With her foot on the top of the blade, she thrust the shovel into the soft earth and began to dig.
38
A stalled car in the westbound lanes of the Superior bridge slowed Gavin on his way back to Duluth. When he finally pulled into their driveway, he noticed that the upstairs lights were off. The house was dark. He wondered if Chelsey had gone back to bed. He parked the car outside the garage, grabbed the pizza box, and went inside. Rather than call out to his wife, he climbed the steps in the darkness.
On the main level, he smelled the acrid waft of cigarette smoke. There was a breath of cold air through what must have been an open window. He could see the lights of the city glowing beyond the far end of the house, and when he headed that way, he saw Chelsey sitting in an armchair near the open door to the deck. She was almost invisible in the shadows of the porch. As he watched, she exhaled a cloud of smoke. Chelsey didn’t smoke often, but when she did, he knew that something was wrong.
“Sorry it took me a while,” Gavin said. “There was traffic.”
He reached for the light switch, but Chelsey stopped him. “No, don’t. I like it dark.”
“Okay.”
Gavin put the pizza on the counter of the wet bar. “I should probably heat this up before we eat.”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Oh. That’s fine.”
He went behind the bar and poured himself a generous quantity of gin. He inhaled the aroma of the drink, enjoyed a sip, then took it to the open patio door.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Actually, I’m perfect now.”
“Really? Well, that’s good news. I’m glad to hear it.”
“Are you going to get me a drink, too?” Chelsey asked.
“I can, but are you up for it? Maybe you should wait a while before trying alcohol again.”
“Vodka tonic,” she snapped, ignoring his warning.
“Fine.”
As he returned to the bar, she added, “Let me see you make it.”
Gavin stopped. “What?”
“I’d rather make sure you don’t put anything in it,” Chelsey explained.
“Are you kidding?”
“You did it once before. Ecstasy, don’t you remember?”
“Yes, I do. And I remember that it was your idea to try it, not mine. You asked me to get some. You said you wanted to see what it was like, see how it made you feel. Everything is drama with you, Chelsey.”
“Well, I need drama, darling, because life with you is so goddamn boring.”
He closed his eyes. A roaring filled his head. He breathed through his nose, his anger growing along with his humiliation. “Do we have to do this again? Now?”
“What? You were expecting me to come back as the devoted wife?”
“Hardly.”
“Did you think I’d get rescued and suddenly fall back into your arms?” she sneered.
“No. I knew you’d never change.”
“That’s better. What a fake you are, Gavin. ‘We’ll get counseling.’ ‘I’m so relieved you’re safe.’ Who do you think you’re talking to?”
He swore through clenched teeth. “God! You’re such a bitch!”
“There you go,” she retorted with a sparkling burst of laughter. “That’s the most honest thing you’ve said to me in years. Get it all out. Tell me how you really feel, Gavin.”
He was tired of lying. Tired of pretending. “I hate your fucking guts.”
“Good for you. It’s refreshing to see you show some balls for once in your life.”
He did feel better. He liked saying it out loud after all this time. “I hate the sight of you. I loathe waking up to you in my bed. You make me feel utterly worthless. Like a total failure.”
“That’s because you are worthless, darling. You are a total failure.”
“Stop it!”
“Oh, no, we can’t stop now. This is too good. Go on. Tell me more. What did you think when you found out I was gone?”
“I was hoping you were dead.”
“Of course, you were. I bet it was hard pretending to be upset when you talked to the police.”
“It was.”
“‘Oh, my loving wife! She’s gone!’ Good thing you’re such a fraud.”
“I’ve had plenty of practice.”
“But it must have been such a shock when they found me,” Chelsey said, making an exaggerated frown.
“They told me you were alive, and I wanted to puke.”
“Aw, you poor thing.”
Gavin stalked away to the patio door. His nostrils flared as he inhaled the evening air on the hillside. He downed his gin and wiped his mouth. Then, with a roar, he took his empty lowball glass and hurled it over the railing toward the trees. He turned back to his wife, and his lip curled with revulsion.
“We’re finally down to it, aren’t we?” he said from the gloom.
“Yes, we are. No more lies. All our cards on the table. It’s better this way, isn’t it?”
“You’re right.”
“Admit it. You’ve wanted to be rid of me for years.”
“Of course, I have. And I’m going to be rid of you, too. I’m going to take every fucking dollar in the divorce. All three million. There’s nothing you can do about it. You can go whore yourself out on the street for all I care.”
“Charming.”
The night seemed to get deeper. He couldn’t look away from his wife. He stared at Chelsey, and she stared back at him. His eyes had adjusted, and he could see now that she’d changed clothes. When he looked harder, he saw streaks of dirt on her hands and face.
“Did you go somewhere?” he asked, immediately suspicious.
“Yes, I did.”
“Where? What were you doing?”
She gave him a cold smile. “Geocaching.”
“What?”
Chelsey reached down to the brick hearth in front of the fireplace. For the first time, he noticed a padded plastic bag in the shadows there. It had been ripped open at the top. She lifted it and put it on her lap.
“Razrsharp sent you a message,” she said.
“Razrsharp? What are you talking about?”
“The police said you told them that an anonymous email account had sent you to the woods where I was found. That sounded odd to me, Gavin. Very, very odd. So I looked in your account and found that Razrsharp had sent you more GPS coordinates. I decided to see what treasure he’d hidden for you this time.”
He studied the bag. “What’s in it? What did you find?”
“Are you saying you don’t know?” She dug a hand deep into the bag and removed a semiautomatic pistol that she placed on the arm of the chair. It was a 9 mm Glock. “This is what was inside. Your gun, Gavin.”
He stared wide-eyed at the Glock. And then at his wife.
A chill rippled up his spine.
“What do you think, darling?” she asked him. “Is this the gun that killed Hink Miller? Because I think it is. I’m going to give it to the police.”
“I don’t know anything about that gun. I don’t know how it got there.”
“Do you really expect anyone to believe you, Gavin? The police already think you’re a liar. After they test this gun, they’re going to arrest you for murder.”
“Let them try. I’ll embarrass them in court.”
She counted off on her fingers. “Your gun. Your client. You scouting the woods in the middle of nowhere right where I was found.”
“Razrsharp did this. It’s him.”
“Who is Razrsharp?”
“I have no idea.”
She was quiet for a long time. “I’m betting the police will think it’s you.”
“That’s crazy.”
“Is it, Gavin? Without this Razrsharp, this mystery man, everything points to you. He’s your alibi for being in the woods. He’s your alibi for the murder weapon.”