Rachel switched o๏ฌย the engine, pulled out the key, holding it up like it might unlock something else.
โWe can cancel your grandpaโs birthday dinner today, B-Bel. After last nightโฆโ
Bel shrugged.ย โNo, Iโmย ๏ฌne,โย she said, because she didnโt quite know what she was. She thought of Phillipโs wild eyes, his hitching laugh. Phillip was the man, the one who kept Rachel in his basement for sixteen years and let her go.
โItโs over,โย Rachel said, reaching out to her, squeezing her hand. Bel didnโtย ๏ฌinch, she was too tired, didnโt know what to believe anymore. If theyโd found the man, did that mean Rachel wasnโt lying about any of it? Had she been wrong?
โCome on.โย Rachel climbed out, Bel mirroring her on the other side.
Ms. Nelson was standing in her open doorway, watching, like she had last night when the cops showed up. Bel nodded at her. An apology, a truce.
โBel?โย A voice sailed down the street.
It was Ash, hurrying toward them, navy sweater with white birds. Bel glanced at Rachel.
โIโll go inside,โย Rachel said.ย โStart clearing up.โย Bel waited for the front door to close behind her.
Ash cut inย ๏ฌrst.
โI was waiting for you. I got your text. Sorry, my phone was on silent.โย Worry pulled at his eyebrows.ย โWhat happened? Did you follow Rachel? Where did she go, what was she doing? Someone said the cops were here. What did youย ๏ฌnd?โ
Bel took a breath, knowing sheโd have to explain everything, not sure how. She gestured for him to follow her, away from the house, toward the cemetery.
โThe cops werenโt here for Rachel. They were here for Phillip Alves.โ โPhillip Alves?โย Ash hissed.ย โThat crazy guy obsessed with the case? The
one who kidnapped you?โ
โHe broke into the house when he saw Rachel leave. Looking for clues.
But I was there. He thought I knew something about Rachel. He got mad.โ
Ash shifted, steps falling in time with hers. He almost reached for her hand.ย โDid he hurt you?โ
โHe might have,โย Bel said.ย โIf Rachel didnโt come home in time. She threatened him, he ran o๏ฌ.โ
โShe saved you?โย he asked.
Bel didnโt want to answer that. Rachel shouldnโt have been gone in theย ๏ฌrst place. And if she wasnโt lying, then why was she sneaking out of the house that late? Things were too unclear now, where were the battle lines? Who was on whose side?
โThatโs not all,โย Bel said instead.ย โWe just got back from the police station, from giving our statements. Rachel says itโs him. Phillip Alves was the man who took her.โ
Ash stopped, stared at her.ย โItโs Phillip?โ
โThatโs what Rachel says.โ
His eyebrows drew together now, pulling across his nose.ย โButโฆโย He trailed o๏ฌ.ย โWasnโt Phillip in prison for three years after he kidnapped you?โ
Belโs heels dragged, grating on the sidewalk.ย โRachel says there was a long period of time when the man didnโt come close enough for her to see,
kept the lights out and his face covered when he left her food. It could have been someone else and she didnโt realize at the time; a brother, a friend.โ
โPhillip Alves.โย Ash sounded it out on his lips, faltering, like it didnโt quiteย ๏ฌt.
โThe police showed her Phillipโs mug shot when sheย ๏ฌrst returned, asked if he was the guy,โย Bel said.ย โShe said no at the time. She didnโt recognize him until she saw him in person, the way he moved, the way he breathed.โ
โUnbelievable,โย Ash said, but which way did he mean it? They walked the path through the cemetery, red leaves dotted on the grass.ย โSo now they have toย ๏ฌnd him?โ
โThey already did. State Police picked him up a few hours later, walking down the highway, Route Two. Heโs been arrested, being questioned by the feds now. I broke his nose, by the way,โย she said, so he knew she hadnโt needed Rachel, she might have beenย ๏ฌne on her own.
โPhillip Alves,โย Ash said again, leaving the name there,ย ๏ฌoating in front of them, walking into it.
โWhy do you keep saying it like that?โย Bel snapped.
He stopped walking.ย โI guess, itโs justโฆdo you believe her?โ
The knot twisted in Belโs gut. She went back to an answer that was safe, hiding behind it.ย โI donโt know.โ
โBut what about everything weโve found? If the answer is just that Phillip Alvesโa strangerโabducted her, why did she borrow that money from Julian Tripp right before she disappeared?โ
โI donโt know.โย Bel hid farther behind it.ย โMaybe the three thousand dollars was for something else? Not running away.โ
โWhat about the sighting in January? The red top and black jeans?โ โMaybe it wasnโt Rachel.โ
โWhat was she so desperate toย ๏ฌnd in your grandpaโs house?โ
โI donโt know. Maybe it doesnโt even matter.โย And maybe the cup sheโd seen in the trash was just another co๏ฌee cup with a cow. They couldnโt be rare.
Ash stared at her, like he didnโt understand, and maybe Bel didnโt either. Why was she defending Rachel now, taking her side even when it felt wrong
to say it? Because the other option, if it wasnโt Phillip Alves, was to trust what he said instead, who he thought had taken Rachel after obsessing over it for sixteen years. Dad leaving with a packed bag in the middle of the night, Dad talking to some unknown man about his alibi in the months after Rachel disappeared. Bel could choose to believe Rachel or to believe Phillip Alves, and Rachel was the easier choice, didnโt hurt as much.
โPhillip Alves,โย Ash said one more time.ย โStop saying it like that.โ
โIโm sorry.โย He looked at her, under the shade of the red tree.ย โI guess I just thought the answer would be closer to home.โ
Bel tilted her chin.ย โCloser to home? What do you mean by that?โ โN-nothing,โย he backed o๏ฌ.ย โIt just seemedโโ
โYou mean my dad, donโt you?โ
โI didnโt say that,โย Ash said, hands up, tiptoeing around a land mine heโd already set o๏ฌ.
โBut you meant it, didnโt you?โย Bel locked her jaw, hardened her eyes.ย โWhy does this always happen? He had a fucking alibi.โย Her mind battened down, shutting out Phillipโs deranged rambling.ย โIt has to be Phillip. My dad didnโt do anything. I know that, Ash.โย Knew it, had to believe it. She was alone in the world without him.ย โAnd maybe Iโm wrong, maybe he did leave me, run away to Canada. Maybe he thoughtโwith Rachel backโthat people would start suspecting he was involved in her disappearance, just like youโre doing now. Maybe he knew people would turn on him again, and he was scared. And now when the news breaks about Phillipโs arrest, when thereโsย ๏ฌnally an answer to the Rachel fucking Price mystery, he can come home. Heโllย ๏ฌnally be free, from people like you.โ
Charlie Price, a name forever marred after Dave Winter arrested him for something he didnโt do. That made sense, Dad leaving for that reason, Bel could shift things around in her head to accept that.
โThatโs not what I meant, Bel, plโโ
โHe told me to stay away from you, right before he disappeared, did you know?โย Bel said, going for his weak spot. She knew Ash now, and he knew her. And that meant she knew exactly how to hurt him, how to lash out and
make it last.ย โHe warned me. Said you were using me for theย ๏ฌlm. Manipulating me about Rachel. Iโm surprised you donโt have a camera on you right now, wouldnโt this be great footage for your littleย ๏ฌlm, huh? My nameโs not in the title, but Iโm the heart, remember, or maybe you just told me that to manipulate me. So you can impress Ramsey, make him think you arenโt a total waste of space.โ
Her eyes stung. It wasnโt working, not the way it should, because it was too late; sheโd let him in too close, and now it hurt her too.
โWhereโs your camera, Ash, huh?โย She pushed him in the shoulder, jabbed him with twoย ๏ฌngers.ย โThatโs all this is supposed to be, isnโt it, you and me? Itโs pointless, it doesnโt matter. Youโre leaving, you were always leaving. You donโt really care apart from making a greatย ๏ฌlm for Ramsey. Plotty, twisty, one the big broadcasters will pay a bunch of money for. Come on, whereโs your camera?โ
โBel, stop.โย Ashโs voice cracked in two, eyes glazed with un-cried tears.ย โThatโs not fair. I know what youโre doingโโ
โThen itโs done, OK?โย Belโs breath hitched, hands shaking.ย โItโs done.โย She left him there, standing by a row of graves, under the bleeding tree. Waited until Ash couldnโt see her anymore to wipe her eyes.
โ
โI bought a birthday cake, you donโt think heโll mind?โย Rachel asked, stirring the mac and cheese on the stove.ย โDidnโt think weโd have time to make one.โ
โItโsย ๏ฌne. He wonโt remember.โย Bel stared out the back door as the evening darkened, her re๏ฌection as Phillip snatched her hair back, baring her throat.
โYou OK, Bel?โย Rachel paused, adding salt to the pan.ย โYeah.โย She sni๏ฌed.ย โAreโฆare you OK?โ
Rachel turned. She seemed surprised by the question. So was Bel, if she was being honest. A smileย ๏ฌickered onto Rachelโs face, unsure atย ๏ฌrst, until
she met Belโs eyes. Across the room from each other, but it wasnโt such a great distance anymore.
โYeah,โย she said too.ย โIโm OK.โ
Bel nodded.ย โI should probably get ready. We told everyone seven-thirty, right?โ
Rachel checked the clock on the oven.ย โTwenty minutes to go. Perfect timing.โ
Bel went upstairs, changed into jeans and a cardigan, brushed her hair. Sheโd washed it twice since Phillip had touched it, left his blood behind. It still didnโt feel clean.
She put the hairbrush down on the windowsill, beside the photo frame. Her and Dad beaming for the camera, the same one he had on his keys, Story Land for her twelfth birthday.
Belโs thumb passed over the photo, her face re๏ฌected in the glass, young Bel in one eye, Dad in the other. Heโd been missing thirteen days. But now, because of Phillip Alves, everything was going to be OK, Dad couldย ๏ฌnally come home. Bel was ready for it. Ready for peace, a truce, to put the house back together again, leave her armor outside.
Bel and Rachel could be on the same side, if it was Dadโs side too. A family.
Familyย ๏ฌrst.
Her eyes trailed away to her nightstand. She followed them, opening the drawer to her collection of stolen things. She realized something, looking down at the pens and lip balms, that one unusable AirPod, the queen chess piece. Bel hadnโt taken anything in a couple of weeks. The knot had been there in her gut, but it hadnโt asked to be fed, hadnโt needed it. She must have been distracted, so consumed with Rachel.
She reached inside,ย ๏ฌngers closing around something small and soft. She pulled it out, her tiny pink baby sock, cradled in the palm of her hand. Bel could return this to Rachel, put it back where she found it. It clearly meant something to her. An olive branch. Aย ๏ฌrst step.
Bel took thatย ๏ฌrst step, and a second, walking out of her room and down the hall.
She paused at the closed door into Rachelโs room. Tried the handle. It was unlocked. In fact, Bel hadnโt heard Rachel lock it at all, these past couple weeks.
She went inside, padding quietly, so Rachel wouldnโt hear from downstairs. Rachel hadnโt made her bed, hadnโt had time. Bel moved over to the nightstand and slid out the top drawer.
The iPhone box was still inside. A lip balm, rolling toward her. A packet of Kleenex.
Bel pinched the small sock and pushed it to the far corner, where sheโd found it.
But there was something else there now. Hidden in the shadows, a cold touch of metal against the skin of her knuckles. Bel couldnโt help herself. She let the sock go and scrabbled for the small piece of metal, pulled it out.
It was a ring. A plain gold ring. A wedding band. Too big to be Rachelโs, it had to be a manโs.
Bel brought it closer, studied it, moving it so it caught the light. It was engraved on the inside.
July 23 2005
The date her parents got married. This was Dadโs wedding ring.
The one he still wore. The one he couldnโt take o๏ฌ. And it was here, in Rachelโs drawer.
Belโs heart fell into her stomach, the knot took a bite. No, no, no. He couldnโt take this o๏ฌ. Which meantโฆ
Everything wasnโt going to be OK. Dad didnโt run away, Rachel had done something to him, somethingย ๏ฌnal. Answers unraveled again, that last speck of hope swallowed whole. And a new feeling, that Dad was never coming home.
Bel broke apart, following her heart down, down, down. Finding her own land mines, setting them all o๏ฌย at once.
โRachel!โย she screamed, burning down the house.
Bel burst out of the room, the ring hot in herย ๏ฌst, catchingย ๏ฌre too.ย โRachel!โ
Down the stairs, the thunderclap of her feet building into something worse.
โMom!โ
โJustย ๏ฌu๏ฌng the cushions,โย Rachel called back. Bel followed her voice through the door, into war.
โDonโt know why, no one cares if the cushions areย ๏ฌu๏ฌed.โย She smiled to herself.
โI canโt do this anymore!โย Bel shouted, voice shaking the room. Rachel dropped the cushion.
โBel, whatโsโโ
โI canโt do it! Youโre lying to me! Youโve been lying since you returned!โย Rachel blinked, mouth falling open.ย โBel, Iโโ
Bel cut her o๏ฌ, storming forward. She slammed the ring down on the co๏ฌee table.
โThatโs Dadโs wedding ring.โย She pointed.ย โHe couldnโt take it o๏ฌ!โย Belโs eyes hooked onto Rachelโs, steadied, took aim.
โWhat have you done to him, Rachel?โ
