He rubs his light beard as he considers everything. We haven’t driven off yet, so he stares at the building like he can see through it straight to his ex. “I fucking know she had something to do with it. I just can’t prove it. It’s been driving me nuts.”
Everie shifts in her seat again, as if somehow affected by Whit’s theory.
“Are you sure you want to talk later?” I ask.
Whit signals for the driver to take off. She looks like she’s considering her words, so I give her the time she needs to speak. Eventually, she turns and looks at me.
“Can I ask you something?” She asks.
“Yeah, anything.”
“You weren’t found alone that day, right?”
“Right.”
“The woman, you don’t know who she is, do you?”
“Everie, just talk to me…” I pause. “Please.”
“I-I, I know who attacked you. We were on the yacht together and she lunged for me, but you protected me. Just like you did today. I couldn’t remember because back then, I was on a very heavy prescription that it would sometimes mess with my head and not only that, we drank. I knew I had a feeling that someone was watching us, on the deck, in the shower, in the bed. She was watching us. Why? Who is she? Why did she attack you like that? Is she your ex? Is she obsessed with you?”
My head spins from the information dump. There is a lot to unpack from what she just told me. I know she has a lot of questions, but I’m stuck on the notion that we met before. I’m happy we’re now sitting in front of our home, otherwise I would have tried to blow up the prison.
“Are you sure?” It’s the only response I have since I’m still processing.
“Positive. I had an odd feeling when I saw her, but her attack with you covering me was familiar to me. It all came back. Your Yacht on Lake Tahoe. Just the two of us in the middle of the water. You were practicing a terrible break up speech and my brother stood me up.” She snaps like she remembered something and scrolls through her phone. My body turns hot and cold when she shows me a picture. “My nails and outfit for that day. Keep scrolling. Now I know who took them.”
“Why did you leave him?” Whit asks. There is nothing accusatory about his question.
“I woke up in the ER. My meds had worn off and my anxiety was high. There were too many people, and I didn’t remember the hours before. I sneaked out.”
I scroll looking at several pictures of Everie on my yacht looking like she’s ready to get fucked. They were before the actual sex. Whit is next to me, looking at the pictures as well. I assume there isn’t anything graphic because she doesn’t protest.
“Wait!” Whit yells. “Let me see that again.”
I hand him the phone and he focuses his serious gaze on one of the pictures. He zooms in and tilts his head.
“That fucking bitch. We got her.”
He turns the zoomed in picture to me and I see Anika peeking around the door glaring at Everie’s back. The picture creeps me out, but I am pissed. I look away and drop my head into my hands. I take deep breaths as I try to name at least one thing I notice with each of my senses. It’s a technique to calm the mind.
Whit rubs my back when I’m able to relax again. “She will hear from me again.”
My voice sounds deadlier than usual, but I don’t give a damn. Anika truly had a death wish.