected off the glass, and I set down my plate, moving toward them. I wasn’t sure I was walking, exactly. It felt like floating. Like drifting through space.

Dozens of smiling faces peered out from the photos. Children with balloons, an old woman with a walker, two men clinking together glasses of beer. It was a story, the tale of a town dropped in the middle of the wilderness, where things could easily disappear.Peoplecould disappear.

My eyes ran over the pictures, searching for one I’d seen before but hadn’t cared enough about to remember it clearly. When I found it, I reached up, taking it off the wall. Sadie Cross stood beneath a wide canopy of trees in her hunting gear, kneeling beside the carcass of a buck. The gun propped up beside her wasn’t totally clear, but I could guess that it was old. An heirloom, even. I could guess that it was the gun that shot the bullet that killed Johnny.

That’s why the diner was closed that day. While the rest of the town was in Redding and Johnny was looking for Autumn, Sadie had followed him to the gorge.

I couldn’t tear my gaze off that photo. Sadie’s sparkling blue eyes were like little shining jewels, her wide, genuine smile infectious. There was a warmth that emulated from her, even through the picture. I could almost feel it.

Micah’s hand finally came down on mine and I looked up to him, everything inside of me twisting.

“It was her,” I rasped.

His eyes trailed from the photo to the place across the room where Sadie stood. As if she could feel us watching her, her face slowly turned in our direction. In only a few seconds, she knew. That bloodless color returned to her face as her eyes dropped down to the picture in my hand.

When Micah was suddenly moving toward her, her eyes widened.

“Micah?” The smile returned to her lips, but it was wooden now. “Something wrong?”

Slowly, every head in the room turned, and I watched as Micah took hold of the collar of her dress, wrenching her toward him.

“What did you do?” he shouted.

A strange sound came from Sadie, and immediately, Amelia was pushing through the crowd. But Micah didn’t let go. There was more shouting. A tangle of voices that warped in my ears. But there was no denying that look of guilt in Sadie’s eyes.

“What the hell is going on?” Amelia’s voice rose above the others.

When Micah finally unclenched his fists from Sadie’s dress, she nearly fell backward. Her hand caught the table behind her and the wineglass fell, shattering on the floor.

“Where were you, Sadie?” Micah spat. “Where were you when Johnny died?”

Every soul in the diner fell silent, making the sound of the music twist eerily around us. No one appeared to so much as breathe, every eye on Sadie Cross. But no one looked more stricken than Ben. He stood across the room, staring blankly at his mother. He was putting it together, too.

Sadie swallowed, her mouth opening and closing. “I—I didn’t…” She gulped in a breath. “I don’t know how—” She was looking at Ben now.

Amelia took a careful step toward her.

“I thought I was protecting him.” Sadie faltered. “You can understand that, can’t you?” Her gaze swept the room, but no one answered.

“Sadie, let’s step outside,” Amelia said, lowly.

Sadie didn’t move. Her hands shook, dangling at her sides until Amelia took her arm, moving her toward the door. Then they were gone.

The photo was still clutched in my hands as everyone turned toward me. But my eyes were on the window, where a face I knew was visible behind the glass.

Johnny.

He stood in the falling snow, hands in his pockets. But this time, he was looking at me.

Everything blinked out, disappearing around me, and for those few seconds, it was just us. James and Johnny.

And then he turned and walked away.